Hometown Crowd

Transcripts are AI-generated and may not be 100% accurate.

Hi everyone, I'm Debbie Manning, one of the pastors here at The Table. So good to be with you tonight. Tonight we are talking about going home—hometowns. And when you think about your hometown, um, I think we think about things not only like where that is, but how that has shaped who we are. And for some of us, I think going home or our hometown can bring back really sweet memories.

For others, I think, um, maybe not so much that maybe there's some hard things when we think about going home or maybe we're not even quite sure what, where home is for us. I was thinking about my husband, Steve. Patti. Can you throw that picture up? There he is from nine kids. Ankrums, you think you have a full plate. Nine kids. In a period of 11 years, those kids were born and every three years they moved across the country including a stint to Canada. 

So if you asked my husband Steve, where he is from, you know, it probably wouldn't be all that clear 'cause he lived in a lot of different places. But one thing I will tell you is that when we were raising our kids. Which one is Steve?, Christian wants to know. Take a guess, everybody. Who, who has the widow's peak? Second from the left right there, Steve Manning. He's so glad right now to have all the attention on him. 

Um, but if you would've asked Steve when we were raising our kids, um, about home, he would've said this. He had, um, several opportunities, um, in his career to move us as a family to different places in the country. Never once would he consider it in any way, even with me saying, well, you just want to talk to someone about it. It sounds like an interesting job move. Absolutely not. And this is why: he wanted his kids to have roots. He wanted them to feel like they were from somewhere, that they had their own hometown, that they belonged, that the whole idea that they would, um, know and be known. 

And you could call that the hometown advantage, couldn't you? To, to know and be known. But I think there's another side of that coin. I think sometimes there's the hometown disadvantage. It has its downsides, especially if it comes to, um, preconceived ideas of who you are that leave no room for the idea of what you could become or, or your actual becoming. 

So here we are leading up to this text, Jesus has been all over Galilee and he's been preaching and teaching and doing all these miracles like calming storms and, um, exorcising, demons, healing the woman with, um, that your mom talked about last week with the 12 years of bleeding and raising a young girl from the dead. So Jesus has been doing it. 

So he's riding high, coming back to his hometown of Nazareth, brings his team with us. And you would expect when you, you'd anticipate, wow, this guy is going to get a warm welcome. Like they're going to be excited that their hometown boy is home. Not so much you guys. It ends up being a painful homecoming. And let's take a look and see what happened. 

Mark 6:1-6, here we go:

Jesus left there and went to his hometown, accompanied by his disciples. And when the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue. And many who heard him were amazed. Where did this man get these things? They asked, what's this wisdom that has been given to him? What are these remarkable miracles that he's been performing? Isn't he the carpenter? Isn't this Mary's son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon and his sisters here with us? And they took offense at him. Jesus said to them, A prophet is not without honor except in his own town, among the relatives and in his own home. He couldn't do any miracles there except lay hands on a few sick people and heal them. He was amazed at their lack of faith. 

So despite these extraordinary teachings and the healings and the miracles, it seems like this small village, which back in his day, it was a small village that he had been raised in, that they weren't open to Jesus, that they weren't in his corner. That they certainly were not excited about Jesus being there. 

And I have to tell you, the first time I read it, it made no sense to me because they're amazed at what he's doing. And then just a few sentences later, they're offended. So if we take a look at those two words, which are important, I think, The first word, the Greek word exeplessonto, which means to be amazed, to be astonished, to be surprised, to be in awe and wonder. 

And then that second word, es, this is a hard one, eskandalizonto—they took offense to him. They were offended by him. They were upset, they were angry, they were insulted, they were even outraged. That's what that word means. 

Now think about this. His reputation would've preceded him. There would've been quite a stir in Nazareth, that the hometown boy was coming home. And in the Jewish um, culture, it was the custom that a qualified male could preach and teach at the synagogue at the invitation of one of the synagogue leaders. So Jesus being the hometown boy, um, that would've been a very special occasion in that town. 

So we have this initial response, right, the initial response of amazement, but they respond with five rhetorical questions. Let's think this through. Where did this man get these things? What's this wisdom he's been given? What are these remarkable miracles he's performing? All these first three related to the ministry that he was doing. Seemed like they liked the ministry that that he was doing, the work that he was doing. 

But the last two that were related to kind of his local origins. I think that might give us a clue as to the flip from amazement to offense. The last two rhetorical questions: isn't this the carpenter? Isn't this Mary's son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon? So they're not offended by his teaching, but they seemed offended by who they perceived him to be. His occupation, his family of origin. They'd put Jesus in a box. That's what familiarity can do. 

And in the each ancient world, a person's identity, their social status, that was determined at birth. It wasn't something like in this country that we have a lot of pride around that we can work our way up. We can work hard and do something. Nope, that's not the way it was in ancient Israel. People were to respect those boundaries and they weren't to do anything to break out of them. 

And here's the thing, Jesus messes all that up. Seems to do that a lot in his ministry, doesn't he? He messes things up: the way they think, the way they believe. But he messes everything up. He disrupts their idea of who they are and who they can be. And the people in his hometown, they can't get past the fact that they know him. That they know from whom and where he came. They can't get their head around that he could be anything more than that. And it seems that people were offended by Jesus breaking the mold of their preconceived ideas. That who God was, who Jesus this carpenter was, and maybe who they are and who they could be. For them, the identity of Jesus could be summed out up by his occupation and who he was related to. 

I was thinking about how much that flies in the face of what Matt says every week when he preaches who you are is more important than what you do. Even when what you do gets more attention than who you are. That'd be the opposite of that. And here this group of people, they have Jesus right in front of them, the Son of God. And they're hearing and they're seeing the wisdom. And even though they're hearing and seeing the wisdom, they're not hearing and seeing who's in front of them. This is Jesus. Maybe, maybe in the hometown it's easy to know one another and not really know the person. 

And I wanted to pause just for a minute and talk a little bit about hometown and what that means because I don't think it's always a geographical location. I don't think it's always something out here, but I think it's something in here. I think that our hometown, um, I think it's, it's not just a place, but it's actually a way of being. And those things, that lens that shapes our worldview, shapes how we see ourselves, how we see each other, how we see community can be a lot of different things. 

I think our hometowns can be our families, our faith, our churches, our politics, our national um, identity, our cultural identity, our job. All those things can be the things that shape how we see ourselves, how we see each other, how we see God. And I think that we can be convinced sometimes that without even knowing it, that the hometown way is the best way. That it's the right way. That the hometown way is the only way. I think that's dangerous. 'cause when we, when we start to see like that and think like that, I think it limits our vision, our idea of who God is, who each other is, even who who we can be. I think most importantly it limits how God works within every one of us. 

So the Nazarenes all knew they knew about him and they took offense at him. And they didn't do well with the idea that this guy brought up amongst him as a carpenter, that he would actually have the nerve to present himself as a prophet and a teacher. Who does he think he is? That would be the hometown disadvantage. They couldn't see what was right in front of them and they missed it. They missed it. And I think we're all at risk of sometimes missing seeing God in our midst, seeing Jesus at work. 

And I think that, um, it can look like this. Patti, if you want to start throwing those up: we can fall into becoming stuck in the status quo and defend our hometown against growth and change. We settle for what we know rather than opening our hearts and minds to what we don't know. We take for granted and we refuse to see or listen to those who we love the most and that are closest to us.We let familiarity blind us to something new, can breed contempt and make our world small. We choose being content and comfortable over any kind of change. We believe that that which is holiest and closest to God could not possibly coincide with what, which is most familiar and closest to us. And I think this one's big. We miss the presence of God in our life, in our world in one another, in our prayers because it didn't come with the pomp and circumstance that we all expect, that we think we deserve. 

We gotta be aware, we gotta be thinking because seeing but not seeing, I think happens to all of us. And it often is those people that are closest to us in our world. Have you experienced that in your life where you don't feel seen, where you don't feel known? 

And I'll tell you, um, sometimes that happens in ministry when you're a female. It hasn't happened so much in this community. But in um, past communities I've been in, and you most of you know that I, um, entered ministry a little later in life. I worked in a church for decades, but I didn't go to seminary till I was in my mid-forties to go get my M.Div. So I have lots of friends who've known me since my twenties and thirties and forties and I was a different person then. I mean, I continue to grow and change just like I hope all you guys continue to grow and change and learn and become the full person that God wants you to be. And it's so funny that before I started studying for this about a week ago, I told Steve, my husband, I said, “you know what, sometimes the people closest to me, my closest friends who've known me for decades, sometimes a few family members, they're the people who see me least as a pastor.” 

And this was very clear to me when one of my best friends, I adore her, I love her, we're so close, we've shared life for decades. When I was sharing with her that Matt, my co-pastor was going to take a sabbatical for a few months, she said, “Oh, what does that mean for you as his assistant?” I went, I told Steve, I was like, “uh, uh, uh, I'm actually his co-pastor.” But it was the sense of not being seen, of not, um, of maybe putting me in a box of how I was then when we got to know each other and I think about how risky that is to God's work in the world. 

Hey, how many of you guys happened to see Maggie Keller preach last Sunday? Raise your hand if you did. How awesome was that? And I'm saying this, Maggie, because um, can you imagine if if Maggie's hometown, let's maybe say her family system or the church she grew up in saw and had beliefs that women should not preach. What if that was Maggie's hometown? And what if Maggie didn't bust outta that? Can you imagine what we would've missed not hearing God through Maggie last week? Because I'll tell you guys, I had a half a dozen people come up to me and say, I think she's one of the best communicators I've ever heard. Because you are gifted by God and to not use that for God, I mean that's when we miss it. That's when we miss seeing God. When we fall into those beliefs, we let those boxes define who we are that have nothing to do with it. 

Gino, I was thinking about you because I was thinking about, um, Lynn and, and toward not just the end of her life, but the last year and a half. And I was thinking about Kathy, Lynn's Gustie roommate who came forward a year and a half ago and said, I'd like to do Lynn's care on Tuesdays. And every Tuesday for a year and a half, college friend Kathy, who's known your mom for decades would come to your house from eight to six and she'd do the care and she'd make the food. And she loved Gino and loved the boys. 

And then I was thinking about Susan Gallagher, who really barely knew you guys and she stepped forward and said, “you know what, I'd really like to do the care.” And she came every Wednesday from eight to six and she did the care of Lynn and she made food and she loved the boys and she loved Gino. 

And I was thinking about what if they would've said, “yeah, you know, that's Kathy, the college friend. I don't know if she could really do that. And she's not a qualified caregiver. I mean, should we really do that? And then Susan, do we really know Susan? And again, not a qualified caregiver.” 

And what I would say to this, think of how you would've missed seeing God, God in action through those women. And there are many more of them than that, that came every day and showed up and loved your wife, and loved you and your kids and are part of the healing that is happening today for you guys because you are connected in a way that matters. And that is God working. That's what we miss when we don't see what's right in front of us, when we don't see the potential and the becoming and all that God can do in us, through us, despite us. And I bet I could tell a story like that for everyone in here. 

Now, here's the other side of this coin and what I've had to ask myself, “where am I doing that in my life?” Because when I look at this husband of mine that I always put on the spot and he does like hates it now that's a good Christian, what a good assistant. Yes he is. He's my assistant. No, but I, I think about Steve, you're with someone for 43 years. I always seen like how God is using him and how he's becoming. And am I doing that with my team? Is am I able to see that? You know, Maggie Keller just isn't Maggie Keller or Jae, look at what Jae has to offer. 

And I was talking to Jae earlier and telling him that, um, I'm going to assure this story that a few weeks ago, Jae and I, you, your, your boss, your teacher, um, we had a conversation, a long conversation about ministry for the kids and how we do that well and make sure you guys know that you are loved by Jesus. 

And in the conversation I was thinking about, can you imagine if Jae came into this conversation we were having and it was a deep one and he came in and I was like, “yeah, I don't know. He's a 20 something. He is never had kids. What does he know?” Instead of him coming in and me going, “Oh, he is so creative and so talented and he loves these kids and he loves Jesus and he's coming with a whole wealth of knowledge. 'cause he's been in seminary lot. Mine was a long time ago.”

And then can you imagine if, if when, when we were in that conversation and Jae looked at me and went, “Yeah, you know, she's old. What does she know? You know, instead of going, wow, Deb's like lots of years of experience and she's actually been a mom and a grandma.” So we can see each other like that and we can bring both of those voices, both of these persons into this conversation. And I think beautiful things happen when we do that. 

So I do think it's twofold. I think it's not only how does that feel and where that's been in your life, but where in your life have maybe you done that? Where you haven't seen the work of Jesus right in front of you and the people that love and surround you. Seeing but no seeing. And the risk is always that we'll miss it, God working in me and through me and God working in you and through you, and it'll limit us. It'll limit God's work. Just like in the story tonight, Jesus's work was limited 'cause of the unbelief. Yeah, he did a few healings and did this, but went okay. I I I'm going to carry on. 

So what are we willing to do? What are we willing to do? I wanted to, I'm getting close, close to closing it, but I wanted to invite Grace up. She's going to read, um, I'm going to grab this for you Gracie girl. I've asked her to read the same text that we read tonight, but I want to read a different, um, translation. It's from the message Eugene Peterson sort of a, a very lay friendly language, but I think it really, um, communicates the story well, don't you think Grace? Okay, take it away. Do you want us to go up here on here? 

He left there and returned to his hometown. His disciples came along. On the Sabbath, He gave a lecture in the meeting place. He stole the show and pressing everyone. “We had no idea he was this good.” they said, “how did he get so wise all of a sudden? get such ability?” But the next breath, they were cutting him down. “He's just a carpenter. Mary's boy. We've known him since he was a kid. We've known his brothers James, justice Jude and Simon and his sisters. Who does he think he is?” They tripped over what little they knew about him and fell sprawling. And they never got any further. Jesus told them, “A prophet has a little honor in his hometown among his relatives on the streets. He played in just as a child.” Jesus wasn't able to do much of anything there. He laid hands on a few six people, sick people and healed them. That's all. He couldn't get over their stubbornness. He left and made a circuit of their of the other villages teaching. 

Thank you so much. The people of Nazareth might as well have said, oh, that's just Jesus. They were amazed at his wisdom and his teaching and his all the miracles. It didn't matter though, 'cause to them it was, that was just Jesus. They missed it. The hometown kid was there and they missed it. 

You know, the identity of Jesus is a common theme. And Mark and throughout all the gospels you have, you hear the comments from a religious reader, our religious leaders and um, the political leaders and the crowds and the disciples and the family as to who they think Jesus is. But I think the important question that Mark keeps coming back to, and I think what he's ultimately asking us is, who do you think, who do you think Jesus is? And based on that answer, the question for yourself is, who does that make you?

For my prayer tonight, I decided to do a little benediction from, um, the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Ephesians. So would you please pray with me now? To him, to who is able to do immeasurably more than all we can ask or imagine according to his power that is at work within us, to him be the glory and the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. And all God's people said, Amen.