Everyday!
A reading for Tuesday, January 27, 2015: Mark 6:1-13.
Those that were the closest to Jesus, the ones that should have given him the benefit of the doubt, did not believe in what he was doing. They could not accept that one of their own could do such amazing and wonderful things. Perhaps they were expecting something unusual or grander in scale. Surely God would come to them with great fanfare and the power of a king or something. Right?
But Jesus was offering salvation in the common and the ordinary. In villages along the roadside, depending on the hospitality of the people where they stopped. The disciples traveling with him and sent by him didn't even have extra clothing or any way to care for themselves. As the gospel of John declares in The Message translation... "The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood." Jesus and the disciples were as close as the house next door, and as common as an ordinary traveler in search of a place to sleep. Yet, they brought the salvation of the Kingdom of God with them.
We do the same as those in Jesus' hometown. We assume that God is discovered in the miraculous. We look for signs of grandeur, a clap of thunder when a decision needs to be made for faith, or a word from a gifted speaker or teacher. We have a hard time accepting that faith is found next door, or even among those we call our family or friends. It's in the ordinary and the everyday.
The truth is thought the Body of Christ, God has moved into the neighborhood already. The power of salvation and the faithful people of God are all around us everyday. We are grateful.
Those that were the closest to Jesus, the ones that should have given him the benefit of the doubt, did not believe in what he was doing. They could not accept that one of their own could do such amazing and wonderful things. Perhaps they were expecting something unusual or grander in scale. Surely God would come to them with great fanfare and the power of a king or something. Right?
But Jesus was offering salvation in the common and the ordinary. In villages along the roadside, depending on the hospitality of the people where they stopped. The disciples traveling with him and sent by him didn't even have extra clothing or any way to care for themselves. As the gospel of John declares in The Message translation... "The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood." Jesus and the disciples were as close as the house next door, and as common as an ordinary traveler in search of a place to sleep. Yet, they brought the salvation of the Kingdom of God with them.
We do the same as those in Jesus' hometown. We assume that God is discovered in the miraculous. We look for signs of grandeur, a clap of thunder when a decision needs to be made for faith, or a word from a gifted speaker or teacher. We have a hard time accepting that faith is found next door, or even among those we call our family or friends. It's in the ordinary and the everyday.
The truth is thought the Body of Christ, God has moved into the neighborhood already. The power of salvation and the faithful people of God are all around us everyday. We are grateful.
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