Reflections for Proper 5 – Sunday, June 9, 2024

Brothers and Sisters:

I share with you a reflection on the gospel reading for today by Rev. Clark Tanner.

It is important to point out at the beginning, that the reason Jesus’ mother and brothers have come is to take Him quietly back home to Nazareth. They think He has gone crazy. They’re probably slightly embarrassed; standing outside this crowded house, asking someone nearer the door to call inside and coax Jesus out so they can talk with Him. He is in Capernaum. He has been doing miracles and preaching, and has apparently had very little rest for some time; and by all witness accounts, not enough to eat.

When His own people saw this, it says, they went out to take custody of Him. They were going to take Him, forcibly if necessary, and lock Him away for a while until He came back to His senses. They were His family. They loved Him. They wished Him well, and thought they knew what was best for Him.

When someone is doing the work of the ministry, hindrances can come from both friends and foes. The ones we must be most on our guard against, are the hindrances that offer comfort. The ones that come from a smiling, well-meaning face.

Sincere love does not necessarily go hand in hand with wisdom and understanding. Only the disciple can accurately, through prayer and attention to the Holy Spirit, determine God’s path for himself; and that path, once determined, must be taken whatever others think or say.

Jesus said, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to accomplish His work.”

Jesus knew His path. The plans had been laid and the fullness of time had come, and nothing could now deter Him from the work given Him to do.

Like the prophets He had sent before Him, they called Him ‘mad’. His friends thought He was over-worked and misguided; His enemies called Him the devil. But He followed the course the Father had set for Him, and He now calls all who call themselves His, to do the same.

Think on these things!