July 4, 2021 – Pentecost +6B – Mark 6:1-13

[Jesus] 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.” Mark 6:1-13

Low self-esteem is endemic among girls in our society – and it begins as early as age nine. From age nine to their college years, most girls will feel negative feelings about themselves – their looks, their weight, their hair, their status in society. Now, sometimes we feel badly about ourselves because of the running commentary that we carry inside our heads – constantly running through how we feel about the world, about that driver in front of us, about our work-mates, about the pastor and his or her long sermons – and about ourselves. Sometimes, the low self-esteem comes from the comments we are constantly bombarded with – from advertisers and promoters who tell us constantly that we are too tall, too short, too ugly, too heavy, too thin, and yes, too hometown.

The year I was ordained into the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the year of our Lord 2005, I was invited to my home congregation to preach. They were celebrating one of those significant milestones in their history, and they were inviting back those pastors and “Sons or Daughters” of the congregation who were still alive. Now, to be a son or daughter of a congregation means you are someone who grew up in the church to become a pastor or rostered leader of some kind. I believe I am counted as a son of both St. Paul in Millersburg and St. John in Shiremanstown, even though I did not grow up at St. John’s…..but they supported me through seminary. Anyway, as I recall, I looked toward this event with a mix of anticipation and dread. You see, in Millersburg, I grew up not only in the Sunday school rooms and the choir lofts, but also the closets and the basement hiding places of the church. They saw the good, but mostly the bad side of me. So when I preached, though I thought I knocked that sermon out of the park, (at least that is what my mother told me), all they could comment upon was how bad I was as a kid. I won’t go as far as to say they “took offense at me”, but I sure was a little offended at their comments. But who can blame them. I will say this, it did nothing for my self-esteem as a newly ordained pastor.

This was the dilemma Jesus faced on this day in the Synagogue – he went home to preach and the people, the ones already suffering from low self-esteem from years of oppression from the occupying government and their own religious rules, he went home to preach – and all the people could tell him was about the stuff from his childhood. They told him he was too ordinary, too hometown, too like them, too Nazarean to be anything special. Familiarity does breed contempt, Amen?

Even in the church, even in the 21^st century, familiarity does not always mean people will respect you. So, from an outsider’s point of view, you are almost doubly cursed when trying to join a congregation – or trying to become involved in the leadership of a congregation. Think about it – we the churched, are the insiders today – the hometowners — we are the modern day version of the people of Nazareth. We are a body of humans who, in one form or another, have the thought within us that we are not worthy to be here – and neither is anybody else. In one manner or another, many of us do not feel so good about ourselves – and we project those feelings onto others. And to carry this thought further my friends, there are many Protestant churches today who are not feeling very good about themselves. In fact, there are many local Lutheran and Methodist, and Presbyterian churches, among many others now mind you, who are in a great decline – their budgets, their offerings, and their attendance are all declining. The Protestant and the many Mainline denominations are on a forced diet – to such a point that many of them feel very badly about themselves. So, how are they supposed to bring people into the church when they don’t necessarily have a lot of good feelings about the present, and the future? What authority do they carry in the community if not the world, anymore?

What is G-d doing? We will never fully know. But we are called to trust G-d to guide us along this journey. As such, we are sent, we are commissioned to go and proclaim – not caring what the people will say to us, or about us. There will be those who reject us – to those people we should not feel an ounce of dejection – because even Jesus was not accepted in every situation. No in every situation where we are proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom of G-d we should feel good because we are faithful to the commission to proclaim the kingdom. It will be through Word and Deed, through Word and Sacrament, through Ministry and Worship, through Teaching and Discipleship that we will proclaim the Gospel – and our success is not determined in numbers – it is determined in faithfulness. Success is determined in the measure that we share the Love, Mercy and Grace of Jesus with each other, and with all people – everyone we encounter.

Pastor Dave

July 3, 2021 — A Study on the Book of Hebrews

“Therefore we must pay greater attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it. For if the message declared through angels was valid, and every transgression or disobedience received a just penalty, how can we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? It was declared at first through the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard him, while God added his testimony by signs and wonders and various miracles, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit, distributed according to his will.” Hebrews 2:1-4

“Therefore. This word always points us back to what was previously said. To the superiority of Jesus’ message and to his being. What the author is going to tell us flows out of that. I listen when my wife shares her day with me. It is important in the sense that she is important to me and it allows me to participate in her life. But there is no expectation that I am going to retain everything I hear. And I generally to not have to act on it. But when my surgeon talks to me about the potential issues with my surgery, and what I need to do to recover quickly and well, I listen differently. I pay attention. What he is saying to me is very important.” (“A Warning to Pay Attention – Hebrews 2:1-4” November 15, 2019 by Ed Jarrett)

The audience of this letter is most likely Jewish Christians, most likely living in Jerusalem. And it appears that these followers are beginning to falter in their belief that Jesus was the long-expected Messiah. Since Jesus was not the “militaristic” Messiah expected, many must have begun to question that Jesus was the right guy. As such, the author of Hebrews is exhorting them to stand firm in the faith. He is afraid of “faith-drift” — the same faith-drift that is endemic in our society today. If G-d does not answer our prayers right now, we cease in praying. If G-d does not solve our problems today, we find a different “messiah” — one whose instructions and promises fit our own world-view. That is why the author is so adamant that we do not drift away from the words of promise about Jesus. When things do not go our way, we need to trust, to persevere, to endure, and to keep on believing — with the help of the Holy Spirit.

After this pandemic, too many people are drifting in doubt, despair and pain. We have lost so much – jobs, stability, daycare – division seems to be all around us, whether it is political thinking, medical advice, or religious practice.

I believe it is past time that we begin to pay attention to what G-d is saying in our lives, and how G-d is working in our lives. It is time to pay attention – because what the Holy Spirit is speaking to you and to me is very, very important.

Pastor Dave