\u201cAnd he could do no deed of power there\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In Mark’s Gospel, there’s a story about Jesus teaching in his hometown. He’s already been going around the countryside calling followers, teaching, and healing. He stilled a storm! Now he’s home with the people who know him best. And their response is…depressing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The people who heard him that day were astounded at his teaching, wisdom, and deeds of power. And they were offended. Offended! Immediately (as Mark might say) instead of talking about what Jesus said, they started attacking who he is. He’s just a local boy, no one special. We know his family, they aren’t that great. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
And then, the Gospel tells us, Jesus could do no deed of power there. He failed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
That’s a depressing story, especially for those of us who are called to teach the message Jesus taught. Because what the Gospel tells us today is that, when teaching that message himself, faced with the disbelief of the people who knew him best, Jesus failed. He was unable to do for them what he had been doing all around the countryside – calling followers, freeing people from unclean spirits, healing the sick. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
If Jesus faced this kind of failure, this rejection, what hope is there for us? We, too, are trying to preach the word he preached, to call followers and heal people who are hurting. \u00a0When we carry out our various ministries – even just being a good hearted person out in the world – will we face rejection? What if the people who know us best say we\u2019re well spoken and all, but not good enough. Offensive, even. Will that rejection lead to failure? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
What about the world around us? The world that claims to want peace and justice? What happens when we go out and try to advocate for those things and\u2026we can do no deeds of power. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Our professions and educational institutions and businesses usually don\u2019t look too kindly on failure. An effort that doesn\u2019t go as planned is often personalized so that we think of the person themselves as a failure. For most areas of life, failing equals guilt, financial disaster, lack of intelligence, lack of effort, and waste. Failure equals a loss of respect and dignity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most people I know have experienced some kind of failure. We know what it feels like when a relationship ends or a project tanks or our health takes a turn for the worse. And if you haven\u2019t yet had those kinds of failures, I\u2019d like to remind you that you were probably once in high school where almost everyone goes through embarrassing failures of one sort or another.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Those failures are personal, events that makes us feel like we are failed human beings. It\u2019s hard to crawl out of the hole that failures seem to dig for us. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But the failure of Jesus in his hometown – and our potential failure as we follow in his footsteps as believers –\u00a0 is worse than personal. It is a rejection of love and justice. A defeat of all that is holy. Where does that leave us?\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When we fall flat, have we let God down? Or, worse, does it mean the whole project of Christianity is a disaster?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Today I am feeling this fear of failure intensely. When the leaders of our nation suspend the observation of Black History Month, at the same time as immigration officers are racially profiling people for deportation, at the same time as gender affirming care for young adults is banned, at the same time as humanitarian aid is being pulled from the most vulnerable people on Earth\u2026it\u2019s hard not to feel like those of us who value the whole of humanity and the dignity of every human being have been ineffective.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is depressing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But there is hope and here is where I find it:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAnd he could do no deed of power there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and cured them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the midst of his failure, of the rejection by those who knew him best, Jesus still healed. The power and love and truth that Jesus brought to the world were still active. And right after the hometown rejection, Jesus sent his disciples out and THEY were able to cast out demons and heal the sick.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jesus, you might say, kept calm and carried on. In a way, he demonstrated that failure is not the end. He gave his followers permission to try, fail, and keep on trying. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
There is, interestingly, a positive view of failure that has developed in corporate and scientific fields. I wonder if we might benefit from their example in some way. (And I wonder if their optimism about failure didn\u2019t come from religious folk in the first place!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some of you know that Post-it Notes are a failure – the inventor was trying to create a super strong adhesive. And failed. It is one of the reasons that 3M, the company that sells Post Its, encourages it\u2019s employees to experiment and fail. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Oprah Winfrey was fired from her first job as a news anchor.\u00a0
Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team.\u00a0
Albert Einstein had a failure that is so out of my depth I can\u2019t even describe it to you because it involves math.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And there are failures closer to home. Like some of you, I bet, I\u2019ve been up to my state capitol to join thousands of people advocating for causes I believe in. If you have ever been part of an effort like that, the atmosphere can be exciting and convivial. You are often surrounded by hundreds of people you\u2019ve never met before who all support the same cause and there is a temptation to feel that success is possible. People give powerful, personal testimony. Crowds chant and sing. It is both rousing and peaceable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But much of the time, those efforts do not end well, if \u201cwell\u201d means the legislative vote goes my way. Most of the time, at least for me, my colleagues and I fail to change the minds that need changing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yet every time, there are people gathered who needed to know we were with them. Every time, there were people who were not offended by the message we brought and felt a sense of healing knowing that they were not alone and not unloved. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
For scientists and business owners, failing that leads to success is part of an ideology of progress. Personal failures can lead to personal success. Corporate failures can lead to corporate success. Failure is a step along the way. It is a learning process<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I suggest that for followers of Jesus, failure is much more than that. Our failures are not simply a lesson on the way to success. There is something holy going on in the midst of failure when you are on a mission for Jesus. Our failures in ministry are evidence that we are with Jesus in preaching the word, sharing wisdom, and reaching out to heal.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the midst of failure, of people being offended at our message, there will also be people who need healing. There will be people who need to hear that they are loved and valued. That they are not alone.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jesus has equipped us to be the kind of people who are willing to fail, because as long we are are going about the mission of Jesus, there will always be people who need to hear the message we bring.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Based on a sermon preached at Christ Chapel, Seminary of the Southwest, 2\/9\/25<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cAnd he could do no deed of power there\u2026\u201d In Mark’s Gospel, there’s a story about Jesus teaching in his hometown. He’s already been going around the countryside calling followers, teaching, and healing. He stilled a storm! Now he’s home … Continue reading