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BEFORE SUNDAY …

The Fifth Sunday After Pentecost

Psalm 123

Ezekiel 2:1-7

2 Corinthians 12:2-10

Mark 6:1-6

Ezekiel 2:1-7 (with reference to Mark 6:1-6)

Ezekiel’s Call

1And he said to me,(A) "Son of man,[a](B) stand on your feet, and I will speak with you." 2And as he spoke to me,(C) the Spirit entered into me and(D) set me on my feet, and I heard him speaking to me. 3And he said to me, "Son of man, I send you to the people of Israel, to(E) nations of rebels, who have rebelled against me.(F) They and their fathers have transgressed against me to this very day. 4The descendants also are(G) impudent and stubborn: I send you to them, and you shall say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD.' 5And(H) whether they hear or refuse to hear (for they are(I) a rebellious house)(J) they will know that a prophet has been among them. 6And you, son of man,(K) be not afraid of them, nor be afraid of their words,(L) though briers and thorns are with you and you sit on(M) scorpions.[b] Be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, for they are a rebellious house. 7And you shall speak my words to them,(N) whether they hear or refuse to hear, for they are a rebellious house.

“Okay, who’s team is she going to be on? Come on, someone has to take her!”

“Thanks so much for asking me out, but I’m booked for Friday night.”

“We have a large number of qualified applicants for our university. Unfortunately we will not be able to accept your application to be a student for this fall…”

“I hate you! You’re the worst parent in the world!”

Rejection.

It is one of the worst feelings in the world. Who hasn’t been chosen last on the playground, or turned down for a date, or refused entry into a university, or been the object of scorn and bitterness? It hurts. It really hurts.

But don’t say God didn’t warn us.

Ezekiel was called to deliver an unpopular message. God warned him in advance it would not be received. But that didn’t matter. Ezekiel’s call was based on obedience to God and the message he had been given. His call was not to be popular at the expense of God’s truth.

This was not peculiar to Ezekiel. Isaiah, after receiving the glorious vision of the angelic hosts singing “holy, holy, holy” found himself saying to God, “Here am I, send me!” (Isaiah 6:8) So God sent him. And what was the call?

“Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive…” (Isaiah6:9), to which Isaiah finally replied, “How long, O Lord?” In other words, how long do I have to suffer this painful rejection from my people? How long do I have to endure the indignity and humiliation of this refusal?  And God said, “Until cities lie waste without inhabitant, and houses without people, and the land is a desolate waste…” (Isaiah 6:11).

God’s call is not about the response of others. Sure, we would like to be well-received. Of course, we would prefer to be accepted. Obedience to God’s call, however, is based on our willingness to remain faithful to His mission, to remain loyal to His message.  “And you shall speak my words to them, whether they hear or refuse to hear…” (Ezekiel 2:7).

As it was with the prophets, so it is with our Lord. In Mark 6:1-6, Jesus returns to His hometown of Nazareth, but instead of receiving the welcome of a “local boy done well”, He is seen in merely human terms (being defined by his parents and siblings). It did not deter Him, however. We read “…he went about among the villages teaching” (Mark 6:6). This certainly meant he went about the other villages teaching. Nazareth would not be blessed by Jesus’ ministry, but Nazareth would not deter Jesus from His Father’s call.

Where is the point of rejection in your life? Does it tempt you to curl up and withdraw? The point of rejection in your life may very well be the place where God re-affirms His call to you. It is not defined by the response of others. It is defined by God and His Word. Remain faithful. Whether they listen or not, be true to God – He will never reject those who put their trust in Him.

– The Rev. Marc Robertson