Short, easy to use, thought provoking background commentary for your sermon, bible study lesson, or scripture reflection.
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Year B, Season of Pentecost
Proper 9, Ordinary Time 14
Sunday Between July 3 and July 9 Inclusive
5th Sunday After Pentecost 2009
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Once again the Lectionary gives us two stories in one lesson.
Jesus leaves "that place" where two members of the Judean elite had received healing and new life because of their faith - because of their trust / loyalty / bonding with God in spite of their hopeless circumstances - and returns to his hometown. What sort of faith / trust will he find there?
Simply stepping forward to teach in his hometown synagogue would literally be stepping out of his - and his families - assigned place in the village pecking order. Doing so would immediately demand public, critical evaluation by those in charge of keeping people in their place.
We can see this process at work by contrasting the comments at the end of Verse 2 with those in Verse 3.
In Verse 2 the comments allude to factors that would increase ACQUIRED honour. In Verse 3, the comments refer to the factors that establish life-long, INHERITED honour.
Anyone who has ever lived in a small town will appreciate that maintaining one's social standing is fiercely protected - protecting one's own honour from being devalued; and preventing anyone else's honour from being increased (since that could mean a lessening of one's own honour).
Notice the assumption in Verse 2, that someone, somewhere, had given wisdom and power to Jesus. In Jesus' time, wisdom, power, honour, etc. were all understood to exist in a fixed, limited amount, distributed unequally, and given at birth. So any increase could only happen by being given - or taking - from someone else.
The comments in Verse 3 speak against giving increased honour to Jesus. They remind his hometown hearers of just exactly who he is. The reference to "son of Mary," with no mention of his father would not so subtly remind everyone of the shaming gossip about Mary being pregnant before getting married. And who would believe the story that Mary tells about who the real father is? Poor thing.
Even the reference to being a carpenter would also be a reminder that in Jesus' time, carpenters often had be away from home in search of work - and this made them less than desirable as sons, husbands, fathers, and town residents. Who knows what happens when people are not under everyone's watchful eye?
Jesus responds to this insult against his and his family's honour by quoting an equally insulting proverb. In effect saying, "Those who should know me best but don't are doubly blind / stupid."
Verses 5 and 6 emphasize the point made earlier in this Chapter: faith / trust / bonding with God are crucial to healing. Without them, even Jesus cannot perform miracles.
Verses 7 to 13, (and 30-32) give a mini-manual in mentoring, and mission preparation, action, and reflection.
Sending the 12 out in pairs is both a way to test their readiness for ministry, and also a way to make his ministry more widely available. Sent in pairs both because it is dangerous to travel alone, and because a partner helps provide encouragement and accountability. The minimal possessions of these itinerant ministers was normal practice in Jesus' time.
Notice that Jesus delegates his authority over evil spirits to them (Verse 7). They also took up his ministry of calling people to repent and believe the Good News of God's Kingdom (See Chapter 1, Verse 15), and of healing (Verses 12 and 13).
Shaking the dust off your feet is reference to a common way of showing one's disapproval, of completely rejecting and disassociating oneself from the other. It too was a highly insulting gesture - somewhat like "giving the finger" today.
The reference to not being welcomed is a reminder of what has just happened in his hometown, and also a fore-shadowing of what lies ahead.
These are not easy, "good news," stories. They are not dramatic or miraculous. They are sobering reminders of how our own familiarity - our own comfort zone - with Jesus may blind us to the full reality of Jesus; and of how being in settled ministry with all of its possessions and property keeps us from travelling lightly with our sole focus on our purpose for ministry.
David Ewart,
www.davidewart.ca
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