The town of Nazareth – Adobe stock image
He left that place and came to his home town, and his disciples followed him. On the sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astounded. They said, ‘Where did this man get all this? What is this wisdom that has been given to him? What deeds of power are being done by his hands! Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?’ And they took offence at him. Then Jesus said to them, ‘Prophets are not without honour, except in their home town, 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. ~Mark 6:1-6
Last week we looked at names – what they mean to us, how they impact us, how others view us. Now we expand on that to look at what else shapes our identity. Most of us have experienced the situation where people know only one dimension of our being. Perhaps they have only seen us as a colleague, or only known us through the way we are at work. Maybe they have us frozen in time as a small child, or a possibly rebellious teenager or a self-absorbed student. They know only once aspect of our personality, and identify us in only that one context, or one time period. Their image of us is static, regardless of whatever has changed in our lives since that time. In some cases, no matter how hard we try, we never are able to become someone/something else to even those who have known us the longest. We cannot seem to shed that “first impression”. Even Jesus was rejected as the Messiah by the people of his hometown, who knew him only as “the carpenter’s son.” How did Jesus overcome this? How can we?
Organ preludes will begin around 10:25 a.m. and the service will commence at 10:30 a.m. The link for this morning’s service is: https://youtube.com/live/Q3SyD0XE1BY?feature=share
Previous services can be found on the St. Andrew’s YouTube channel at: https://youtube.com/live/x0t67QInWfI?feature=share
Have a look at the Order of Service, scripture readings, hymn lyrics and announcements below – this electronic form includes hyperlinks for easy connection, but you can print the pages if you wish for reference as the hour unfolds, or even through the week. We invite you to join in worship, study and service as you are able.