Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B 7th July 2024.
Lectionary Readings: Ezekiel 2 v1-5; Psalm 123; 2 Corinthians 12 v2-10; Mark 6 v1-13.
Reading between the lines.
In the first part of today’s gospel reading, Mark tells us that Jesus is in his home town of Nazareth. It is the Sabbath day and Jesus is teaching at the Jewish meeting place. (v1-2a)
Many of the people who heard him were amazed and asked “How can he do all this? Where did he get such wisdom and power to perform these miracles?” (v2b)
“Isn’t he the carpenter, the son of Mary? Aren’t James, Joseph, Judas and Simon his brothers? Don’t his sisters still live here in our town?” (v3a).
Why isn’t Jesus referred to as the son of Joseph and Mary? Was Mary already a widow?
The gospels are very vague about the life of Jesus in the years before his baptism by John the Baptist. Luke and Matthew tell us about the birth and infancy of Jesus, then move on to the baptism. Mark begins his gospel with the baptism of Jesus, and John starts at the beginning of everything and then ‘fast forwards’ to the baptism of Jesus.
Only in Luke do we find a mention of Jesus when he was about twelve years old. (Luke 2 v41-52). This is also the last time that his parents (plural) are mentioned. Are we to understand that Mary’s husband, Joseph, died in the years between this incident and the start of Jesus’ public ministry?
Is this the underlying reason for the concern of family, friends and neighbours?
Were they expecting Jesus, as the eldest son, to continue with his responsibility for providing for his mother Mary and his younger siblings? To stay at home and carry on in his trade as a carpenter?
Mark says, The people were very unhappy because of what he was doing. (v3b).
Not, I assume, because teaching and healing were bad things in themselves, but because the life of an itinerant rabbi/teacher/healer would mean Jesus giving up his means of earning a living and relying on the generosity of others to meet his worldly needs.
Jesus responds to the uneasiness of the gathering by saying, “Prophets are honoured by everyone, except the people of their own town and their relatives and their own family.” (v4).
Jesus implies that he has now become a prophet, identifying himself with the fate of Jewish prophets throughout history.
Mark records that Jesus was surprised that the people did not have any faith. (v6a).
Was Jesus disappointed that they were ruling out the possibility that God could be starting something new and exciting through one of their own?
Mark portrays Jesus, at this time, as being called by God (at his baptism) to embark on a prophetic ministry, teaching people about the kingdom of God and showing by his healing miracles that God cares for his people and can act through a human being, even a lowly carpenter from Nazareth!
Bible quotations are taken from the Contemporary English Version.