When You’re Rejected at Home
Being rejected is a painful experience. Whether it’s trying out for a musical group, a part in a play, or a sports team; whether it’s being rejected by a potential employer, publisher, college, or an individual we’re interested in, rejection hurts. Perhaps it hurts the most when we are rejected by those who have known us the longest – our family and the people who watched us grow up.
Jesus knew what it was like to be rejected in this way. According to Mark’s Gospel he was rejected by those in his hometown. Listen to Mark 6:1-13,
July 8, 2012
The Gospel of Mark 6:1-13, When You’re Rejected at Home
Doug Scalise, Brewster Baptist Church
[powerpress]
1 He left that place and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him. 2 On the sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, 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! 3 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 offense at him. 4 Then Jesus said to them, “Prophets are not without honor, except in their hometown, and among their own kin, and in their own house.” 5 And he could do no deed of power there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and cured them. 6 And he was amazed at their unbelief.
Then he went about among the villages teaching. 7 He called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. 8 He ordered them to take nothing for their journey except a staff; no bread, no bag, no money in their belts; 9 but to wear sandals and not to put on two tunics. 10 He said to them, “Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave the place. 11 If any place will not welcome you and they refuse to hear you, as you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them.” 12 So they went out and proclaimed that all should repent. 13 They cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.”
Rejection by those closest to us or by those who have known us a long time is a painful experience that evokes sharp emotions, such as anger, outrage, self-pity, and hurt. More people have experienced this type of rejection than we might think. The New Testament tells us many times that Jesus was rejected by his own people. John 1:11, “He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him.” In Romans chapters 9 through 11, Paul wrestles with the rejection of Jesus by his fellow Jews. In Mark 6:1-6, Jesus’ own people are not the Jews as a whole but friends and perhaps even relatives in his hometown. The emotion that stands out on his part and theirs is astonishment.
These verses serve as the conclusion of part two of Mark’s Gospel (3:13-6:6a). That part begins with the attempt of Jesus’ family to take him home because they’re told he’s out of his mind and the section concludes with the rejection of Jesus by people in his hometown. They are astonished, which can be a good thing, but in this case it is not. They reflect on who he is based on the past categories by which they’ve known him. He is the carpenter – they know him by the work he did in the past. He is the son of Mary – there is no mention of Jesus’ father which is insulting because in Jewish culture at that time you were never known as the son of your mother even if she was a widow. Jesus is the brother of folks they know by name who are not extraordinary. What they say about Jesus as carpenter, son, and brother is true, but it paints far less than a complete, whole or accurate picture of who Jesus is now. It is like saying the ocean is made of water and it’s wet. That’s true, but it hardly communicates the whole truth about what the ocean is.
There is a saying, “Familiarity breeds contempt.” In a way, the problem of the people is they’re so sure who Jesus was they can’t see who he is. This can happen in communities and families where someone is always seen through the lenses of the past or their childhood or youth. You’re always “little Johnnie” no matter what you’ve done or where you are now in life. The people are so surprised and disbelieving that all they can say is, “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!” They can see that he has wisdom and power is at work in him, but they’re incredulous and skeptical. We can look at this and say, “I’d never be that way,” but can familiarity with Jesus over a period of time dull our belief in what he can do also?
Jesus’ response is also one of astonishment or amazement at their unbelief. The contrast is stark between the remarkable words and deeds of Jesus to this point in Mark’s Gospel and the unbelief of Jesus’ own people. We’re used to reading miracle stories in the Gospels; this is an un-miracle story. If Al Michaels who announced the 1980 US Olympic hockey games went with Jesus to his home town and exclaimed, “Do you believe in miracles?” The answer would apparently be, “No.”
Mark says, “And he could do no deed of power there,” This doesn’t mean Jesus can’t do anything unless we also have faith because there are several stories of Jesus healing people regardless of their lack of faith. However, it is clear that the attitude of the people around him clearly had a dampening effect on Jesus’ work. It also marked the end of his time there, rather than stay and argue with his own people or try to convince them, Jesus moved on. Rather than fight, Jesus left to try and find a more receptive audience. The bad news is Jesus is rejected and he leaves. The good news is that rejection does not serve to discourage him nor does it put a stop to his work.
Rejection hurts and in turn causes other feelings as well, like a domino effect, perhaps we may feel embarrassed, lonely, or sad. When we are rejected or feel rejected, we are wise if we learn from what Jesus does in this passage. Faced with rejection, Jesus didn’t wallow in self-pity; he didn’t start a fight, he didn’t lash out at the people. He carried on and moved on.
The rejection at Jesus’ hometown synagogue did not hinder the mission for long. In fact, it may have given impetus to the commissioning of the twelve for their first assignment. This was why Jesus had chosen the “twelve” in chapter 3. Since that point, they were preparing for their own mission. In chapter 4, Jesus taught them about the nature of God’s reign and gave them private instruction. In chapter 5, Jesus performed acts of deliverance and healing for them to witness. Finally, just before he sent them out, the mission experienced rejection, as a sign of what was to be expected in their work also (see verse 11). It helps to take some of the pressure off the disciples to know that even Jesus was rejected by some people and so they shouldn’t be surprised if they experience some rejection also. Only in Mark did Jesus command the disciples to take a staff and wear sandals. This may imply the length of their journey. They’re in for the long haul even though there will be difficult days and seasons when they want to quit. There are two things to note.
First, the disciples were to continue the work of Jesus in households. This was not totally unanticipated, in light of Jesus’ own successful activity in the homes surrounding Galilee. In Mark, Jesus’ message and activity in the synagogues had been growing less successful as the story unfolds, including this latest rejection in 6:1-6. Synagogues, with established religious traditions and authorities, were not always open to new ideas and activities that may have represented a new move of God. Religion in a synagogue was familiar, there were expectations. Christianity ended up flourishing and spreading through house churches where there wasn’t a tradition to be overcome and we see that beginning in Mark 6 with the change in strategy from synagogue to households. Like the disciples, God is sending us also to share about the kingdom of God as we go about our life.
Secondly, Jesus prepared his disciples for potential rejection and tells them what to do when it happens. Wherever rejection existed, so would judgment: “shake off the dust that is on your feet” (6:11). We can’t control how other people respond, only how we share the message of Jesus. According to this account, their mission was successful (6:12-13).
It seems to me that Mark 6 tells us something about the relationship between faith and significant events. Because of their unbelief Jesus couldn’t do any mighty work among his own people except to heal a few folks. The implication is if they had believed in him, Jesus could have done a great deal more. The spiritual climate of a congregation or the belief of an individual, whether there is a sense of expectancy, an openness to the power of God at work through Jesus has a great deal to do with what God’s power can accomplish in our life or in a particular community. We can create the climate where God can do great things or we can quench the Spirit (see 1 Thessalonians 5:16-22, “Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not despise the words of prophets,e 21 but test everything; hold fast to what is good; 22 abstain from every form of evil.)
The reason that Jesus’ own people didn’t believe in him was they thought they knew him so well that they couldn’t conceive that God could be at work through the familiar and the everyday. Some people are like the Pharisees who are always looking for exotic, extraordinary signs (8:11) and they miss how God is present and at work in the world and people all around us everyday. They didn’t realize there was more present in Jesus than they knew. They underestimated Jesus.
Whether we respond to Jesus with recognition or rejection depends a great deal on us. Do we see the value of what is in front of us or not? This past week we celebrated Independence Day and that reminded me of a story from 1989 of a collector who spent $4 at a Pennsylvania flea market for a dismal painting because he liked the frame and ended up possessing a copy of a first printing of the Declaration of Independence. The discovery was announced by David N. Redden, head of the book and manuscript department at Sotheby’s in Manhattan. Mr. Redden described the document, found behind the painting when the collector took the frame apart, as an “unspeakably fresh copy” of the Declaration. “The fact that it has been in the backing of the frame preserved it,” he said. Of the 24 copies known to survive, only 3 are in private hands, he added.
Mr. Redden said the unidentified owner bought the painting, “a dismal dark country scene with a signature he could not make out,” for its gilded and ornately carved frame. He told Mr. Redden that he discarded the painting, which he disliked. When he realized the frame was crudely made and unsalvageable, he said he got rid of it also. The Declaration sold for millions of dollars.
Jesus was more valuable than the people in his hometown recognized and they rejected him and basically tossed him aside. Fortunately, Jesus had a strong and clear sense of identity that helped him cope. I’ve been speaking about being rejected by others this morning, but there is another kind of rejection that I think should be mentioned before I close and which may be the toughest type of rejection of all and that is self-rejection. Henri Nouwen, wrote the book Life of the Beloved, in response to a request by a friend to explain the spiritual life in terms that he and his friends could understand, avoiding theology and technical language. Nouwen’s response was “You are the Beloved.” In that book he wrote, “Over the years, I have come to realize that the greatest trap in our life is not success, popularity, or power, but self-rejection. Success, popularity, and power can, indeed, present a great temptation, but their seductive quality often comes from the way they are part of the much larger temptation to self-rejection. When we have come to believe in the voices that call us worthless and unlovable, then success, popularity, and power are easily perceived as attractive solutions. The real trap, however, is self-rejection. Self-rejection is the greatest enemy of the spiritual life because it contradicts the sacred voice that calls us the “Beloved.” Being the Beloved expresses the core truth of our existence” (pages 31-33).
What do we take from this passage from Mark today? Don’t underestimate Jesus. Don’t be so sure of what you know that you’re not open to God doing new things. Can you see things that don’t fit your expectations? Are you open to have a paradigm shift? Be careful how you measure people, especially those you’ve known a long time. Be like a tailor, measure everyone new each time you see them, they may have changed. If you’ve been rejected, follow the example of Jesus and the disciples and go and do something for someone else, rather than wallowing in self-pity. Just as Jesus sent the disciples out on a journey of faith to live and share the good news, we are also sent on a similar journey in our time. We are to travel light and trust God and persevere for the long haul. We’re accountable for sharing, not for the results. Remember if you’re having a hard time with human rejection in some form, that in God’s eyes we are all beloved.