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Sermon - July 5nd, 2009
No Honor at Home
Rev. Gwen Drake
Scripture: Mark 6:1-6
Prayer of Preparation: We give thanks, O God of sacred stories, for the witness of your word today. Through Scripture you challenge our assumptions, increase our awareness, nurture our imaginations, and touch our feelings. Bless the hearing of the word today. Speak to us and grant that by the power of your Spirit we may be hearers and doers of your word. Amen.
My first horse that I did 4-H on was a smart and spunky horse, half Arabian, half Welsh, named Comanche. He was a horse who loved to run and could turn on a dime. One time when I was 13, I think, I took him to the 4-H Show in Heppner and was riding him around the fairgrounds. One of my classmates came up to me, one of the popular girls who usually didn’t have all that much to say to me. But she wanted something. She wanted to ride my horse. She was my new best friend. Now, I am pretty sure that I asked her if she knew how to ride a horse. And of course she said yes. So she climbed into the saddle, took the reins, I let go of my horse, and he took off through a paved parking lot full speed. I ran after them. They disappeared around one of the fair buildings and when I got around that building, I saw my horse swerve to miss a car, slip on the pavement, and off went the girl. Someone grabbed the girl, someone else grabbed my horse, and I was so upset and scared, all I could do was cry. Fortunately, the injuries were only scrapes and bruises. And my new best friend was not my best friend anymore. And I learned a lesson I’ll never forget that day. Beware of people who want to be your instant best friend!
There are many stories in the Bible that tell us to be persistent and patient and to never give up or give in. There is the story of Joseph who was sold into slavery in Egypt who had many ups and downs in his life, but eventually he made it to the top and was reconciled with his family. There is Moses who had to convince the Pharaoh to let his people go and lead his people to the Promised Land, not an easy job for this group of people who often complained that slavery was easier than freedom in the wilderness. Nevertheless, Moses persevered and got them to the Promised Land.
There are also stories in the Bible about changing directions, giving up, quitting what you are doing and trying something new—like what God wants you to do. There’s a funny story in Numbers about Balaam and his donkey. Balaam, a prophet got an invitation to speak to the King of Moab. He accepted the invitation and he and his donkey took off to Moab. God was not happy about this decision and sent an angel down to stop Balaam. Balaam didn’t see the angel, who had a sword drawn, standing in the middle of the road, but the donkey did. The donkey didn’t like the looks of that angel and turned off the road. Balaam struck his disobedient donkey and they headed back to the road. However, the angel blocked the donkey’s path again. This happened three times and each time Balaam struck his donkey, with growing anger. After the third time, Balaam heard the donkey say, “What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times.” Balaam replied (I would have been speechless!) “Because you have made a fool of me!” The donkey had something to say after that comment, telling Balaam that he had always been loyal and obedient and didn’t deserve such treatment. God then opened Balaam’s eyes so he could see the angel. However, it took a balking, talking donkey for God to get Balaam’s attention.
Another familiar story is the conversion of the Apostle Paul on the road to Damascas. On the way to persecute more Christians, God stopped Paul in his tracks with a flash of light that knocked him down. Paul heard the voice of Jesus, “Why do you persecute me?”
Later in Acts, Paul tells the story of his conversion to King Agrippa and adds that Jesus not only asked Paul, “Why do you persecute me?” He said, “It hurts you to kick against the goads.” Goads are sharpened sticks that shepherds use to get sheep to go where they want them to go. The sheep will kick against the goads because they hurt when they want to stay where they are. The shepherds “goad” them until they move.
Paul is telling King Agrippa that God had to goad him into going a different direction in his life. Sometimes that can happen to us, too. We have painful experiences, frustrations, obstacles that keep getting in our way of what we want to do.
If this keeps happening, we have some difficult discerning to do. We need to ask ourselves: Are these things happening just to test my character and my perseverance? Or is someone trying to tell me something? Am I supposed to turn around and go a different direction? Is God goading me?
When Jesus went back to his hometown, back to Nazareth, he began teaching in the synagogue. Some were astounded. Some asked questions. They were full of doubt and skepticism. “Is this guy not the son of a carpenter and the son of Mary? Aren’t his brothers and sister here with us? Isn’t he just a hometown boy? Why does he think he is so special?”
Jesus responded by saying, “Prophets have no honor in their hometown and with their relatives and in their own house.” It’s one of those truths that doesn’t seem to make sense. It’s a foreshadowing of what is to come, for sure, because eventually Jesus is rejected and executed. But why? Why do the people who know him best give him no honor?
Perhaps it is because God was goading them through Jesus. God sent Jesus as a prophet, to tell us that the problem is not out there; the problem is at home. Jesus went home and confronted his friends and relatives, the people who watched him grow up. You just don’t do that. There is no way that I can go back to my hometown and tell them how to live, tell them to change their ways. I would not dare to tell my brother that he needs to become an organic wheat farmer. Even if I have all the evidence in the world that it is better for the environment, I can’t tell him that. He wouldn’t listen. He’d tell me to keep my Al Gore politics to myself. I don’t know what’s best for the people in Heppner. There is no honor for a prophet in their own hometown.
Jesus knew that and he spoke his message anyway, being truthful and confrontive, saying what needed to be said. He goaded the people and it hurt.
If we have a whole lot of trouble in our lives, it is a cause for self-reflection, self-examination. Maybe there is something new we need to learn. And please, I’m not saying that God causes bad things to happen to teach us a lesson. I don’t believe in a God who manipulates us and controls us like that. But I do believe that we make choices in our lives that hurt ourselves. I learned a lesson that day when I let a girl ride my horse. What I’m saying is be open and prepared for God to say something to us. The only way we can hear God is if we listen. God speaks gently and quietly usually. Later on, though, God just may be speaking to us with a goad.
It is worth considering. If life is not going the way you think it should, if there is one obstacle after another, frustration after frustration, one door closing after another, then maybe you need to ask, what do I need to learn from this? What is God telling me? Where is the grace? Is someone trying to tell me something? Listen. For someone just might be calling your name. Listen.
Amen.