Even Jesus Can Have a Bad Day in the Pulpit – A Meditation on the Gospel for the 14th Sunday of the Year

The gospel today portrays the Lord Jesus as preacher and prophet. But as we shall see, even the greatest preacher in the world (Jesus), can find his powerful and precious words falling lifeless on the rock hard surface that is the heart of many a soul. Yes, even his words can meet resistance and hostility, indifference and ridicule. Indeed, the gospel today shows forth the ruinous result of rejection.

We sometimes think that if Catholic priests were better preachers, all would be well. But that is only half the battle, for the Catholic faithful must have ears to hear and hearts that are open and eager to hear the truth. A well known preacher and fine Protestant teacher, William Barclay has this to say:

There can be no preaching in the wrong atmosphere. Our churches would be different places if congregations would only remember that they preach far more than half the sermon. In an atmosphere of expectancy, the poorest effort can catch fire. In an atmosphere of critical coldness or bland indifference the most spirit-packed utterance can fall lifeless to the earth. (Commentary on Mark, P. 140).

Yes, of this I am a witness. I have preached before congregations that were expectant and supportive, and watched my words catch fire. I have also preached in settings where “I couldn’t hear nobody pray!” And Oh the difference!

I have been blessed to serve most of my priesthood in African American settings and there is a deep appreciation that the preaching moment is a shared moment with shared responsibilities. The congregation does not consider itself a passive recipient of the word, but an active sharer in the proclamation.

There is an air of expectancy in the Church as the faithful gather and listen and begin to sing and pray. This air of expectancy is sometimes called “the hum.” And, during the reading of the Word and the sermon there are nods, hands may go up, even a stomp of the foot, and an acclamation or two pock the air: Amen!… Yes, Lord!…Well?!…Go on now!….Take your time!…Make it plain preacher!…You don’t mean to tell me! Ha!, My, my my!

And as a preacher too I can call for help: Are you praying with me Church?!….Somebody ought to say Amen!…..Come on Church!…..Can I get a witness?!……Kind quiet in here today….Amen?!  Yes, together we craft the message as inspired by the Holy Spirit. And while it belongs to the priest to craft the content, it belongs to the congregation to affirm the truth and acknowledge the Spirit.

How precious and necessary is the preaching task. But the preaching task,  as today’s gospel affirms, is more than the preacher. But before looking at the text itself, a few more insights about both preacher and congregation from Pope (Saint) Gregory the Great.

First on the obligation of the preacher and the solemnity of his task to preach:

Pastors who lack foresight hesitate to say openly what is right because they fear losing the favor of men. As the voice of truth tells us, such leaders are not zealous pastors who protect their flocks, rather they are like mercenaries who flee by taking refuge in silence when the wolf appears.

The Lord reproaches them through the prophet: They are dumb dogs that cannot bark. On another occasion he complains: You did not advance against the foe or set up a wall in front of the house of Israel, so that you might stand fast in battle on the day of the Lord. To advance against the foe involves a bold resistance to the powers of this world in defense of the flock. To stand fast in battle on the day of the Lord means to oppose the wicked enemy out of love for what is right.

When a pastor has been afraid to assert what is right, has he not turned his back and fled by remaining silent? Whereas if he intervenes on behalf of the flock, he sets up a wall against the enemy in front of the house of Israel….[But] they [who] are afraid to reproach men for their faults…thereby lull the evildoer with an empty promise of safety. Because [such preachers] fear reproach, they keep silent and fail to point out the sinner’s wrongdoing.

The word of reproach is a key that unlocks a door, because reproach reveals a fault of which the evildoer is himself often unaware. That is why Paul says of the bishop: He must be able to encourage men in sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it. For the same reason God tells us through Malachi: The lips of the priest are to preserve knowledge, and men shall look to him for the law, for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts. Finally, that is also the reason why the Lord warns us through Isaiah: Cry out and be not still; raise your voice in a trumpet call.

Anyone ordained a priest undertakes the task of preaching, so that with a loud cry he may go on ahead of the terrible judge who follows. If, then, a priest does not know how to preach, what kind of cry can such a dumb herald utter? It was to bring this home that the Holy Spirit descended in the form of tongues on the first pastors, for he causes those whom he has filled, to speak out spontaneously. [Gregory the Great, Pastoral Guide].

Second on the reason for poor preaching:

Beloved brothers, consider what has been said: Pray the Lord of the harvest to send labourers into his harvest. Pray for us so that we may have the strength to work on your behalf, that our tongue may not grow weary of exhortation, and that after we have accepted the office of preaching, our silence may not condemn us before the just judge.

For frequently the preacher’s tongue is bound fast on account of his own wickedness; while on the other hand it sometimes happens that because of the people’s sins, the word of preaching is withdrawn from those who preside over the assembly.

With reference to the wickedness of the preacher, the psalmist says: But God asks the sinner: Why do you recite my commandments? And with reference to the latter, the Lord tells Ezekiel: I will make your tongue cleave to the roof of your mouth, so that you shall be dumb and unable to reprove them, for they are a rebellious house. He clearly means this: the word of preaching will be taken away from you because as long as this people irritates me by their deeds, they are unworthy to hear the exhortation of truth.

It is not easy to know for whose sinfulness the preacher’s word is withheld, but it is indisputable that the shepherd’s silence while often injurious to himself will always harm his flock. (Ibid.)

Note well then, the shared task and responsibility of the preacher and the people. And let these texts serve as a worthy back ground to what is now to come in this gospel which we can see in three stages:

I. Real Rejoicing – The text says, 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!

Thus the initial reaction of Jesus’ hometown is positive. They are filled with amazement and joy. And the text sets forth two sources of their joy:

1. His Wise Words – and many who heard him were astonished. They said, “Where did this man get all this? What kind of wisdom has been given him? Yes, what a blessing it must have been to hear Jesus preach. Could Jesus preach! Scripture says of his preaching:

And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes. (Mat 7:28).
Sent to arrest him the temple guard returned empty handed saying: No one ever spoke like that man (Jn 7:46)
And all spoke well of him, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth; (Luke 4:22)
And the common people heard him gladly. (Mark 12:37)

2.His Wonderful works – They also say: What mighty deeds are wrought by his hands! Yes, Jesus had worked many miracles up to this point:

Cast out demons
Turned water to wine
Raised up paralytics
Cured the man with a withered hand
Cast out blindness
Healed deafness
Multiplied loaves and fishes
Calmed storms
Raised up Jairus’ daughter from the dead

And so we see that the initial reaction to Jesus preaching is good. Their remarks and rejoicing are a sign that the Spirit is working and prompting them to belief.

Yet as we shall see, things are about to turn sour. For it remains a sad but prevailing truth that the word of God can fall on the rocky soil of some hearts where it springs up but soon withers because the soil is rocky and shallow. Or the Word of the Lord can sown on the paths of some hearts where the birds of the sky come and carry it off. Or the Word of the Lord can call on divided hearts and where the thorns of worldliness and anxieties of the world choke it off. And yes, sometimes it falls on good soil where it yields thirty, or sixty, or a hundred fold. (cf Matt 13:1-9). Sadly things are heading south.

II. Rude Rejection – The text says [But some began to say] Is he not the carpenter, the son of Mary, and the brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him.

Notice how sudden their change is. There is an old spiritual that says: Some go to church for to sing and shout, before six months theys all turned out!

They harden their hearts – Yes, the tide mysteriously and suddenly turns against Jesus. Sin has set in and hearts have hardened and the joy is jettisoned. Though the Holy Spirit prompts them to faith and to call Jesus Lord, they harden their hearts. It is a grim and tragic sin.

They also exhibit a kind of prejudice or unjust discrimination, dismissing him as a mere carpenter and a home boy. It is an odd kind of thing that the poor and oppressed sometimes take up the voice of the oppressor. And thus, these simple people of a small little town of only 300, take up the voice of the Jerusalemites who regarded Galileans as “poor back-woods clowns” and as unlettered people. Yes, his own townsfolk take up the voice of the oppressor and say to Jesus, in effect, “Stay in your place. You have no business being smart, talented, wise or great. You’re just one of us and should amount to nothing.” It is the same sort of tragic rebuke that sometimes takes place among minority students who excel in school. Some of their fellow minority students accuse them of “going white.” Tragic and sick. And thus for Jesus, they ignore his actual words and his works and focus only on appearances and background.

They also exhibit the sin of envy. Envy is sadness or anger at the goodness or excellence of another person because we take it to lessen our own excellence. The text says here, And they took offense at him. St. Augustine called envy THE diabolical sin. This is because it seeks not to posses the good of another, (like jealousy does), but it seeks to destroy what is good in others so that the destroyer can look better.

The result of these sins was that Nazareth was NOT a place where excellence was known, even among its own! Indeed, John 1:46 records Nathanael as saying of Nazareth  “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” It would seem even the townsfolk of that place would agree” (But Philip who surrendered his prejudice said to Nathanael, “Come and see.”).

But an even more awful result of these sins ensues as we next see.

III. Ruinous Result – The text says, 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 hands on them. He was amazed at their lack of faith.

So as we see, they judge him to be nothing, so they get nothing. They have blocked their blessings.

Jesus says,  He who receives a prophet because he is a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward, and he who receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward (Mat 10:41). But they will get nothing. When we banish or discredit God, we should not expect to see many and mighty works. These things come only from faith.

Miracles are the result of faith not the cause of it. Thus the text says, So [Jesus] was NOT ABLE to perform any mighty deed there…He was amazed at their lack of faith.

There are some things even God can’t do not because he has no power but because he respects our choices. Pay attention. The Lord is offering us salvation and the Kingdom of Heaven. And either we reach out to take it or we don’t. But the choice is ours. If we take it, He’ll go to work. But if we refuse, he who respects our freedom will “not be able” to perform any mighty deeds.

And what a ruinous result for Nazareth and all who reject the prophetic utterances of our Lord and His saving help. Scripture says:

I am the LORD your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it. “But my people did not listen to my voice; Israel would have none of me. 12 So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts, to follow their own counsels.  O that my people would listen to me, that Israel would walk in my ways!  I would soon subdue their enemies, and turn my hand against their foes.  Those who hate the LORD would cringe toward him, and their fate would last for ever.  I would feed you with the finest of the wheat, and with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.” (Psalm 81:10-16)

Either we will accept God’s word and yield to its healing and saving power or we can expect little or nothing but ultimate ruin. It is as though you or I were in a raging stream heading soon over the falls to our death. And then a hand is stretched out to save us, the hand of Jesus, but mysteriously we reject that hand and ridicule its power. And the ruinous result of our hideous and foolish rejection is only one thing: our death. The text says, He was amazed at their lack of faith.

Pay attention, God is preaching a word to you every Sunday, every day. Will you heed and be healed, receive and be rescued, or reject and be ruined. Will the Lord be able to do mighty deeds for you?  Or will he be amazed at your lack of faith? The choice is yours, it is all yours.

Even Jesus can have a bad day in the pulpit. Make sure you’re not the reason why.