A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house

 Then He went out from there and came to His own country, and His disciples followed Him.  And when the Sabbath had come, he began to teach in the synagogue.  And many hearing Him were astonished, saying, "Where did this Man get these things?  And what wisdom is this which is given to Him, that such mighty works are performed by His hands!  Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon?  And are not His sisters here with us?"  So they were offended at Him.  But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house."  Now He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them.  And He marveled because of their unbelief.  Then He went about the villages in a circuit, teaching.

And He called the twelve to Himself, and began to send them out two by two, and gave them power over unclean spirits.  He commanded them to take nothing for the journey except a staff -- no bag, no bread, no copper in their money belts -- but to wear sandals, and not to put on two tunics.  Also He said to them, "In whatever place you enter a house, stay there till you depart from that place.  And whoever will not receive you nor hear you, when you depart from there, shake off the dust under your feet as a testimony against them.  Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!"  So they went out and preached that people should repent.  And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick, and healed them.

- Mark 6:1-13

Yesterday, we read that after the encounter with the Gadarene demoniac, and when Jesus had crossed over again by boat to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, back to Capernaum, a great multitude gathered to Him; and He was by the sea.  And behold, one of the rulers of the synagogue came, Jairus by name.  And when he saw Him, he fell at His feet and begged Him earnestly, saying, "My little daughter lies at the point of death.  Come and lay Your hands on her, that she may be healed, and she will live."  So Jesus went with him, and a great multitude followed Him and thronged Him.  Now a certain woman had a flow of blood for twelve years, and had suffered many things from many physicians.  She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse.  When she heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment.  For she said, "If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well."  Immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of the affliction.  And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that power had gone out of Him, turned around in the crowd and said, "Who touched My clothes?"  But His disciples said to Him, "You see the multitude thronging You, and You say, 'Who touched Me?"  And He looked around to see her who had done this thing. But the woman, fearing and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth.  And He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well.  Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction."  While He was still speaking, some came from the ruler of the synagogue's house who said, "Your daughter is dead.  Why trouble the Teacher any further?"  As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, He said to the ruler of the synagogue, "Do not be afraid; only believe."  And he permitted no one to follow Him except Peter, James, and John the brother of James.  Then He came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and saw a tumult and those who wept and wailed loudly.  When He came in, He said to them, "Why make this commotion and weep?  The child is not dead, but sleeping."  And they ridiculed Him.  But when He had put them all outside, He took the father and the mother of the child, and those who were with Him, and entered where the child was lying.  Then He took the child by the hand, and said to her, "Talitha, cumi," which is translated, "Little girl, I say to you, arise."  Immediately the girl arose and walked, for she was twelve years of age.  And they were overcome with great amazement.  But He commanded them strictly that no one should know it, and said that something should be given her to eat.

Then He went out from there and came to His own country, and His disciples followed Him.  And when the Sabbath had come, he began to teach in the synagogue.  And many hearing Him were astonished, saying, "Where did this Man get these things?  And what wisdom is this which is given to Him, that such mighty works are performed by His hands!  Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon?  And are not His sisters here with us?"  So they were offended at Him.  Jesus goes to Nazareth in Galilee, the town where He was raised.  My study bible says that the double response of being both astonished and offended occurs frequently with the people who encounter Christ (see Luke 11:14-16; John 9:16).  The rejection of Christ in his own country, says my study bible, foreshadows His rejection by the whole Jewish nation at His trial before Pilate (John 19:14-15).  Jesus' brothers and sisters are His extended family, cousins and possibly children from an earlier marriage of Joseph.

And He called the twelve to Himself, and began to send them out two by two, and gave them power over unclean spirits.  He commanded them to take nothing for the journey except a staff -- no bag, no bread, no copper in their money belts -- but to wear sandals, and not to put on two tunics.  Also He said to them, "In whatever place you enter a house, stay there till you depart from that place.  And whoever will not receive you nor hear you, when you depart from there, shake off the dust under your feet as a testimony against them.  Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!"  So they went out and preached that people should repent.  And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick, and healed them.  These twelve are His closest disciples (see this reading), who are now being sent out as apostles.  Disciple means "learner."  An apostle is "one sent out."  Jesus sends them out two by two, bestowing on them His power over unclean spirits.  We note the great humility in which they are instructed to carry out their journey, echoing a sense of the prophets of Israel (which we also have seen in John the Baptist):  they take no baggage for the journey, no supplies nor food, no coins.  They have the clothes on their backs and not much else.  This is a clear reliance on God.  Jesus' instruction not to change lodgings from the first house in which they've been welcomed is designed to avoid "trading up" to richer accommodations.   This is about who will receive and hear them, and who will not.  And for those who will not, their response is a simple one:  to shake off the dust under their feet as a testimony against them.  Judgment, we note quite clearly and strongly in Jesus' language, is God's purview, not theirs.

When the apostles are taught to shake the dust from their feet as a testimony, we are faced with a kind of curious reality that Christ gives us.  It has to give us pause.  It's so far out of what we consider to be "reality," or the ways that life works.  There is no confrontation here, and no argument.  They are not to resort to any form of coercion.  But rather, Judgment belongs to God.  They are to preach the good word, the gospel message.  They preached repentance, they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick, and healed them.  It is, in fact, a mission of healing, this bringing near the kingdom of God.  But for those who reject, who do not receive, the message is simple:  a rebuke made in silence, by the gesture of shaking the dust from under their feet.  How do we understand this kind of message?  So much is on offer:  there is a whole world here, a universe, a cosmos -- the kingdom of heaven.  And yet, rejection is not met with insistence upon what they are losing.  Neither is it met with a kind of condemnation that brings its own punishment.  St. Paul reminds us of this instruction by Jesus, when he writes:  "Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, 'Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,' says the Lord."  (Romans 12:19, Deuteronomy 32:35).  Jesus also gives us the perfect example of this teaching when He marvels at His hometown because of their unbelief.  We're told, "He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them."  Rejection is missing out, failing to reap the rewards of this Kingdom on offer.  But vengeance is part of Judgment, which belongs only to God.  This is the way that we have to understand life in the Kingdom and as a part of the world.  The prophetic message has always gone out, calling all back to God.  Through the Old Testament, the prophets speak, and are rejected, harmed, and killed.  They seek no vengeance; but the resulting effects of rejection are clear.  They reveal the mysterious power of the truth in the prophets words.  Where the Spirit is present, so is the Kingdom.  Christ brings salvation for all, and marvels at the unbelief He finds.  He will go to His Passion and Resurrection.  The Cross will always offer us a choice.  But we who live the Kingdom also seek to give our testimony.  There will be those who reject, whose unbelief remains solid.  Let us remember where God places us in this project of the good news.  We are to rely solely on Him, in the communion of saints in which He places us, the life of the Spirit, the love of Christ, the community of His Church.  This Kingdom is thereby with us wherever we go, even when we are rejected for its truths.  In one form or another, the saying that a prophet is not without honor except among His own is found in all four Gospels.  Let us take the message to heart, and follow His way as His faithful.  Let us remember that Christ brings the power of a mystical reality into the world.  It transcends all dimensions, and includes all of them.  Its rules are those we learn and live by in order to participate in His Kingdom.   Its power and healing are also what may be lost by those who cannot receive it.  Christ calls us outside of the box of our own worldly reality, just as prophets stand "outside" and call all back to God -- and are rejected by their own, even without honor.  We will always need to stretch to embrace our faith, both to repent of the old and to receive the new.