Preaching for the Holy Eucharist, International Congregation, on July 4 Sun, at St. Agnes’.
Mk 6:1-13 John Yutaka Kuroda
Toward a new amazement
O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable to you, Amen. (Ps. 19:14)
This reaction of the people of Nazareth to Jesus in today’s Gospel reminded me of playing with a microscope. When I was about six years boy, I was able to use a microscope. So, I was so good at it that I looked at all kinds of things, hoping to see microorganisms. But I couldn't get it to focus. I turned the knob a little more and moved the lens closer. Then, “Crack!” The glass plate was broken, and the lens was stuck in the glass. If you get too close, not only will the image be out of focus, but something will be broken. The people of Nazareth were also out of focus because they were relying on the closeness of blood and land to see Jesus. Put differently, a local connection and Jesus’ family line hindered them from seeing his true figure.
Jesus is “amazed” at the people's “amazement.” This is different from the “amazement” that inevitably arises in those who are exposed to the gospel. They are out of focus in their relationship with God, relying on things that they should not do so. The biblical word for “sin” means “missing the mark.” And it would not be an exaggeration to say that being out of focus is the very state of “sin.”
If so, our state that Jesus is “amazed” at us could be another way of saying “unbelief” or “sin” as it is often used in the church. Instead of saying we are “sinful,” we can see it as that God is amazed at us. However, because we are the ones whom Jesus is amazed at, He had to go to the cross. Through the events of His suffering on the cross and His resurrection, Jesus comes to us, breaking through the high “walls.” These walls stand in front of the gift of amazement that we have somehow built up as we have grown up. It is a transformation from the state that Jesus is amazed at us to that we are amazed at the event of Christ.
Isn't this shift itself a way of being alive to the gospel? On another occasion, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it” (Mark 10:15). A child is a genius of amazement. It seems to me that this has to do with the power of amazement that children have. I would like to pray that we will be transformed into people who are honestly amazed at the Lord's deed, just like the children.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Ghost, be with us all evermore. Amen.
Mk 6:1-13 John Yutaka Kuroda
Toward a new amazement
O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable to you, Amen. (Ps. 19:14)
This reaction of the people of Nazareth to Jesus in today’s Gospel reminded me of playing with a microscope. When I was about six years boy, I was able to use a microscope. So, I was so good at it that I looked at all kinds of things, hoping to see microorganisms. But I couldn't get it to focus. I turned the knob a little more and moved the lens closer. Then, “Crack!” The glass plate was broken, and the lens was stuck in the glass. If you get too close, not only will the image be out of focus, but something will be broken. The people of Nazareth were also out of focus because they were relying on the closeness of blood and land to see Jesus. Put differently, a local connection and Jesus’ family line hindered them from seeing his true figure.
Jesus is “amazed” at the people's “amazement.” This is different from the “amazement” that inevitably arises in those who are exposed to the gospel. They are out of focus in their relationship with God, relying on things that they should not do so. The biblical word for “sin” means “missing the mark.” And it would not be an exaggeration to say that being out of focus is the very state of “sin.”
If so, our state that Jesus is “amazed” at us could be another way of saying “unbelief” or “sin” as it is often used in the church. Instead of saying we are “sinful,” we can see it as that God is amazed at us. However, because we are the ones whom Jesus is amazed at, He had to go to the cross. Through the events of His suffering on the cross and His resurrection, Jesus comes to us, breaking through the high “walls.” These walls stand in front of the gift of amazement that we have somehow built up as we have grown up. It is a transformation from the state that Jesus is amazed at us to that we are amazed at the event of Christ.
Isn't this shift itself a way of being alive to the gospel? On another occasion, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it” (Mark 10:15). A child is a genius of amazement. It seems to me that this has to do with the power of amazement that children have. I would like to pray that we will be transformed into people who are honestly amazed at the Lord's deed, just like the children.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Ghost, be with us all evermore. Amen.