A one point commentary this morning, and it comes from the reaction of the people of Nazareth. They were offended that Christ taught as he did.
He was a local: he was raised in Galilee: he was not part of the elite. They knew him and his mother and father and brothers.
He was a local tradesman.
They wanted someone with multiple qualifications and letters of recommendation to teach. Not the truth, plain, from a man they knew. So they took offence, and Christ could not do any acts of power.
He went away from there and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him. And on the Sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these things? What is the wisdom given to him? How are such mighty works 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 offense at him. And Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honour, except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household.” And he could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them. And he marveled because of their unbelief.
And he went about among the villages teaching.
And he called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. He charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in their belts—but to wear sandals and not put on two tunics. And he said to them, “Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you depart from there. And if any place will not receive you and they will not listen to you, when you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them.” So they went out and proclaimed that people should repent. And they cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them.
(Mark 6:1-13 ESV)
In the towns around Nazareth Jesus disciples could do the work he commanded them to, because they did not take offence, and repented. One has to consider how this worked out: how God chooses people, and how our attitude to God affects how we respond.
And that has been controversial since Calvin and Arminius argued it 600 years ago, if not before.
But what is the source of our offence? It is that we do not want to change. We want to live a lie. We want a Narrative that makes us a hero, not reality.
We forget our state. We lie to ourselves that we are spiritual, full of light, and with a tendency to do good. We forget we are broken. We forget that even the best we do has base motives. We ascribe too much value to credentials, and not enough to truth.
And when we are called on this we are hurt: the more mature of us consider the words, test them, and reform. For we love God, and love truth, and park our ego in the outhouse, where it belongs.
But being offended helps you not.
And the church is not supposed to be just another branch of the progressive project. That project is died during the last cultural shift (while I was at primary school) and the corpse is now stinking. The church is supposed to be salt and light, not rot and darkness.
Do not let your exquisite sensitivity to insult keep the light from you. Being offended is destructive, and makes you miserable. Far better to reform: be strong, and find joy in the duties you are called to this day.