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Sentence

Of Jesus many said, “What is this wisdom that has been given to him? What deeds of power are being done by his hands!” Mark 6:2                             

                                      

                

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Collect 

O Lord our God,

you are always more ready to bestow

your good gifts upon us

than we are to seek them;

and more willing to give than we desire or 

deserve: in our every need,

grant us the first and best of all your gifts,

the Spirit who makes us your children.

we ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ,

your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the 

unity of the Holy Spirit, one God for ever 

and ever. Amen.

 

Readings

• 2 Samuel 5:1-5, 9-10
• Psalm 48
• 2 Corinthians 12:2-10
• Mark 6:1-13

next week

• 2 Samuel 6:1-5, 12b-19
• Psalm 24
• Ephesians 1:1-14
• Mark 6:14-29

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A Thought to Ponder

Pentecost 6 – Mark 6:1-13

“Where did this man get all this? What kind of wisdom has been given to him? What mighty deeds are wrought by his hands! Is he not the carpenter, the son of Mary … ?”

Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honour except in his native place and among his own kin and in his own house.”

Mark begins a new theme in his Gospel with today’s pericope: the blindness of people to the power and authority of Jesus. The people of Jesus’ own hometown reject his message. They consider Jesus too much “one of them” to be taken seriously. They are too obsessed with superficialities – occupation, ancestry, origins – to realise God present in their midst and to be affected by that presence.

The authority Jesus’ hearers sense in him is an authority and wisdom that transcends office or title or economic power; it is an authority rooted in wisdom that comes from experience and a lived commitment to do what is right and just.

Jesus’ authority is not derived from his ability to manipulate the fears, suspicions, apathy, or ignorance of the community it leads but from the spirit of mercy, justice and compassion he is able to call forth from them.   

Like the people of Jesus’ hometown, we often fail to realise the presence of God in our very midst. God dwells in our midst in the simplest acts of kindness, in the humblest efforts of compassion for others, in the singular attempts to secure the justice and peace of God in hidden and forgotten places.  

In Baptism, we take on the role of prophet – “one who proclaims.” To be a prophet, to “proclaim” the Word we have heard, can result in our being ostracised, ridiculed, rejected and isolated. But genuine faith never falters in the conviction that the justice of God will triumph over injustice, that his mercy will triumph over hatred, that his light will triumph over the darkness of sin and death.

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Sermon

Sorry there is no sermon due to there being no service because of COVID restrictions

You can read the Pew Sheet here

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