Hometown Nazareth: Mark 6:1-13 - Fifth Sunday after Epiphany

June is a long way off, but a decision had to be made: what will be the theme for this year’s Vacation Bible School?

Scuba: Diving Into Friendship with God? Hometown Nazareth: Where Jesus Was a Kid? Start the Party: Celebrate the Gospel? Breaker Rock Beach? Outback Rock? Hero Hotline? Camp Firelight?

We’re never without options, but those of us who’ve been around for a while know that not all VBS programs are created equal. In my opinion, music is the most important thing, because it sets the tone for the whole week. But you need sound theology and good biblical storytelling. You need clear instructions. You need fun games and engaging crafts.

We decided that Scuba will be our theme for this year. Incidentally, Hometown Nazareth was the theme we used during my first VBS, which was also my first week in ministry.

It was fun to imagine what life was like for the boy Jesus growing up in that small farming town. 

Nazareth Village by Matt Howry on flickr. CC BY 2.0 DEED

Unfortunately, today’s Gospel shows us that Nazareth was not the fun and friendly place Vacation Bible School made it out to be…

Jesus goes with his disciples to Nazareth. On the Sabbath Day, he began to teach at his home synagogue, and the people were astonished. They could not believe the wisdom and power they were witnessing in “the carpenter.” Adding to the insult, they refer to Jesus as “Mary’s son.” Back then, people were usually referred to as the son or daughter of their father, not their mother. Thus, they are implying that Jesus is the child of an adulterous mother.

Ultimately, this is a verbal crucifixion of Jesus by the people he’d known for most of his life. He lived among them. He worked among them. He worshiped among them. But they were offended by God was doing in him. As a result, Jesus is only able to minister to a small number of sick people. From then on, he will reside in the town of Capernaum, about 40 miles away.

What we see here is something that happens all too often in small towns and tight-knit communities: some people build a reputation, while others are simply given one.

Many times, I’ve heard people criticize small town life, “because everyone knows your business.”

Years ago, I was visiting my grandmother in the small town where both of my parents grew up. A turn signal bulb went out, so I visited an auto parts store to buy a replacement. The man behind the counter recognized me right away, because of my resemblance to my paternal grandfather. Keep in mind, I never lived there, and my grandfather moved to Florida in 1986. Thankfully, he had a good reputation.

Still, it’s hard to be who you are when everyone else has made up their own minds about who you are.

This is especially true if you’re not part of a wealthy family or don’t work in a prestigious job; or if someone in your family has a bad reputation; or if you’ve made mistakes and you’re working to rebuild your life. People may believe things about you which have no basis in reality. It’s miserable to be the subject of gossip and rumors.

That’s the problem with sinners: we see the speck in the neighbor’s eye but not the plank in our own. We dwell on other people’s faults so that we don’t have to deal with our own. We feel good about ourselves by putting others down. We need to feel more worthy and deserving than “those people” so that we can be first.

It’s sad that the people who opposed Jesus were also those who were regarded as righteous and respectable. But there is a happy ending to this story: Jesus will demonstrate true righteousness by how he relates to sinners, outcasts, rejects, and nobodies. He doesn’t judge or condemn. He loves people. He accepts them. He takes away their shame by showing them that they matter to God.

As the Body of Christ, this is our call. This is our ministry. All around us are people who live beneath a veil of shame. Maybe it’s because their sins are widely known. Maybe it’s because of the sins of their parents, siblings, or children. Maybe it’s because they need public assistance and ministries like our clothing closet to get by.

I’ve said before that stepping into a church for the first time is one of the biggest leaps of faith a Christian will ever take, because you don’t know what you’re getting yourself into. Nothing stings the faith quite like the judgmental stare of a Christian, or the rumors and gossip that circulate so freely. And since every church is made up of sinners, we commit against one another the same sin committed against Jesus in his home synagogue. Unfortunately, being a welcoming church is not as easy as it sounds.

But Jesus has showed us how to take shame and anxiety away: he ministered to people outside the synagogues. He met people where they were. He ministered to people not by talking at them, but by listening and building relationships. He ate at sinners' tables. He befriended tax collectors. He trespassed against the boundaries that the privileged classes worked so hard to enforce.

It’s inevitable that in a small town, you’re going to know other people’s business. But the real question is, do those other people know how much we care? Do they know that they matter to God? Do they know that in Christ, they can begin again?

Every one of us is a new creation in Christ. You die to sin and rise to new life every day. We might not be able to cure diseases like Jesus did, but we can take away people’s shame. We can take away the sting of gossip, rumors, and bad reputations. We can take away the fear that keeps people hiding in the shadow of hopelessness.

Hometown Nazareth was not a good place for Jesus. But we can make Hometown Leechburg a place to know Jesus Christ, and this church to be a home where anyone can become the person God created you to be.