A Message for July 4, 2021 -- Sent with Power

 

Scripture Reading                        Mark 6:1-13

Jesus left there and went to his hometown, accompanied by his disciples. 

When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed.

“Where did this man get these things?” they asked. “What’s this wisdom that has been given him? What are these remarkable miracles he is performing? 

Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him.

Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town, among his relatives and in his own home.” 

He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. 

He was amazed at their lack of faith.

Then Jesus went around teaching from village to village. 

Calling the Twelve to him, he began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over impure spirits.

 These were his instructions: “Take nothing for the journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in your belts. 

Wear sandals but not an extra shirt. 

Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that town. 

And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, leave that place and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.”

They went out and preached that people should repent. 

They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.

Here ends this reading of the Word of God for the People of God. Thanks be to God. Amen.

Prayer for Understanding

All-knowing God, we long to hear your speak a word for our times and our lives. By the power of your Spirit, open our ears to hear your Word this day. Give us insight into the good news we witness in Christ, your Living Word. Fill us with the desire to follow him in faithfulness. Amen.

            One of the lessons that every child learns is that everyone does not like them.  Everyone will not be your friend.  My puppy is having difficulty accepting this lesson, and it is even more difficult for kids.  Other kids may be jealous of you. Other kids may know your favorite superhero is Wonder Woman and they are into the Cheetah, so they don’t like you.  Other kids may want to rule the play-kitchen in the Kindergarten room, and you also want to play in there, and they may not like having you in “their” kitchen….I think my sister was chased out of a play kitchen with a rubber knife once.  One of the unfortunate life-lessons we have to learn and accept that everyone will not like us.

            In our reading this morning, Jesus went back to his home town and was rejected.  The people who knew Jesus his whole life – his childhood playmates, the families his sisters’ had been married into, people who turned to his father and brothers when they had carpentry jobs – these people could not accept that Jesus, Mary and Joseph’s son, was the Messiah. Jesus was so familiar to them, so regular, such a part of their community, that they couldn’t see him as more than a normal person. He was just Jesus, not the messiah.

            In response to the rejection of the people of Nazareth, Jesus sent his friends out two by two to spread the Good News – to preach and to heal – out in the world. Jesus said – no prophet is accepted in his home town.  So, the Disciples were sent out to new towns, to places they would not be rejected because they were already known in the area.

             Part of Jesus’ ministry was to delegate.  He did not hoard all of the work for himself….he expected his Disciples and followers to preach about God, to teach about God’s guidance and love, to heal, and to invite people to follow Jesus and follow the teachings that became Christianity.  Jesus told his disciples that he would not always live among them…he wasn’t going to stay on earth forever.

            But, the work of the Disciples, the work of being a disciple of Jesus, will always be here.  As followers of Jesus Christ, God calls us to serve God.  We are called to share the Good News of God’s love with others. We are called to tell others that through God’s grace and the sacrificial love of Jesus, our sins are forgiven. Nothing we can do is so awful that God will not forgive us and love us. People need to hear the Good News, and it is our job to share it.

            We are Jesus’ disciples here on earth today. And, today is a special day in our country, and there is going to be a parade down Skippack Pike in a few minutes, so I won’t go on and on. But, as you leave this building today, remember that you are special to God. You are loved by God. God forgives your sins. And, as Disciples, it is our job to share this Good News with others. We are called to treat everyone we encounter with love and compassion.  And, we are called to share the Good News at every opportunity. We are called to tell people that God and Jesus love them. We are called to tell people that God forgives their sins. We are called to tell people the Holy Spirit is here among us to guide us, support us, and advocate for us. There is Good News to share and it is our job to share it.

            Let us do so in love. Amen. 

** Our artwork is a 6th Century Mosaic Map of Jersusalem found in St. Geroge Church in Madaba, Jordan.***