The Carpenter’s Son Series

Scripture Reading: Mark 6:1-6

Jesus left there and went to his hometown, accompanied by his disciples. When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed. “Where did this man get these things?” they asked. “What’s this wisdom that has been given him? What are these remarkable miracles he is performing? Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town, among his relatives and in his own home.” He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. He was amazed at their lack of faith.

Reflection

Mark’s gospel is like an Indiana Jones movie. There is non-stop action from start to finish, and Mark has not included anything that might slow down the pace of the narrative. Consequently, we often have to look at the other gospels to get the details of a story. But let us look at what Mark says here first. Jesus is back in his hometown, and on the Sabbath, he begins to teach in the synagogue. The people who heard him speak were amazed, but one suspects it wasn’t an admiring amazement, but rather one of disbelief.

“Where did this man get these things?” they wondered, implying that he hadn’t been to seminary school or done a course in theology. “What’s this wisdom that has been given him?” they asked because it was so far off from anything they had ever heard. “What are these remarkable miracles he is performing?” they questioned, and this was said in scorn because the implied question was, “Why isn’t he performing any miracles here?” Mark tells us that Jesus did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith, except for laying his hands on a few sick people.

“Isn’t this the carpenter?” they asked, implying that he couldn’t possibly know anything beyond woodwork. And if his occupation didn’t qualify him to have wisdom, his lineage did. “Isn’t this Mary’s son?” they said, implying that nobody knew who his father was. “And isn’t he the brother of James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon?” One wonders what sort of trouble-makers these boys were, that Jesus was judged in relation to them. All these questions can be summarized thus: “This guy is a nobody pretending to be a somebody.” They had judged him on various factors, except the only one that mattered: that he was the Son of God.

How do we fare in comparison? Might we not be guilty of judging people based on our own opinions of them, our own prejudices? When we meet somebody from a different color or creed or culture, are we open to them, or have we already dismissed anything they might have to say out of hand? But let’s forget about people for a moment; how do we look at Jesus? Do we take offense at him too, like the people we read about today did, and reject him? Or do we accept what he says and put them into practice in our lives?

The fruit we bear will answer that question. May we bear it in abundance.

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Today's devotional — The Carpenter’s Son — is based on Mark 6:1-6, the gospel reading for the day. The reflection is by Aneel Aranha, founder of Holy Spirit Interactive (HSI). Follow him on Facebook: fb.com/aneelaranha