Wednesday in the Fourth Week of Ordinary Time, February 3, 2021

Mark 6:1-6

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! Is he not the carpenter, the son of Mary, and the brother of James and Joseph and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. 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 his hands on them. He was amazed at their lack of faith.

By the time the Lord came back to Nazareth he had received the public approbation of the Father: “You are my beloved Son; in you I am well pleased” (Mark 1, 11).  He had been celebrated in nearby Capernaum: “All the city was gathered together at the door” (Mark 1, 33).  People from everywhere looked for him: “All seek for you” (Mark 1, 37), and, “They flocked to him from all sides” (Mark 1, 45).  He healed a great many people: “He healed many, so that they pressed upon him for to touch him, as many as had sicknesses” (Mark 3, 10).  Indeed, the effects of his power frightened people: “And they began to pray him that he would depart from their coasts” (Mark 5, 17).  He debated with the Pharisees and held his own.  He cast out demons, with them shouting that he was the Son of God.  Such crowds that gathered for him and followed him that he and his disciples were in danger of being crushed or forced into the sea. 

But when the Lord returns to Nazareth, the people said, “Where did this man get all this?” And they “took offense” at him.  The Greek word translated here as “took offense” also carries the meaning of “were scandalized” or “stumbled”.  Despite all the evidence that he was the Messiah, and even something more, they did not accord him honor.  In fact, the citizens of Nazareth did not believe because they did not want to believe.  It seems incredible to us, but it prepares us for the reality that the high priests, the Sanhedrin, and the Pharisees — the ones best prepared to recognize the Messiah when he came — by and large rejected him and even had him killed.  

We can contrast his reception at Nazareth with his reception in the place of the dead after he died on the Cross, and see that even the demons showed him greater respect.  For over a thousand years, the verses of Psalm 24, 7-10 have been understood as a dialogue between the angels and the demons as the Lord gathered the souls of the just from their limbo and led them into heaven.  In the Middle Ages, these verses were used in Easter plays that depicted the “Harrowing of Hell”, in which the demons tried to prevent the Lord with bars and gates from entering the place of the dead to save the souls of Adam, Eve, Abel, Abraham, Sarah, and all who had pined for him:

The Angels: “Lift up your gates, O ye princes, and be ye lifted up, O eternal gates: and the King of Glory shall enter in.”

The Demons: “Who is this King of Glory?”

The Angels: “The Lord who is strong and mighty: the Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your gates, O ye princes, and be ye lifted up, O eternal gates: and the King of Glory shall enter in.  Who is this King of Glory? the Lord of hosts, he is the King of Glory.”

Georg Friedrich Handel sets these words in his oratorio, “Messiah” just before the Hallelujah Chorus, which announces the Lord’s Resurrection.

We can understand those who shout, “Lift up your gates” as the miracles and preaching of the Lord, news of which has preceded him to Nazareth.  These testimonies of his power cry out to the people to prepare themselves for him, and to “lift up” the gates of their minds and hearts for him.  Despite this, they are unsettled and cry back, as it were, “Who is this King of Glory?”  Surely they know.  Their questions and doubts only seek to buy them time to think of reasons to deny him.  The Lord’s powerful preaching at the synagogue is yet another witness as to his majesty, and it, in effect, answers their doubts and skepticism with, “The Lord who is strong and mighty: the Lord mighty in battle.”  That is, the Lord who will overcome the world and conquer death.

In the Psalm, and in the plays performed at Easter, the demons give way to him.  Here, at Nazareth, they do not.  But he does not force belief.  He does not compel faith.  If what he has already done is not enough, nothing will suffice for them.  Their lack of faith in him results in a paucity of people seeking a cure from him.  

Hearts and minds have gates, and they help us to filter what we see and hear in order to know the truth.  Faced with overwhelming evidence, we ought to raise these gates so that we not only know, but also believe, so that we might come to him for salvation.