The Death of John the Baptist - Mark 6: 1-29

     If I had to sum up this section of the sixth chapter of the Gospel of Mark, I would call it "Missing the Point." From the very beginning of the chapter, where Jesus goes to preach in his home town and is rejected, the people are missing the point. 

     At first, it seems like something big is going to happen. The crowds have gathered. Jesus is speaking. But then people start to let their own memories and perceptions get in the way of what God is trying to show them through Jesus. So they reject it. And Jesus moves on. 

     But the point isn't the crowd. The point isn't even the rejection. Jesus is still Jesus - he is still the Messiah, whether people recognize it or not. Jesus is no less the son of God when we fail to recognize it. Jesus doesn't lack power just because the people wouldn't except it. 

 

    So it is with us as well. How many times are we like the crowds - missing the point? How many times do we make worshipping Jesus about us instead of simply because he is the Messiah? How have we failed to respond because Jesus shows up in ways we don't quite expect? What needs to be set aside in our lives so we can hear the Gospel anew and respond?