The gospel of Sunday July 7 (Mark 6:1-13) begins,

Jesus came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him.

While he had preached and healed elsewhere in Galilee, driven out daemons in the Gentile land of the Gerasenes and calmed the storm on the Sea of Galilee, Jesus had not appeared in Nazareth.

His disciples came along, still observing him, probably with a mix of admiration, wonder and curiosity about where the abandonment of their fishing nets (1:16-20) or tax booths (2:14) might lead them.

On the sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue…

Jesus had begun his public ministry in a synagogue. He cast out a daemon in a synagogue (Mark 1:23-28) continued teaching and exorcising, (Mark 1:39) and he healed the man with the withered hand (Mark 3:1-6) in synagogues.

….and many who heard him were astounded. They said, "Where did this man get all this? What is this wisdom that has been given to him? What deeds of power are being done by his hands!  

The gospels for June 23, about Jesus calming the storm and June 30, about raising the 12-year old girl from the dead, included the phrase And all were amazed or they were overcome with amazement. It was not just Jesus’ power to heal, or calm nature or drive out daemons that astonished the people of his hometown; it was his command of scripture, his interpretation and his eloquence that amazed them.

Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?" And they took offence at him.

The five questions (combining the two quotes above) focus on Jesus’ identity.

His townsfolk thought that his work with wood and his relationships defined him. Having decided that, they thought that instructing them was inappropriate for him. They didn’t believe what was right in front of their eyes.

Ironically, Whenever the unclean spirits saw him, they fell down before him and shouted, ‘You are the Son of God!’ (Mark 3:11) They knew who Jesus was!

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Then Jesus said to them, "Prophets are not without honour, except in their hometown, and among their own kin, and in their own house."

A version of this aphorism appears in Hellenistic literature, “It is the opinion of all philosophers that life is difficult in their own land.”

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And he could do no deed of power there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and cured them. And he was amazed at their unbelief.  

Yet faith, or lack of it, by the townsfolk is not the full explanation for Jesus' inability to do a deed of power. Two chapters earlier, in the gospel of June 23, when a great gale arose … so that the boat was already being swamped. But he was in the stern, asleep …and they woke him …He rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, ‘Peace! Be still!’ Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. He said to them, ‘Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?’ (Mark 4:36-39) Perhaps earlier in his public ministry Jesus was more tolerant of even his disciples' lack of faith in him. 

In the gospel for June 30, (Mark 5:21-42) Jesus cured the woman who had been hemorrhaging for 12 years and he raised the daughter of Jairus. In the woman’s case, Jesus said Your faith has made you whole and he told Jairus, do not doubt; only believe. Jesus was able to work his miracles of healing because of the faith of the woman and Jairus.

On the one hand, today’s passage suggests that Jesus’ powers were limited by the lack of faith in him, except for a few sick people on whom he laid his hands, likely at their request. Other interpreters refine this passage to mean that Jesus could not compel belief in him and belief was essential to a cure. 

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Then he went about among the villages teaching.

With this transitional phrase, Jesus left the synagogue and continued his teaching outside its confines. After this episode he never again went to a synagogue.

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He called the twelve ...to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. He ordered them to take nothing for their journey except a staff; no bread, no bag, no money in their belts; but to wear sandals and not to put on two tunics. ….So they went out and proclaimed that all should repent. They cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.

Jesus’ disciples had heard him teach, seen him drive out daemons and cure the sick and maimed. They were among the people who were amazed at Jesus’ powers. He had named the twelve earlier (Mark 3:13-16) He had given them detailed interpretations of his teaching. (When he was alone, those who were around ...asked about the parables. And he said... ‘To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside, everything comes in parables Mark 4:10-11) Then, in this morning’s gospel, he gave them authority and to proclaim that all should repent. They cast out many demons, and anointed many who were sick…and cured them. They copied his example. Jesus’ words were also the source of their teaching. He had shown how to teach and heal. They modelled their ministry on him.

Unlike the people in Nazareth who thought they knew him, Jesus’ disciples saw him as sent by God. They sensed him to be holy. (They had not yet come to the point in Mark’s gospel when Peter would say, ‘You are the Messiah.’ (Mark 8:29)) so their understanding of his identity was, possibly, not yet fully formed, but they believed that they heard and saw God in action through Jesus…and they imitated him.

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  • Where do we stand on the spectrum of belief? Are we seeing but skeptical, like Jesus’ townsfolk who knew his history and relatives? We do not have the direct experience of the disciples having seen Jesus cure and drive out daemons or hearing him teach. Nor have we experienced having received the powers of healing from him. Are we, like Thomas, still doubters even when others who witness the resurrections report it? (John 20:24-26) Do we believe that the gospel stories are true and that Jesus’ way is valid as an example for us? Like the father of the possessed child, do we say, ‘I believe; help my unbelief!’ (Mark 9:14-29)
  • Jesus’ transformation from carpenter to teacher, healer and prophet in the eyes of the people of Nazareth... was astounding. They had no way of accounting for it. Did they fail to see the deep prayer life he had probably followed? Did they not see him regularly in the synagogue attending to scripture? Did his baptism by John, the descent of the Holy Spirit and his retreat in the desert radically change him? (Mark 1:9-13) How much of Jesus’ life was continuous with his first decades and how much was radically different? It certainly looked different to the people of Nazareth!
  • Imagine the sense of power the disciples felt when they realized that they could drive out daemons and cure the sick. They would have known that this was a gift from Jesus, not a power that they acquired through any work of their own. Were they hesitant the first time they encountered a sick person? After they cured, how did they reflect on the experience? Were they amazed that they had done it? Were they thankful? Did they wonder? Did they attribute their gift to Jesus? Did they want to become closer to Jesus? 

Peace

Michael