“A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and among his own kin and in his own house.” These words of Jesus are probably proverbial. That is, they belong to the simple folk wisdom that is passed around the culture and handed on through the ages, something like, “The early bird gets the worm.” The simplicity and commonness of these words belie a hidden depth. Jesus’ words cut to the heart and should cause to rethink our lives and especially our interactions with one another.
When the Lord was teaching in the synagogue of his hometown, he did not receive a warm welcome, quite the opposite. They rejected Jesus. Our lectionary says the people “took offense at him.” “Took offense” does not fully capture what happened. That phrase translates the word σκανδαλἰζω, which means to cause to sin, which is to say, to create a scandal in the authentic sense. Mark’s Gospel is telling us that the teachings of Jesus so repulsed the people that they not only rejected him but began to sin because of him. It is as if they heard what he said and then went about doing the opposite to spite him. This response should shock and appall us. Jesus tells us the summation of all the law and the prophets is to love God and love your neighbor. What community, which undoubtedly claims to seek God and happiness, could reject that one teaching? What community could be so offended by those words that they would forsake Jesus?
We could. We have. We are the community that has cast Jesus out of its midst and chosen sin instead. Jesus is present in every single person on Earth. If we want to see the face of God, then we only need to look around us. And if we look around, we will see that many faces are missing, because we spend more time making rules to exclude than trying to bring people to Christ. Anyone who joins us has to dress a certain way, act a certain way, and vote a certain way, and their babies must be absolutely silent. We have elevated our social, cultural, and political preferences above the law of God, which is the very sin and hypocrisy for which Jesus condemned the Pharisees.
Jesus spent his life eating with sinners and ministering to anyone who was willing to listen. He sought out prostitutes, tax collectors, and anyone who felt lost or abandoned. He didn’t exclude because of how they dressed, thought, or acted. He welcomed them, embraced them, and offered them mercy. Jesus’ final words on the cross were welcoming a dirty, naked thief into the Kingdom of Heaven. But I fear if that same man were to try and walk in here today, we’d lock the doors, call the police, and never think of him again. This place is not a home for the perfect and righteous. The pews would be empty if it were. It is a home for sinners seeking mercy. It is a place to seek and find Jesus Christ. It is a place of journeying. And we must allow people to make that journey from the very first step, no matter how far away, until the final one.
“A prophet is not without honor except…in his own house.” This parish is God’s house, but we have dishonored him in the strangers among us. Hearing his words and receiving his body and blood every week we have become complacent. Our hearts have hardened, and we are not allowing his grace to move us to love. This must change. Everyone who desires the mercy of God should find a home here, and it is our responsibility, driven by the grace of God, to make that happen.