Meditation for 10 March 2010
From The Rev. Peter A. Munson
Mark 6:1-6
1 He left that place and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him. 2 On the sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astounded. They said, ‘Where did this man get all this? What is this wisdom that has been given to him? What deeds of power are being done by his hands! 3 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. 4Then Jesus said to them, ‘Prophets are not without honor, except in their home town, and among their own kin, and in their own house.’ 5 And he could do no deed of power there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and cured them. 6 And he was amazed at their unbelief.
Noticing When We Take Offense
Jesus preached in his hometown synagogue, and all the folks he had grown up with – his family, friends, and neighbors – couldn’t believe it was the same guy. Where did all this wisdom and power come from? Who ever heard of a carpenter with such presence and eloquence and healing power? Mark then adds a very short sentence. “And they took offense at him.” (verse 3b)
About a year ago, at a workshop that I attended, I heard someone say that when we take offense, it usually has to do with our ego. I have had many occasions to think about those words over the past year. (I guess I take offense more often than I had realized!) And what I am discovering is that these words ring true. When I take offense, it is usually a matter of my ego being hurt or offended.
If you disagree with something I say and I get all stirred up inside, it’s often my fragile ego that has been offended or bruised. If I start comparing myself to you – never a very helpful exercise, in my experience – and I decide that you are way better than me in some way (what undoubtedly happened with Jesus’ neighbors in this story) – then my ego is offended. If you are giving me feedback in a loving way, and I still am not able to hear it, but rather get defensive and lash back at you, I am mostly likely taking offense because my ego has been wounded.
We Americans tend to have big egos. In some cases, we have huge egos. The bigger our egos, the easier it is for us to take offense. The more I think the world is supposed to revolve around me, the more frequently I are going to be taking offense when things don’t go “my” way, which simply means the way that my ego thinks things should go.
The problem is that we’re not supposed to be big blobs of ever-expanding ego. We’re supposed to be way more real than that. God is calling us to discover our essence and to live out of our essence, and that essence is grounded in God. Here’s another thing: Essence does not take offense. Essence simply is.
You notice that Jesus still healed some people in his disbelieving, ego-offended hometown. (verse 5) That’s because healing came out of his very essence. And his essence wasn’t affected by their unbelief, though he was amazed by that unbelief. (verse 6)
If you find yourself feeling offended by someone or by some situation, you might think to yourself, “Warning sign! Caution! Yellow flag! Could this be about my ego?” And then start to notice and wonder, “Hmm… I wonder why I am taking offense. What is really going on for me? What can I learn from this experience? What is God trying to teach me?”
If we can notice when we are taking offense, then that noticing can lead to some good learning experiences for us. Shoot, we might even undergo some real-life transformation.
Or… we can just lash out, like Jesus’ neighbors did, and miss God who is standing right there in front of us. For everyone knows that God couldn’t possibly show up in the form of a carpenter. That would be way too ridiculous. Do you think I am stupid, or something?