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Gospel: Mark 6: 1-6
Jesus departed from there and came to his native place, accompanied by his disciples.
When the sabbath came he began to teach in the synagogue,
and many who heard him were astonished.
They said, “Where did this man get all this?
What kind of wisdom has been given him?
What mighty deeds are wrought by his hands!
Is he not the carpenter, the son of Mary,
and the brother of James and Joseph and Judas and Simon?
And are not his sisters here with us?”
And they took offense at him.
Jesus said to them,
“A prophet is not without honor except in his native place
and among his own kin and in his own house.”
So he was not able to perform any mighty deed there,
apart from curing a few sick people by laying his hands on them.
He was amazed at their lack of faith.
The Gospel of the Lord.
***
***
By this point, Jesus has developed significant momentum in his ministry.
He’s proclaimed the kingdom of God and demonstrated its presence by casting out demons, healing the sick, stilling the stormy waters of Galilee, even raising a child from the dead.
But in today’s Gospel, this momentum comes to a screeching halt. What demons, disease, and stormy waters could not stop is blocked temporarily by the greatest obstacle of all: unbelief.
That’s the one area in this world God will not go.
While he’ll gladly cast out disease, demons, and famine from our lands Jesus will not enter where he’s not wanted. Faith is the Lord’s entrée into our lives. But he only enters with our permission.
***
While it’s easy to criticize the locals in the Gospel for their lack of faith, Jesus grew up with these residents of Nazareth. To them, he was wildly ordinary. A poor carpenter’s son. A former refugee. A nobody.
How could God possibly make himself known through a man like this?
Jesus stretched their understanding of God too far, so they shut the door of their hearts in his face.
***
How often can we do the same?
A particular temptation strikes us – maybe anger, lust, or greed – and instead of opening the door to grace, we close it.
Or maybe our faith has been clouded by doubt. We look at the world around us – we see all the suffering caused by COVID – and conclude our problems are too small for the Lord to answer, so we stop praying.
Or life doesn’t go our way. Instead of trusting that the Lord has a plan for us, we close the door and take control ourselves.
***
Mighty things can happen in our lives through faith. But that’s a door that must be opened from within.
May we swing it wide open for Jesus, allowing his grace to guide us today.
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