The Unauthorized Homily

By Bill Dunn

A commentary on the Scripture readings from the Sunday Lectionary

(Scripture readings for Sunday, July 5th: Ezekiel 2:2-5; 2 Corinthians 12:7-10; Mark 6:1-6)

FAITH NEEDED FOR MIRACLES

This week’s gospel reading contains one of the most startling statements in all of Scripture. Jesus returned to His hometown and, frankly, it did not go very well. The people were skeptical and suspicious of Him, and the Bible explains, “He was not able to perform any mighty deed there, apart from curing a few sick people.”

Whoa, what gives? He was not ABLE to perform any mighty deed? It doesn’t say Jesus decided not to perform miracles; it says He was not able. How can this be? What’d He do, forget to take his Mighty Deed Multi-Vitamins that morning?

How can Jesus not be ABLE to work a miracle? He’s the Son of God, one-in-being with the Almighty Creator of the universe, for crying out loud. Scripture says that before the beginning of time, every single thing that exists in the cosmos was created through Jesus. In the previous two chapters of this gospel, St. Mark explained that Jesus performed a couple of absolutely awesome miracles: He calmed a raging storm at sea and then He raised a 12-year-old dead girl back to life. And now, after returning to His hometown, He couldn’t even do a simple card trick? Amazing.

When Jesus came back home to Nazareth, He went into the local synagogue on the Sabbath and taught with incredible wisdom. Did the townsfolk react with awe and reverence? Did they say, “Wow, this is great. Local boy makes good! We’re so proud of him.” No way. Instead they sneered, “Is he not the carpenter, the son of Mary?” The Bible tells us “they took offense at him.”

I can see them now, whining and moaning just like people do today. “Who does this Jesus think he is, showing up here making all these ridiculous claims? He’s talking like he knows more about religion than the High Priest in Jerusalem, and he didn’t even graduate from high school, let alone go to college! He’s trying to teach us about God, and he’s just a blue-collar woodworker? And by the way, my sister-in-law says the picnic table he built for her isn’t even that good. Who does he think he is?!”

I’m not surprised the local yokels mocked and ridiculed Jesus. Sinful human nature can make people awfully shallow and stupid at times. (Hence our need for a Savior.) What bothered me for a long time, though, was the fact that Jesus was not ABLE to perform any miracles. It sure seemed like his supernatural powers must be limited. I often wondered when reading this passage, is it possible the power of the Almighty is not quite all mighty?

But it turns out my concerns were unfounded. There was nothing wrong with Jesus’ supernatural powers. The key is to understand the nature of God. God is all powerful and almighty, yes, but he is also all loving. And love never forces itself on someone.

Love is a two-way street. For love to be genuine, both parties must freely enter into the relationship. Anything less would not be love; it would be coercion. Think of one of those pre-arranged marriages common in foreign cultures. If a father tells his daughter that she WILL marry a particular man, is that true love? When she is forced to do it, even if she acts like she’s in love, can we be sure her love is genuine? Of course not. Only when she is free to say no, and says yes instead, can we be sure her love for the man is real.

It is the same with God. He created us for one purpose: so we could enter into a loving relationship with Him. But in order for that love to be genuine, we must be free to say no. This is why God created us with free will. (C.S. Lewis observed that history demonstrates this was a very risky thing to do. But apparently, God thought it worth the risk.)

God could have created us without free will. He could have made us into obedient little robots who always do the right thing and worship Him. That would’ve spared the world a lot of heartache and misery, but it would not be true love. It would be coercion. It would be no different than the daughter forced to marry a man she’s never met.

The people in Jesus’ hometown had free will. They were free to accept Him or reject Him—just as we are free, two thousand years later, to accept Him or reject Him. Unfortunately, they chose to reject Him. The last line of the reading says, “[Jesus] was amazed at their lack of faith.”

No miracles occurred that day, not because Jesus’ power was limited, but rather because of the lack of faith of the people. Jesus is a gentleman. He never forces Himself on us. He needs our permission—our faith—before He will use his supernatural powers to change our lives.

Jesus could have done hundreds of spectacular miracles in His hometown. His power was ready and raring to go. But the people did not believe He could do it, so nothing happened. It is the same today. If we have faith, if we use our free will to embrace the love of Jesus, He has the power to work miracles in our lives.

©2009