Today’s gospel is, in its own way, part of a thread in Mark’s gospel in which the nature of the family of God is slowly revealed.
- In Mark 3:7-12, Jesus is calling and appointing 12 as apostles, the foundation of the family of the Church
- In v.21, Jesus’ biological family arrives on the scene: “When his relatives heard of this they set out to seize him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.”
- In v.35, we hear Jesus proclaim: “Here are my mother and my brothers. [For] whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”
Between chapters 3 and 6, the “family” grows as people witness the teachings and mighty deeds/miracles of Jesus and come to believe in Jesus.
The rejection of Jesus at Nazareth presents a strong contrast to all that and especially to the two miracles that preceded it (5:21-43; yesterday’s gospel). The healed woman is told, “Daughter, your faith has made you well” (5:34). Jairus is told, “Do not fear, only believe” (5:36). However, the hometown people have no faith (apistia, v. 6 — also used in 9:24 — “I believe, help my unbelief”). Jesus is unable to do many works of power (dynamis — v. 5, also in v. 2) — although he does some. The relationship between faith and works of power is a key element of the encounter.
The surprising contrasts lie not so much in his town’s rejection of him (“A prophet is not without honor …,” v. 4) as in his discouragement and ineffectiveness in their midst: “So he was not able to perform any mighty deed there, apart from curing a few sick people. He was amazed at their lack of faith” (vv. 5-6). Up to this point people have always been amazed and fearful in Jesus’ presence. Here Jesus is amazed at them and at the lack of faith he finds in Nazareth.
No matter how familiar each of us might be with Jesus, we would do well to evaluate the depth of our faith in Him in order to allow him to be as effective as He wants to be in our midst. Let Jesus be amazed at us for all the right reasons.
Image credit: Jesus in the Synagogue, unknown artist, Vatican News Service | Public Domain