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16 January 2017
READING: MARK 6:1-13
Jesus left there and went to his home town, accompanied by his disciples. 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 him? What are these remarkable miracles he is performing? Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?’ And they took offence at him.
Jesus said to them, ‘A prophet is not without honour except in his own town, among his relatives and in his own home.’ He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few people who were ill and heal them. He was amazed at their lack of faith.
Then Jesus went around teaching from village to village. Calling the Twelve to him, he began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over impure spirits.
These were his instructions: ‘Take nothing for the journey except a staff – no bread, no bag, no money in your belts. Wear sandals but not an extra shirt. Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that town. And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, leave that place and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.’
They went out and preached that people should repent. They drove out many demons and anointed with oil many people who were ill and healed them.
REFLECTION
Hello and welcome to Monday's Foundations podcast. My name is James and alongside a great team I lead the student work at STC. I’m married to the wonderful Lucy and I first came to Sheffield as a student in 2008 and made my home here after graduating. I just love this city and especially this church.
Throughout this week we will be looking at Mark chapter 6 together and starting chapter 7 on Friday. Today's verses are 1-13 and you can find the full reading on the Foundations website.
Here is the simple outline of the thought for today… The crowd does not define us, God does. From this story in the Gospel of Mark, we are taught a quick and important lesson about crowds. Their opinions can swing from one moment to the next - but however loud their voice it does not define us - God does.
Let’s look at the first three verses. “Jesus left there and went to his home town, accompanied by his disciples. 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 him? What are these remarkable miracles he is performing? Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” And they took offence at him.”
It's true isn't it: one moment the people around Jesus are amazed, the next they are offended. How confusing it must be to live only by the labels of others. Imagine having your profile picture on the homepage of your high school's website - people in your home town proud to associate how close a school year they might have been to yours, only to find the next day the shouts turn to jeers as you fall out of favour.
The scramble for attention to stay relevant is being brought more and more attention if we just look at culture, especially this new wave of reality TV. For example, confession time now, I don't know how it happened but I watched the launch of this year's “celebrity big brother”. (Shout out to all the fans out there). One by one the not-so-household named celebrities entered this house. And I was stunned by one housemate who was famous for previously being in the Big Brother House. She self-proclaimed that it was the worst decision she had ever made and yet here she stood, ready to go back in. Scandal.
The draw of the crowd, their opinion, how they viewed her (& probably the cash) meant more to this housemate than her integrity in that moment. That crowd shaped her behaviour.
But the temptation is real. If we are honest I think we all would admit there are times we look for affirmation too strongly in the opinions of others. I certainly do. Let's remind ourselves of the thought for us today: The crowd does not define us, God does. Even today, there may be things, people or crowds that look to label us today. For example, for a boss to say 'well done'. Or a friend to say how helpful we are. These comments are helpful indicators of performance but they are not defining. They don't describe who we are & what we do - not entirely.
As we look at Jesus in this story we begin to gain some understanding that this man is not motivated by the cheers or groans of the crowd. Their opinion does not decide his actions. Their labels don't define his character. Despite their turn of opinion he still went about doing good. Our theme for the year. (v5) “He laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them.”
Being a man of faith, of kindness & goodness was who he was. He knew it & so behaved in line with his character. We can learn from that today.
PRAYER
God, so many voices try and tell us who we are and who we are not. I pray that over it all, we would hear your voice louder and clearer saying "I love you, my creation, my child." Thank you for your spirit. Amen.
Want to get this podcast regularly? See http://stthomascrookes.org/podcast/
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By STC SheffieldREADING: MARK 6:1-13
Jesus left there and went to his home town, accompanied by his disciples. 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 him? What are these remarkable miracles he is performing? Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?’ And they took offence at him.
Jesus said to them, ‘A prophet is not without honour except in his own town, among his relatives and in his own home.’ He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few people who were ill and heal them. He was amazed at their lack of faith.
Then Jesus went around teaching from village to village. Calling the Twelve to him, he began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over impure spirits.
These were his instructions: ‘Take nothing for the journey except a staff – no bread, no bag, no money in your belts. Wear sandals but not an extra shirt. Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that town. And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, leave that place and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.’
They went out and preached that people should repent. They drove out many demons and anointed with oil many people who were ill and healed them.
REFLECTION
Hello and welcome to Monday's Foundations podcast. My name is James and alongside a great team I lead the student work at STC. I’m married to the wonderful Lucy and I first came to Sheffield as a student in 2008 and made my home here after graduating. I just love this city and especially this church.
Throughout this week we will be looking at Mark chapter 6 together and starting chapter 7 on Friday. Today's verses are 1-13 and you can find the full reading on the Foundations website.
Here is the simple outline of the thought for today… The crowd does not define us, God does. From this story in the Gospel of Mark, we are taught a quick and important lesson about crowds. Their opinions can swing from one moment to the next - but however loud their voice it does not define us - God does.
Let’s look at the first three verses. “Jesus left there and went to his home town, accompanied by his disciples. 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 him? What are these remarkable miracles he is performing? Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” And they took offence at him.”
It's true isn't it: one moment the people around Jesus are amazed, the next they are offended. How confusing it must be to live only by the labels of others. Imagine having your profile picture on the homepage of your high school's website - people in your home town proud to associate how close a school year they might have been to yours, only to find the next day the shouts turn to jeers as you fall out of favour.
The scramble for attention to stay relevant is being brought more and more attention if we just look at culture, especially this new wave of reality TV. For example, confession time now, I don't know how it happened but I watched the launch of this year's “celebrity big brother”. (Shout out to all the fans out there). One by one the not-so-household named celebrities entered this house. And I was stunned by one housemate who was famous for previously being in the Big Brother House. She self-proclaimed that it was the worst decision she had ever made and yet here she stood, ready to go back in. Scandal.
The draw of the crowd, their opinion, how they viewed her (& probably the cash) meant more to this housemate than her integrity in that moment. That crowd shaped her behaviour.
But the temptation is real. If we are honest I think we all would admit there are times we look for affirmation too strongly in the opinions of others. I certainly do. Let's remind ourselves of the thought for us today: The crowd does not define us, God does. Even today, there may be things, people or crowds that look to label us today. For example, for a boss to say 'well done'. Or a friend to say how helpful we are. These comments are helpful indicators of performance but they are not defining. They don't describe who we are & what we do - not entirely.
As we look at Jesus in this story we begin to gain some understanding that this man is not motivated by the cheers or groans of the crowd. Their opinion does not decide his actions. Their labels don't define his character. Despite their turn of opinion he still went about doing good. Our theme for the year. (v5) “He laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them.”
Being a man of faith, of kindness & goodness was who he was. He knew it & so behaved in line with his character. We can learn from that today.
PRAYER
God, so many voices try and tell us who we are and who we are not. I pray that over it all, we would hear your voice louder and clearer saying "I love you, my creation, my child." Thank you for your spirit. Amen.
Want to get this podcast regularly? See http://stthomascrookes.org/podcast/