Then Jesus said to them, "Prophets are not without honor, except in their hometown, and among their own kin, and in their own house." And he could do no deed of power there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and cured them. And he was amazed at their unbelief… "If any place will not welcome you and they refuse to hear you, as you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them."
˜ Mark 6:4-6, 11
In the twenty years that I lived in Hollywood, I encountered many non-believers. Instead of waving a Bible in their face and telling them they were doomed to hell if they didn't repent and accept Jesus, I listened to their reasons for rejecting God and religion. Most of them made excellent points. They were shocked when I told them I agreed with their reasons, and I tried to gently let them know that not all religions are oppressive and exclusive, and not all faith traditions portray God as angry and judgmental. I gradually began to realize that most people are completely unaware that they have choices in their spiritual journey and that they, like many of us, are longing to know there is a safe and loving place for them.
As followers of Christ, we are called to spread the Good News to all creation, but in these two passages, Jesus reminds us that we will sometimes encounter rejection. Jesus himself is rejected by the people in his own hometown. He then tells the disciples what to do if they go into a town and their teaching is rejected.
I am always amazed when I see people attempting to pound Jesus' message angrily into non-believers. Any good teacher will tell you that this is not going to work. Jesus shows us here that if we try to share the Good News and encounter rejection, we simply move on. He gives us the example of a peaceful response to unbelief rather than an angry reaction.
Reflect: How have you successfully or unsuccessfully modeled your faith to non- believers?
This Lenten Meditation can be found at Episcopal Relief and Development