July 9, 2006
Proper 9 - B
Book of Common Prayer Lectionary
Ezekiel 2:1-7
Psalm 123
2 Corinthians 12:2-10
Mark 6:1-6

Revised Common Lectionary
Ezekiel 2:1-5
Psalm 123
2 Corinthians 12:2-10
Mark 6:1-13
Reflection and Response
Prayer Starter

Today's readings remind us of the cost that always accompanies the call to a prophetic mission. In the first reading, God commissions Ezekiel as a prophet to the exiled and rebellious kingdom of Judah. The psalmist laments his troubles and pleads for God's mercy. Paul speaks of revelations and thorns in the flesh. In the gospel, Jesus is rejected by his own townspeople.

First Reading: Ezekiel 2:1-7
Ezekiel was a priest (1:3) who was taken away to Babylon at the time of the first capture of Jerusalem in 597 B.C. In exile, he was cut off from the presence of God in the temple and from his priestly role as mediator between God and God's people. In today's reading, however, after a vision of God's glory appearing on a movable throne outside of the temple, Ezekiel is commissioned as a prophet and given a set of instructions (1:28b-3:27). He is to announce the Lord's will to "the people of Israel" (meaning the exiles of Judah not those in the former northern kingdom which no longer existed) whether they listen or not.

The "spirit" (v. 2) who entered Ezekiel is the Spirit of the Lord. In the times of the early prophets, the action of the Spirit was associated with ecstatic prophesy among the bands of prophets (1 Samuel 10:5, 19:20-24). This style of prophecy became associated with the cult of Baal, and thus, mention of the Spirit seems to have been avoided by the eighth-century prophets who speak instead of hearing the word of the Lord. Ezekiel (11:5, 37:1) and later writings of the book of Isaiah (Isaiah 61:1) reintroduce the role of the Spirit to prophetic literature. Ezekiel's success is not dependent upon the response of the people. The words of the Lord have an independent existence that will provide a framework of interpretation so that coming events will be seen as the acts of the Lord.

Ezekiel 2:1-7
He said to me:
O mortal, stand up on your feet,
and I will speak with you.
And when he spoke to me,
a spirit entered into me and set me on my feet;
and I heard him speaking to me.
He said to me,
Mortal, I am sending you to the people of Israel,
to a nation of rebels who have rebelled against me;
they and their ancestors have transgressed
against me to this very day.
The descendants are impudent and stubborn.
I am sending you to them,
and you shall say to them,
"Thus says the Lord GOD."
Whether they hear or refuse to hear
(for they are a rebellious house),
they shall know that there has been a prophet among them.
And you, O mortal, do not be afraid of them,
and do not be afraid of their words,
though briers and thorns surround you
and you live among scorpions;
do not be afraid of their words,
and do not be dismayed at their looks,
for they are a rebellious house.
You shall speak my words to them,
whether they hear or refuse to hear;
for they are a rebellious house.

Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 123
This psalm is a lament in which the psalmist expresses confidence in God by the analogy of an attentive servant watching a master and hoping for a favor to be given. The psalmist hopes for an end to the contempt and humiliating insults that the arrogant now heap on them.

Psalm 123
To you I lift up my eyes,
O you who are enthroned in the heavens!
As the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master,
as the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress,
so our eyes look to the LORD our God,
until he has mercy upon us.
Have mercy upon us, O LORD,
have mercy upon us,
for we have had more than enough of contempt.
Our soul has had more than its fill
of the scorn of those who are at ease,
of the contempt of the proud.

Second Reading: 2 Corinthians 12:2-10
The severe tone of the last chapters of 2 Corinthians (chaps. 10-13) differs so sharply from the peaceful theme of chapters 1-9, which speak of conflicts now resolved, that most scholars believe that chapters 10-13 originally were separate. Many suggest that they may be all or part of the earlier letter written "out of much distress" (2:4) between 1 Corinthians and 2 Corinthians. Or these chapters may have been the body of a later letter, sent after receiving discouraging news of the Corinthian congregation.

In chapters 10-13, Paul defends himself with bitter irony against certain "super-apostles" (11:5) who ridicule his unimpressive physical appearance and speaking style (10:10) and his refusal to take money (11:7-11, 12:13-18). They prove their authority by their Jewish descent (11:22), their signs (12:12), and their "visions and revelations" (12:1). For them, authority equals power (11:20).

Although Paul can and does make equivalent claims, as in today's reading, to do so is to speak "as a fool" (11:21, 12:11). By describing his revelation in the third person, Paul distances himself from this experience-it is a personal matter, not the basis for his apostolic authority. Instead, as a counterpart, he is afflicted with "a thorn...in the flesh" (v. 7). The exact nature of the thorn is not specified. It may have been a physical or emotional illness or an external affliction such as the opposition of his fellow Jews. But Paul's authority as a true apostle is revealed through such weakness. The end Paul seeks, that is, the evidence of his authority, is revealed by the Lord paradoxically by means Paul does not at first recognize.

2 Corinthians 12:2-10
I know a person in Christ
who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven-
whether in the body or out of the body I do not know;
God knows.
And I know that such a person-
whether in the body or out of the body I do not know;
God knows-
was caught up into Paradise
and heard things that are not to be told,
that no mortal is permitted to repeat.
On behalf of such a one I will boast,
but on my own behalf I will not boast,
except of my weaknesses.
But if I wish to boast, I will not be a fool,
or I will be speaking the truth.
But I refrain from it,
so that no one may think better of me
than what is seen in me or heard from me,
even considering the exceptional character of the revelations.
Therefore, to keep me from being too elated,
a thorn was given me in the flesh,
a messenger of Satan to torment me,
to keep me from being too elated.
Three times I appealed to the Lord about this,
that it would leave me,
but he said to me,
"My grace is sufficient for you,
for power is made perfect in weakness."
So, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses,
so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.
Therefore I am content with weaknesses,
insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities
for the sake of Christ;
for whenever I am weak,
then I am strong.

Gospel: Mark 6:1-13
The account of Jesus' rejection by his relatives and townspeople comes near the end of the Galilean ministry, and signals an extension of his kingdom ministry beyond the narrow confines of Galilee. The story echoes the Markan pattern found earlier in Capernaum where Jesus' teaching first evokes astonishment (1:22) and ends on a note of hostility (3:6) because he does not conform to their limited stereotypes of who he is and what he can and ought to be. This pattern will later appear in Jerusalem and his rejection there will end in his death (chaps. 12-14).

Verse 4 expresses a common idea in the literature of the time and occurs in several non-biblical writings. Mark has not yet explicitly identified Jesus as a prophet, but it certainly would have been a popular way to identify him and his teaching, as it was of John the Baptist (6:15, 8:27-28). The hometown people's narrow view of Jesus and inability to see him in this prophetic role cuts them off from the new way of salvation that Jesus offers. Mighty deeds, which serve as pointers revealing the power with which this new way changes lives, are irrelevant when faith is absent.

For the early Church this story helped explain the mystery of Jesus' rejection by his people, the Jews, and his acceptance by the Gentiles. The refusal to recognize the Messiah because he did not conform to their narrowly constructed stereotypes blinds them to the awareness that God is doing something new here in the person and ministry of Jesus.

The commissioning and instruction of the Twelve is paralleled by Matthew (Matthew 10:1, 9-14) and Luke (Luke 9:1-5). But each account is adapted in a way reflecting each evangelist's particular emphasis. Mark uses the account of the commission of the Twelve to bracket the story of John the Baptist's death. The disciples, so often negatively portrayed by Mark, here are shown as participating in Jesus' own mission as set forth in 1:14-15, 32-39. The warnings about what should be taken indicate the urgency and sacred nature of their work. Jesus "began to send them out" (Greek, apostellein) as heralds, in word and deed, of the coming kingdom. In Mark, instead of taking nothing, the disciples are allowed staff and sandals. Perhaps he has modified the list for the more arduous non-Palestinian terrain familiar to his audience.

Verses 10-11 reflect the importance of hospitality in the mission of the early Church, for which Jesus' words set the standard. Pious Jews, when returning to the Holy Land, shook off alien dust before entering, lest they defile the land. Thus the 'shaking off of dust' symbolically marks a place as heathen, not part of the true Israel. It is acted out, not as a curse against, but as a solemn warning for, those who reject the disciples. The "apostles" report on their mission in 6:30. As Jesus' rejection in Nazareth (6:1-6) foreshadows the final repudiation in Jerusalem, so the sending forth of the disciples points toward the later mission of the Church.

Mark 6:1-13
He left that place and came to his hometown,
and his disciples followed him.
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!
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.
Then Jesus said to them,
"Prophets are not without honor,
except in their hometown,
and among their own kin,
and in their own house."
And he could do no deed of power there,
except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and cured them.
And he was amazed at their unbelief.
Then he went about among the villages teaching.
He called the twelve
and began to send them out two by two,
and gave them authority over the unclean spirits.
He ordered them to take nothing for their journey except a staff;
no bread, no bag, no money in their belts;
but to wear sandals and not to put on two tunics.
He said to them,
"Wherever you enter a house,
stay there until you leave the place.
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."
So they went out and proclaimed that all should repent.
They cast out many demons,
and anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.

Reflection and Response
The message in today's scripture readings is that God works through the flesh, all human frailty and weakness notwithstanding. Ours is an incarnational faith, and if we could but grasp the dynamic implications of this reality, each professing Christian could become a powerhouse of God's activity in the world.

The prophets who became spokespersons for God all felt inadequate to the call and protested their incompetence before God. In one way or another, God stood them on their feet. Ezekiel said, "The spirit entered into me, and set me upon my feet." Paul's very weakness served the purpose of allowing the Holy Spirit to be the power that made him God's messenger.

Jesus, in whom the fullness of the Godhead dwelt, emptied himself to become fully human. As faithful people of God, we have also found that as we empty ourselves, the Holy Spirit fills us and dwells in us. Our lives become channels of God's grace and power. However, self-emptying is neither a popular nor a well-understood idea. The buzzwords of our time are self-fulfillment and self-attainment, and self-seeking impulses often dominate our activities. Few realize that the spiritual world also abhors a vacuum, and that God, bidden to do so, will fill any offered space with the heavenly grace, life and power to work miracles of redemption in our lives.

Even so, we are not to expect all to understand or to be receptive to our incarnational experience. Jesus fared no better than the prophets before him. Their descendants jeered and suspected him. Satan is always present, throwing up barriers to faith. Even in the wilderness, Satan tempted Jesus to doubt his calling: "If you are the Son of God..."
Likewise, the devil sabotages faith in Nazareth. Jesus came to his own home and his own people said, "Who does he think he is?" God's enemy pulls the same trick on us when we are about to dare something for the Lord. Satan whispers in our ears, "Who do you think you are?" After all, people know where we come from too, and our credentials are not all that great. So our adventure for the Lord is too often aborted by our lack of trust in God's sufficiency.

The Nazarene villagers knew Jesus as a working man, a carpenter, and gave no credence to his authority on religious matters. We, on the other hand, are inclined to regard him as a religious teacher, doubting his relevance to the modern world of business, politics and international affairs. When we hesitate to apply his teachings to practical issues, we forfeit the experience of his sufficiency to work wonders through us.

Quietly consider:
How can I discover ways to continue Jesus' prophetic mission in our world today?

Prayer Starter
God, you send me even though people might not listen. Help me to...