SERMON: Mark 6:1-13, 7-4-2021

Israel was certainly a rebellious people, and yet in today’s Old Testament Reading, God sends Ezekiel to speak to them. They were being punished as exiles in Babylon, but now they would know that God had not forgotten them; a prophet was among them! The future was full of grace, for they would return to the Promised Land when Cyrus came to power. In the Gospel, our Lord was speaking graciously even after being rejected in His hometown; He sent the Twelve to other towns. Although they might also be rejected, they would have opportunity to speak peace and to heal. And now, in our day, though we are all rebellious at times, the Gospel comes to us in power. Indeed, Paul says that God’s power shows through his weakness. Through the Gospel, God enables us to change even our rebellious selves and to urge others to live as people pleasing to Him.