Meeting rejection in one’s own village

‘…Jesus said to them, ‘Prophets are not without honour, except in their home town, and among their own kin, and in their own house.’ (Mark 6:4)

                                                   The hill outside Nazaerth where Jesus nearly met death...

Ezekiel 2:15

Psalm 123

2 Corinthians 12:2-10

Mark 6:1-13

Scripture readings are based on the appointed 'paired' readings for the principal service of the day from the Church of Ireland. Links to the readings are taken from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright © 1989, 1995 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org

(Year B: Fifth Sunday after Trinity, 4^th July 2021)

What is it about many communities that welcome the outsider ‘prophet’ but not ‘one of their own’? It is a good question.  Perhaps, in receiving the outsider we do not need to take responsibility when she or he has moved on. The insider is too much of a sign of contradiction and reproach. At the same time, we may know the insider much better than others do and, as often happens, ‘familiarity breeds contempt’: we know the negative traits and past histories of the insider and we dwell on these more than the positive. The Gospel of Mark reports the prophetic sentence of Jesus (verse 4)

Prophets are not without honour, except in their hometown, and among their own kin, and in their own house.

All four ‘canonical’ gospels – Matthew, Mark, Luke and John – report the phrase used in Mark 6:4.

In Luke’s account we are told that Jesus was run out of Nazareth after he taught there (Luke 4:28-30). He could have been murdered, prematurely, having been led to the brow of the hill overlooking Nazareth where he was to be thrown. Whatever the precise detail, we know that Jesus was not welcome in his hometown or village and this lack of welcome may have involved his closest relatives and neighbours. Could we imagine the ‘headlines’ in the Galilee Times: local Nazareth man beaten up and murdered after riot outside Synagogue…..

There was something different in the way Jesus worked. If only he adapted to the ways of those in authority and if only he worked in a pragmatic way avoiding saying or doing things that, inevitably, would infuriate and antagonise the religious authorities or the local community of his day. If only he avoided controversy and saying things that upset or embarrassed ‘his own’, and if only he settled down into a quiet life in Nazareth practicing his trade or occupation and using some spare time to impart words of wisdom in the synagogue. 

If only...

Not only did the neighbours in this hometown take ‘offence’ (some translations use the term ‘stumbled’) but his very own ‘family’. Yes, his only family. We are left guessing what exactly this means. There is more than a hint, here, that Jesus’ own family were not happy with his behaviour (see Mark 3:21).

It is likely that the experience of rejection and exclusion even up to permanent expulsion was the lived experience of many followers of Jesus when the Gospels were transferred from oral tradition to written records. Many disciples, both then and now, will experience the tension and conflict between inhospitable communities or relationships from which they have emerged and the duties of care and covenantal obligation. 

Three take-aways:

1. Listen to one another – the one who asks the awkward question or challenges our ways of thinking may be telling us something we need to hear or take on board.
2. Welcome the insider as well as the outsider and we ought not to miss hidden wisdom in our own ranks and families.
3. Have courage and do not be afraid to live by gospel values even if it costs much.