The Paradox of Rejection Proper 9, Year B - Mark 6:1-6 July 6, 2003 Elizabeth H. Wheatley Church of the Resurrection, Starkville, Mississippi Blessed Be the Name of God. Today's reading from the Gospel of Mark is brief - brief, but powerful -- scandalous, indicting and liberating. In only a few words, we encounter utter rejection and the gracious persistence of God in Christ. Listen to the flow of the Gospel: "Jesus came to his hometown…" "He began to teach…" "Many… were ASTOUNDED…" "They took OFFENSE..." Jesus "was AMAZED…" "Then he went about among the villages teaching." Jesus' friends, family, and hometown folks were astounded and took offense at him. The order of things seems to indicate that first they were astounded by what they heard in Jesus' teachings, the wisdom he shared with them and the accounts of deeds of power - healings, exorcisms and the calming of the wind and the sea. First they were astounded; then came the offense. When they realized that this man, Jesus, came from a common heritage with an ordinary family and humble occupation, the people were offended. Jesus was not rejected because he was a stranger or even because he offered wisdom from afar. Jesus was rejected, the people took offense, or as some translations put it "the people were scandalized" because of their familiarity with Jesus. It was the fullness of the saying, "Familiarity breeds contempt." And the people were contemptuous. They were offended. Jesus' own people rejected him because he was familiar, he was one of them, their own flesh and blood. Jesus' humanity - his incarnation - was the source of the offense - the scandal - and the rejection. It was as if they could not believe that someone with such an ordinary upbringing, someone just like them, could be a source of divine revelation. What would God be doing in such an ordinary place amongst such ordinary people? Why would God be made known as an ordinary carpenter, a person of the working class? If the people really believed that someone just like them could make God known, could teach and preach good news, could perform acts of divine mercy and compassion, works of healing and restoration, then they would be indicted. They would be indicted by their own belief. Their own belief would render them guilty - guilty of not living up to their own potential, guilty of not being aware, guilty of being complacent and out of touch with God and God's people in real and tangible ways. But what better way to assuage guilt than to point fingers at another, to reject the one who by his very being - his very sameness, his very ordinariness, his very humanity - made them look impotent, complacent, guilty. Reject the source of the guilt. Reject the offender and no offense can be taken, no guilt rendered. Remain free, liberated to stay the same, unchanged, unmoved, unchallenged. Or did the people - his people - remain unchanged? Do we remain the same? In this brief exchange, Jesus was faced with a fear that plagues most of humanity, a fear that many of us allow to dictate our choices in life - our choice of friends, our choice of schools, our choice of occupation, marital partner, leisure activity and even death - the fear of rejection. The fear of rejection - the fear of not receiving approval, the fear of not being accepted - is a motivating factor for so many decisions in life, even in our ordinary day-to-day lives. And here have Jesus in an ordinary encounter in an ordinary place with ordinary people facing what all humans face - REJECTION - Rejection for being too familiar, rejection for being too human, rejection for not living up to other people's expectations - not only expectations of him but expectations of themselves, rejection to assuage guilt, rejection as a twisted form of flattery. And it is in the way Jesus engaged rejection, or rather the way he chose not to engage rejection, that we see the paradox - the glory in spite of the potential for outrage and self-pity - the paradox which pushes through blatant rejection to yield true freedom, true liberation. The paradox of Jesus' response to rejection is that he faced it not with fear but with amazement. He did not resist nor even deny rejection. He did not try to prove himself by performing magic tricks nor by getting one of his cronies, his disciples, to stand up for him. Jesus simply acknowledged the rejection with a note of amazement. Then, he picked up where he left off…. "He went about among the villages teaching. If only it were so easy to fend off the fear of rejection. If only it were so easy to get on with life after being let down, shut out, sent packing. So often, it seems that the struggle, the pain and anguish of rejection is not the rejection itself but the bashing waves of impotence, the feelings of being inadequate and unacceptable and the absurd sense of responsibility we feel toward those who have rejected us. If someone rejects me or even an idea that I propose, I feel responsible. I feel responsible for their rejection of me. I must have done something wrong or given a wrong impression. Perhaps I inadequately represented myself. I owe it to myself and to the other person or people to make things right, to help them to understand, to see it my way. I am responsible for proving that I am powerful, I am adequate, I am acceptable. Hence, we encounter the song and dance, the dog and pony show, of trying to fend off rejection by dressing to impress. And when the song and dance does not work, it's either a) acquiesce and bow down with my tail between your knees, having been properly rejected and reprimanded for whatever offense may have been taken or b) lash out in anger, grab up my belongings and stomp out ---utterly defeated, utterly rejected. Either way - REJECTION wins and the status quo is maintained… things remain the same, unchanged, unchallenged. But Jesus seems to play by different rules of engagement. He did not perform a song and dance. Even when faced by apparent impotence - when he realized that he can do no deeds of power there, Jesus did not fall into the trap of feeling responsible for other people's opinion or other people's feelings. He did not fall into the trap of trying to justify himself. Nor did he cave in and give up or protest and stomp out. For Jesus, rejection was not - is not - the end of the story and life has not gone unchanged. The people's rejection - albeit temporarily limiting and restrictive - did not undo his previous acts of healing and restoration nor did it prevent his ongoing participation in God's mighty works of mercy and compassion. The scandal of Jesus' humanity - the scandal of the incarnation - and the paradox of the Gospel is that God enters into the human condition. God enters into the human condition with all of our inherent ordinariness, astonishments and offenses. God in Christ enters into the scandal of familiarity and faces the risk of rejection not with fear but with AMAZEMENT! May God give us the grace to follow in the way of Jesus - the Incarnate One - that we may face our ordinariness, astonishments, offenses, and the risk of rejection with that same amazement, the amazement that liberates us from the bondage of fear and propels us into the world … that we might pick up and go out among the villages teaching, preaching, and living the Gospel - the good news of God's mercy, God's healing, and God's compassionate and empowering embrace! Many were ASTOUNDED… They took OFFENSE…. Jesus was AMAZED… Then, he went about among the villages teaching. Powerful - Scandalous, Indicting and Liberating… The Gospel! Blessed Be the Name of God. (Study Resources: The Bible (NRSV), Hope Against Darkness by Richard Rohr, "Miracle Worker" by Jim Callahan, "First Thoughts on Year B Gospel Passages, Pentecost 4" by William Loader, Interpretation: Mark by Lamar Williamson, A Ray of Darkness by Rowan Williams)