Mark 6:1-6

Mark 6:1-6

Jesus departed from there and came to his native place, 

accompanied by his disciples. 

When the sabbath came he began to teach in the synagogue,

and many who heard him were astonished. 

They said, “Where did this man get all this? 

What kind of wisdom has been given him? 

What mighty deeds are wrought by his hands! 

Is he not the carpenter, the son of Mary,

and the brother of James and Joseph and Judas and Simon? 

And are not his sisters here with us?” 

And they took offense at him. 

Jesus said to them,

“A prophet is not without honor except in his native place

and among his own kin and in his own house.” 

So he was not able to perform any mighty deed there,

apart from curing a few sick people by laying his hands on them.

He was amazed at their lack of faith.

Opening Prayer: Lord God, I hope that my lack of faith or weak faith never become obstacles to you acting in my life. Strength my faith and grant me the wisdom of your Word and the charity of your Spirit.

Encountering the Word of God

1. Astonishment in Nazareth: Today’s Gospel records a visit of Jesus to his hometown of Nazareth. Yesterday, we heard about two stories of deep faith. Today, we have a contrasting story of a lack of faith. When Luke tells the story of Jesus teaching in the synagogue at Nazareth, it ends with the people trying to throw Jesus off the hill. They rejected his message of mercy for the Gentiles. In Mark’s Gospel, the people of Nazareth cannot fathom how Jesus, the carpenter and son of Mary, can teach with wisdom and accomplish such mighty deeds. In Luke, they were amazed at Jesus’ gracious words, but also questioned, “Isn’t this the son of Joseph?” (Luke 4:22). In Mark, the people of Nazareth were astonished at his teaching, but also questioned Jesus’ ordinary origin and upbringing. They knew Jesus didn’t study in Jerusalem and wasn’t trained as a Rabbi. So, how could a simple carpenter teach with such wisdom? In Nazareth, Jesus is ultimately rejected, and the rejection results in little or no miraculous activity and mighty deeds. The two accounts in Luke and Mark emphasize the same basic truth: those who think they know Jesus best fail to recognize who he really is.

2. What Mighty Deeds! While Luke focuses on the prophetic rejection of Jesus and anger at the bestowal of mercy on the Gentiles, Mark focuses on the relationship between faith and miraculous power. In Luke, Jesus appears as a prophet like Elijah and Elisha, both of whom worked mighty deeds and miracles. Just as the Northern Kingdom of Israel rejected the two prophets, so Nazareth, a small town in Northern Israel, rejected Jesus. While Luke uses Jesus’ teaching in Nazareth on Isaiah to define his mission, Mark’s focus is more pastoral and experiential. Mark highlights the scandal of familiarity. Knowing Jesus as a boy, a teenager, and a young adult became an obstacle and led the people of Nazareth to unbelief. Rejection, however, is not an accident in Mark’s Gospel. It is part of the Messianic path. Misunderstanding and unbelief accompany Jesus everywhere. And the reader of Mark’s Gospel is confronted with a decision: Will we misunderstand and reject belief in Jesus like the religious authorities, the people of Nazareth, or his disciples? Or will the knowledge of Jesus’ mighty deeds, like those we contemplated yesterday, bring us to have faith in Jesus the size of a mustard seed?

3. Their Lack of Faith: The purpose of the story of the lack of faith in Nazareth is to show that while Jesus’ divine power and mercy are unlimited, people can be hindered from experiencing his power and mercy by their refusal to believe in him (Healy, The Gospel of Mark, 111). At first, the people of Nazareth were impressed by Jesus’ wisdom and mighty deeds. But their initial awe and wonder soon turn to stumbling and being scandalized by Jesus. The idea that a simple, hometown carpenter could inaugurate the kingdom of God was scandalous to them. They were too attached to their idea about how God acts, and this became an obstacle to professing faith in Jesus. When Jesus sends out his Apostles, they will encounter people who will welcome them in faith, and also those who will reject them just because they were simple fishermen and even sinful tax collectors.

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, you suffered and were perfected in your human nature through your loving obedience. Help me to endure the suffering that comes my way and be victorious in times of temptation and trial.

Living the Word of God: Am I attached to my own ideas about how God should act in my life and in the world? Do I embrace the way of humility and trust marked out by Jesus? Do I see suffering as something God permits in my life? Or do I think suffering and tribulation are things that God should always prevent in my life?