A story is told of Franklin Roosevelt who was President of the USA from 1933 until his death in 1945. One of the things which he found tiresome about holding his office, was having to greet lines of people at receptions. He was utterly convinced that no one really listened to what he said. So one day he decided upon an experiment. To each person who passed down the line and shook his hand, he would murmur, “I murdered my grandmother this morning.” The result was totally in line with his expectations as guests responded with phrases such as, “Marvellous! Keep up the good work. We are proud of you. God bless you, sir.” Well it was like this until at the end of the line when the ambassador from Bolivia actually heard what Roosevelt had said. Totally unfazed by what he had heard, the ambassador leaned forward and whispered back to the President, “I’m sure she had it coming.”
Just as Roosevelt and his guests were short on expectancy, so too were the gathering in Nazareth as they awaited the words of the local boy. In part, this can be put down to a tendency that we know all too well today, to be suspicious of greatness within our own midst. After all, the people in that synagogue had known Jesus for some time. They knew his family and were all too well aware of the whiff of scandal that surrounded his birth. The mention of him being the son of Mary without mention of Joseph, would seem to indicate a dig as to his background. Now they saw him as one who looked elsewhere and was leaving his family behind to fend for themselves. Truly a case of no honour in his home town!
But the true reason for hostility, probably lay in their growing awareness that Jesus was a threat to the status quo. Already the stories of Jesus’ power were circulating. Already he was being associated with might deeds. But in his use of power there was something that many found unsettling. For Jesus was using his power, not to reinforce the social structure of his time, but to liberate those who were living on the margins of society. The people, whose diseases or social standing shut them out of community life, found in Jesus one who set them free, one who affirmed them as people of worth who could be a part of community life.
Ever since the conversion of the Roman Emperor, Constantine in the year 312 AD, there has been a temptation in the church to seek a warm relationship with the centres of power. That temptation has all too often led the church in to compromises that have dulled its witness. How different from the path of Jesus. For Jesus passed every bit of honour and power that he had to those who existed on the margins. And in so doing, he opened up an understanding of responsibilities to others that goes well beyond our traditional understandings of kinship and the nuclear family.
And of course now as well as then, the path of radical inclusiveness had its enemies. For it is a demanding path and a path that threatens the places of privilege and status. But, we do well to notice that where radical inclusiveness is opposed, so to is the way of Christ. In Nazareth, mark tells us, Jesus could do no deeds of power.
Today, we live with the reality of being excluded due to social background, mistakes in their pasts, sexuality, religious beliefs and race to name but a few of the reasons for exclusion. Surely, we need to appreciate that the path of exclusion is a path that involves putting up a wall against Christ. If we wish the Church of Christ to be taken seriously, then surely we need to practice radical inclusion as Christ himself did. For if we fail to follow the way of Christ, then we forfeit the right to claim the blessings of Christ.
Our Gospel reading does not end with Nazareth’s rejection of Christ. From that rejection, we see the beginnings of Christian mission. At Nazareth, Jesus’ followers have seen the possibilities of rejection. It is a reality with which they are going to have to live. In what might seem to be a pertinent word to our success obsessed culture, Jesus makes clear to them that faithfully following Jesus is no guarantee of success. The twelve disciples are sent on a journey to the nearby villages to be the signs of the Kingdom of God. They are sent out to be dependent on the hospitality of those whom they visit. Where they are offered hospitality, they are to graciously accept it. Where they are not offered hospitality, they are to shake the dust off their feet. For the Gospel is something to be offered to people rather than something to be rammed down their throats. Too often in the history of Christendom, we find stories of forced conversion of peoples whether they be those without a recognised faith or those who have followed other monotheistic faiths such as Judaism or Islam. Too often, Christianity has been exported at the point of a gun. Yet, in the marching orders that the disciples are given, they are to go into the mission field in a state of dependence rather than power and the ethos of their mission is to be that of a respectful non violence that treats even those who would be enemies with the utmost respect. Retaliation and force can never be Christian options. They occur at the points where we depart from the Gospel.
Today’s reading draws us to the beginnings of God’s mission in Christ. In human terms, success is certainly not guaranteed. And yet, in God’s mission we are certainly not alone. The Spirit whom Jesus sent to empower us, goes with us and reminds us of what mission is all about. In God’s mission, we do not just accept the unpalatable realities around us without question. Instead, like God’s followers down through the ages, we are led to dream dreams and to see visions. Our vision is of God’s Kingdom where justice, liberation and joy are for all. Our calling is to be means by which Jesus’ imperative of life with abundance for all, can be a reality. In a world of media cynicism, a world in which people are casually and judgementally thrown away, the Gospel of Christ shouts a loud NO to all that destroys the humanity of others. Instead we are called to follow the radical inclusiveness and all embracing love that is found in Jesus’ life and self giving because as Charles Wesley once penned it;
For all. For All my saviour died.
For all my Lord was crucified.!
May Christ’s radical inclusiveness go on surprising us and the world in which we are privileged to live.
Just as Roosevelt and his guests were short on expectancy, so too were the gathering in Nazareth as they awaited the words of the local boy. In part, this can be put down to a tendency that we know all too well today, to be suspicious of greatness within our own midst. After all, the people in that synagogue had known Jesus for some time. They knew his family and were all too well aware of the whiff of scandal that surrounded his birth. The mention of him being the son of Mary without mention of Joseph, would seem to indicate a dig as to his background. Now they saw him as one who looked elsewhere and was leaving his family behind to fend for themselves. Truly a case of no honour in his home town!
But the true reason for hostility, probably lay in their growing awareness that Jesus was a threat to the status quo. Already the stories of Jesus’ power were circulating. Already he was being associated with might deeds. But in his use of power there was something that many found unsettling. For Jesus was using his power, not to reinforce the social structure of his time, but to liberate those who were living on the margins of society. The people, whose diseases or social standing shut them out of community life, found in Jesus one who set them free, one who affirmed them as people of worth who could be a part of community life.
Ever since the conversion of the Roman Emperor, Constantine in the year 312 AD, there has been a temptation in the church to seek a warm relationship with the centres of power. That temptation has all too often led the church in to compromises that have dulled its witness. How different from the path of Jesus. For Jesus passed every bit of honour and power that he had to those who existed on the margins. And in so doing, he opened up an understanding of responsibilities to others that goes well beyond our traditional understandings of kinship and the nuclear family.
And of course now as well as then, the path of radical inclusiveness had its enemies. For it is a demanding path and a path that threatens the places of privilege and status. But, we do well to notice that where radical inclusiveness is opposed, so to is the way of Christ. In Nazareth, mark tells us, Jesus could do no deeds of power.
Today, we live with the reality of being excluded due to social background, mistakes in their pasts, sexuality, religious beliefs and race to name but a few of the reasons for exclusion. Surely, we need to appreciate that the path of exclusion is a path that involves putting up a wall against Christ. If we wish the Church of Christ to be taken seriously, then surely we need to practice radical inclusion as Christ himself did. For if we fail to follow the way of Christ, then we forfeit the right to claim the blessings of Christ.
Our Gospel reading does not end with Nazareth’s rejection of Christ. From that rejection, we see the beginnings of Christian mission. At Nazareth, Jesus’ followers have seen the possibilities of rejection. It is a reality with which they are going to have to live. In what might seem to be a pertinent word to our success obsessed culture, Jesus makes clear to them that faithfully following Jesus is no guarantee of success. The twelve disciples are sent on a journey to the nearby villages to be the signs of the Kingdom of God. They are sent out to be dependent on the hospitality of those whom they visit. Where they are offered hospitality, they are to graciously accept it. Where they are not offered hospitality, they are to shake the dust off their feet. For the Gospel is something to be offered to people rather than something to be rammed down their throats. Too often in the history of Christendom, we find stories of forced conversion of peoples whether they be those without a recognised faith or those who have followed other monotheistic faiths such as Judaism or Islam. Too often, Christianity has been exported at the point of a gun. Yet, in the marching orders that the disciples are given, they are to go into the mission field in a state of dependence rather than power and the ethos of their mission is to be that of a respectful non violence that treats even those who would be enemies with the utmost respect. Retaliation and force can never be Christian options. They occur at the points where we depart from the Gospel.
Today’s reading draws us to the beginnings of God’s mission in Christ. In human terms, success is certainly not guaranteed. And yet, in God’s mission we are certainly not alone. The Spirit whom Jesus sent to empower us, goes with us and reminds us of what mission is all about. In God’s mission, we do not just accept the unpalatable realities around us without question. Instead, like God’s followers down through the ages, we are led to dream dreams and to see visions. Our vision is of God’s Kingdom where justice, liberation and joy are for all. Our calling is to be means by which Jesus’ imperative of life with abundance for all, can be a reality. In a world of media cynicism, a world in which people are casually and judgementally thrown away, the Gospel of Christ shouts a loud NO to all that destroys the humanity of others. Instead we are called to follow the radical inclusiveness and all embracing love that is found in Jesus’ life and self giving because as Charles Wesley once penned it;
For all. For All my saviour died.
For all my Lord was crucified.!
May Christ’s radical inclusiveness go on surprising us and the world in which we are privileged to live.
posted by Rev Paul Martin at 5:53 AM
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