The Unauthorized Homily

By Bill Dunn

A commentary on the Gospel reading from the Sunday Lectionary

(Scripture readings for Sunday, July 9th: Ezekiel 2:2-5; 2 Corinthians 12:7-10; Mark 6:1-6)

CHRISTIAN MINISTRY IS SACRIFICE AND STRUGGLE

All believers in Christ are called to preach the Gospel. As that old expressions goes, “Preach the Gospel everyday—if necessary, use words.”

So at the very least, if we try to live by Gospel principles each day, our lives can be a powerful, wordless witness. But there are some people who are called by God to do more. These folks are called to dedicate their lives to serving the Lord and spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ. Unlike we lay people, these particular folks are called to make Christian ministry their life’s work.

There are many different occupations, including priests and nuns, pastors and preachers, evangelists and teachers. Although these servants of the Lord engage in wide-ranging duties and activities in their effort to spread the Gospel, their lives are marked by a common theme: sacrifice and struggle.

Virtually every person who had ever gone into Christian ministry has made a major sacrifice. Yes, there are some high-profile evangelists who have built up huge ministry empires, complete with TV programs, books, videos, CDs, theme parks, and urgent pleas for more donations every 30 seconds or so. But for every person who has struck it rich in the “Religious Industrial Complex,” there are tens of thousands of others who could have had high-paying careers but chose instead to accept a rather austere lifestyle in order to serve God. (And of course, in the case of priests and nuns, they chose to forsake one of the greatest joys in life—a spouse and children—to dedicate themselves entirely to ministry.)

In each of the three readings at church this week, we read about people who made ministry their life’s work. In these readings we see a wide spectrum of situations encountered by these servants of the Lord, and quite interestingly, we see a wide spectrum of reactions on the part of God.

In the first reading, the prophet Ezekiel was called by God to preach the “bad news” to the nation of Israel—specifically that God’s Chosen People had rebelled against the Lord, ignoring their covenant with God, and therefore God was none too pleased. Because Ezekiel’s words were not very welcomed, God gave Ezekiel some support. He said to him, “You shall say to them: Thus says the Lord God! And whether they heed or resist…they shall know that a prophet has been among them.”

In Ezekiel’s situation, he needed some help, and so God did something very positive for him. He declared that all would know without a doubt that Ezekiel was a prophet of the Lord.

In the gospel reading this week, Jesus was back in his home town, preaching and teaching in the local synagogue. Instead of listening to Jesus’ powerful message, the people instead sneered at Jesus, asking, “What kind of wisdom has been given him?…Is he not the carpenter?”

In effect, they were saying: Hey, we watched this guy grow up. He’s nobody special. Who does he think HE is?! The Bible says that “they took offense at him.”

Jesus then replied with that famous statement: “A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and among his own kin.”

Most surprisingly of all, we read: “So he was not able to perform any mighty deed there….He was amazed by their lack of faith.”

In Jesus’ situation, God the Father did not intercede and empower Jesus to perform some might miracle. The people had no faith; Jesus was unable to perform any mighty deed; and the whole event was an evangelistic flop.

Finally, in the second reading (I’m discussing the readings in the chronological order in which they occurred, not the order in which we hear them read at church), St. Paul writes about a persistent physical ailment that plagued him. Paul refers to this unspecified affliction as “a thorn in the flesh.” And he further declares that this ailment was given to him “to keep me from being too elated.”

Three different times Paul begged God to heal him of this “thorn in the flesh,” but God answered his prayers by saying, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.”

When explaining that his health problem was meant to keep him from being “too elated,” Paul mentions the “abundance of the revelations” he has received from God. We know that St. Paul was a very special apostle chosen by God. The Lord spoke directly to Paul and guided him in ways most other people will never experience. I suspect that when Paul used the words “too elated,” he really meant that his physical affliction was there to keep him from being “too proud,” or “too conceited,” or “too full of himself,” or “too much like those guys with the theme parks and the pleas for more money every 30 seconds.”

In Paul’s situation, he asked the Lord for help, but God did something rather negative instead: He did not heal Paul and told him that he must remain weak.

The three different servants of God this week each struggled in their ministry. God’s various responses to their struggles were quite different. In one case God gave the servant a boost; in another case God was silent; and in the third case God, in effect, knocked the servant down a peg.

Ezekiel was being overwhelmed, so God helped him. Jesus was ineffective in His hometown, but God the Father, knowing that Jesus was a big boy and could take care of Himself, did not intervene. And Paul, at risk of becoming too proud because of his special position, was humbled and weakened.

This calls to mind another old expression: “God always gives us want we need, not necessarily what we want.”

Even those of us who are not in full-time ministry, those of us who are not professionals in the “Religious Industrial Complex,” should keep this important concept in mind. God is always there to help us, but sometimes the way He helps us is not what we want or expect. But because God is God, it is always the exact right thing for our particular situation.

We should also keep in mind Paul’s words of wisdom: “I will rather boast most gladly of my weaknesses, in order that the power of Christ may dwell with me….for when I am weak, then I am strong.”

All believers in Christ are called to preach the Gospel. And the first key point of the Gospel message is that it’s not about us. It’s all about Him.

©2006