Mark 6: 1-6

Background: Maintaining one’s honor is probably the most prized value of the society in which Jesus lived and worked. One form of honor came from being part of one’s family. Jesus would be expected to follow the trade of his father. Because of the scarcity of wood, carpenters were forced to leave their homes for long periods of time in order to practice their trade. This left the woman and children at home unprotected, a trait that diminished the their status within the community. Trying to rise above your family status was not acceptable, but in some cases honor could be earned.

Mark lets his reader know that Jesus' distress was real and impacted the way he was able to be present to them. Some may not appreciate how important this statement is for Mark’s community and for us. The gospels contain few references to Jesus affected by the support or rejection of others. The gospels often portray Jesus as one committed to the mission assigned to him by God. He is faithful to that task even if the disciples do not understand, the leaders of the synagogue reject him, the people lose faith and he is turned over to the Romans as a criminal for execution. Reading the passion one can get the impression that Jesus knows exactly what is going to happen even before it takes place. But along side the Jesus who is totally dedicated to being obedient to God is the Jesus who is very much affected by those who are closest to him. To highlight how much this experience does affect Jesus, the reader should know that from that point on in Mark's gospel, Jesus never again enters a synagogue.

1. Do you know people who feel rejected by their family and friends? What impact does that have on them? Can you think of people who live with that kind of sense of rejection daily?
2. Has there been a time in your life when you felt rejected by the people closet to you? How does your experience affect your ability to understand what Mark is describing in this gospel text?
3. The people of Nazareth rejected Jesus because he was too ordinary, too much like them. Do you ever think of Jesus as being too ordinary, too much like yourself? What does that suggest to you about how your relate to Jesus?
4. Mark seems to indicate that Jesus’ ability was affected by the lack of acceptance of the people. How do you understand this? Do you think it is true today? What do you think is the relationship of faith to God’s ability to act in your life?
5. Does the fact that people who knew Jesus and his family best were not able to see in him anything beyond what they already knew, give you any insights into yourself or others?

(Comments to Paul at frpaul@franoutreach.org.)

Serving the University of Houston, Main Campus