Be Bold

Gospel MK 6:1-6

Jesus departed from there and came to his native place, 
accompanied by his disciples. 
When the sabbath came he began to teach in the synagogue,
and many who heard him were astonished. 
They said, “Where did this man get all this? 
What kind of wisdom has been given him? 
What mighty deeds are wrought by his hands! 
Is he not the carpenter, the son of Mary,
and the brother of James and Joseph and Judas and Simon? 
And are not his sisters here with us?” 
And they took offense at him. 
Jesus said to them,
“A prophet is not without honor except in his native place
and among his own kin and in his own house.” 
So he was not able to perform any mighty deed there,
apart from curing a few sick people by laying his hands on them.
He was amazed at their lack of faith.

I read in another reflection that in Jesus' day, a son was expected to follow in the footsteps of his father.  So Jesus, if he was doing what was expected of him, was supposed to be a carpenter.  But here he is teaching in the synagogues.  Jesus is a disrupter in the biggest way.  He came to turn the natural order of things upside down.  He was bold and courageous in preaching God's word.  God expects no less from us even if it means straying from what's expected.  I am at my best when I boldly proclaim God's love for us.  The reading makes me even more committed to getting people out to Prayer Around the Cross.  Yes, I get that most people at All Saints don't pray this way - the truth is that they don't pray very much at all!  Prayer Around the Cross is disruptive, but in a good way.  The more we pray together, the more we share the Light of Christ with each other, the stronger "Christ's Body" gets.