Jesus grew up in the village of Nazareth, where he most likely assisted his father Joseph in his work as an artisan. The word “tekton” means one who works with their hands – in wood or stone or light metals or even as a potter. Thi9s was not considered to be highly skilled work and was often the work performed by peasants who had lost their land. Sepphoris was the largest city in the Galilee. The Romans had laid waste to it and were now employing a large work force to completely rebuild it. A short journey from Nazareth, we ca easily visualize Joseph and his apprentice son waling the road and talking about the people’s hope for deliverance from the Roman occupation.
Perhaps it was after Joseph had died, leaving Jesus bereft of a strong male figure to protect him from the gossip surrounding his birth, that Jesus went south and became a disciple of John the Immerser. In Luke’s gospel, we see Jesus at age 12 talking with the elders in the Temple but none of the gospels reveal where he was during what’s been called “The Missing Years” – and no, it’s fantasy to speculate that Jesus went East and studied with the Buddha. At least some of that time was spent learning John’s Mishnah.
Following John’s martyrdom, Jesus along with a couple of John’s other disciples, go north to the relative safety of the Galilee. Jesus picks up the mantle of John’s mission – proclaiming the nearness of the Kingdom of God and calling people to repent – to change their hearts and minds and wills – and live into this good news. Jesus gathers about himself disciples and centered in the seaside town of Capernaum, most likely at Simon Peter’s home, Jesus travels widely; preaching and healing and exorcizing. Although, to be honest, the distinction between curing illness and exorcising unclean spirits – in Greek, “demons” – is fuzzy at best.
Finally, Jesus decides to go home. It’s clear that this is not a family visit because he takes his disciples with him. This is an evangelism mission.
Yeshua, a fairly common Jewish name, had gathered some fame as one of John’s disciples and for the mighty works he was said to have performed, and thus was a welcome guest preacher.
The initial response was quite positive. The people marveled at his wisdom. Until someone in the back of the congregation recognized him. “Hey, wait a minute. Isn’t that Mary’s boy? He and his dad repaired our shed years ago. Y’all know his brothers and sisters…”
Son of Mary. Jewish boys are sons of their fathers – Simon bar Jonah, James & John the sons of Zebedee. In effect “This is Mary’s boy, who knows for sure who his daddy is.” All the old ugliness came back. Mark sums it up simply: “They took offense at him.”
This is the story of familiarity breeding contempt. The villagers were thinking “We’re as good as he is but we can’t teach like he does, so his teaching is not wise and he didn’t do those things they say he did.” Jesus is amazed at their closed minds and closed hearts. Jesus observes that other messengers of God – the Prophets – had similar experiences.
Now Luke takes this story from Mark and embellishes it. In Luke, the people don’t just “take offense at him,” but seek to kill him. Jesus barely gets away with his life. Mark is not quite so dramatic, but this story signals the ending of the Galilean ministry. Jesus begins to set his face toward Jerusalem.
The second story is of Jesus sending the 12 out on a missionary journey. Their time of preparation is ending. They are sent – the word “apostle” means “sent” – sent to proclaim the Kingdom and while doing so, to heal the sick and free the demon plagued. They are to carry no provisions but to depend on the hospitality Jewish custom requires of fellow Jews. If someone refuses to receive them, they are to shake the dust from their sandals as a witness against those homes. What did that mean?
Pious Jews, when returning to the Holy Land of Palestine from Gentile territory, would shake the dust from their shoes at the border so as not to contaminate the Holy Land and God’s holy people with the soil of profane places. Such a public witness by the disciples would serve to publicly proclaim that those who were inhospitable were heathens and worthy of God’s judgment when the Kingdom comes. Heavy stuff. Perhaps it caused some folks to rethink their reluctance to welcome Jesus’ friends – or maybe it just made the disciples feel better.
Some years ago, I had a conversation with a Mormon elder about their 2 x 2 missionary work, about how successful or unsuccessful the work was. He confided in me that the point was not to make converts. That is indeed very rare. But the rejection, house by house, has the effect of strengthening a Mormon boy’s faith.
The message of Mormon missionaries is, in a sense, a scolding for not believing what they believe and an invitation to change our minds before it is too late.
Was that the message of the 12? In going out 2 x 2 and healing the sick, exorcizing unclean spirits and bringing a greater spiritual wholeness, the 12 proclaimed hope to the poor showing compassion and love. Blessed are you poor. Blessed are you mourning the loss of loved ones to Roman violence. Blessed are you who are hungry or when you are excluded or reviled by the powerful; for God loves you and his reign is near. Live the good news.
Do y’all remember the TV show “Blackish”? It ran for some 8 years. In an episode called “Charity,” Dre, the husband and father, feels uncomfortable about getting directly involved with those in need. His wife, Bow – short for Rainbow – is a physician who travels the world to treat those in desperate need. Shamed by her into cleaning out his clothes closet, Dre is driving to a goodwill drop site with his Armani and Calvin Klein collection and resenting it. He sees a sleeping homeless man on a bus bench who is about his size. He quietly puts the bag of designer clothes on the bench and congratulates himself on his generosity – and on saving gasoline. Soon rumors circulate around town that Dre is a drunken bum because people have seen the well dressed sleeping homeless guy and assume it’s Dre because they do in fact resemble each other from a distance. Dre decides to buy the guy some nice new sweat clothes and get his designer stuff back. But as Dre is reaching for the bundle he’d left, the guy wakes up and cries out “I’m moving, I’m moving.” Dre says, “Hey man, let me buy you a cup of coffee.” And the homeless guy responds, “You’re not gonna talk to me about God are you?”
Now, sit with that for a bit.
They go into a coffee shop and talk and Dre discovers that they have a lot in common. Later, Dre confesses to his wife how tenuous his own growing up was, and how with one or two catastrophes, it could have been him on that bench. Scene –
Now sitcoms are by nature simplistic and sentimental, but where today’s gospel reading and this TV show touch each other is in the vulnerability of the character Dre and the vulnerability of the disciples on their mission and even the vulnerability of Jesus going home for the first and last time. These folks all went forth with open hands and open hearts seeking to bring a little hope to the broken, despised and dejected.
When love puts on her big girl pants and walks around outside, she becomes charity. Seeing others not as clients or problems to be solved but as brothers and sisters, all of us made in the image and likeness of God; equally loved by God. The task of seeking and serving Christ who comes to us incognito in the face of strangers in need – it is to them our reverence is due.
Two quotes to sum up our reflection today. The first is by Diana Butler Bass, who wrote:
“While contemporary Christians tend to equate morality with sexual ethics, our ancestors defined morality as welcoming the stranger. Unlike almost every other contested idea in Early Christianity, including the nature of Christ and the doctrine of the Trinity, the unanimous witness of the ancient fathers and mothers was that hospitality was the primary Christian virtue.”
And finally, from Verna Dozier:
“Where Jesus came, life was different. He proclaimed the gospel by being the gospel… (so) don’t tell me what you believe, tell me what difference it makes that you believe.”