Home > Reading > The Daily Lectionary – August 28, 2016

mark6-4

Job 4:1–6; 12–21; Revelation 4:1–11; Mark 6:1–6a

My dad was known for his colorful language, which he passed on to my brother, Lloyd. When I told my family I was going to seminary, Lloyd asked me if my becoming a pastor meant he could not “cuss” in front of me anymore. I told him it might be a good idea for him to clean up his language anyway—but I am not sure he took it to heart! As Jesus said, “A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household.”

When Jesus returned home and taught in the synagogue, his reception was lukewarm at best. After all, this was the hometown boy they all knew as a child and youth; how could he have any relevant wisdom to pass on to those who knew him when?

Jesus marveled at their unbelief, yet God often sends to us signs and messages from the least likely sources. The better part of faith is learning to hear and see God’s presence in the unexpected, the too-familiar, the taken-for-granted. So God came to us in human form, the Word made flesh in a hometown boy who embodied God’s supreme message of forgiveness, reconciliation, and salvation.

Prayer: Lord God, keep our hearts open to receive your Word as he comes to us in ways we may not expect, that we may be blessed by your holy presence in every aspect of our lives. Amen.

Today’s devotion was written by Marty Ramey, interim Pastor of St. Luke’s Lutheran Church, Monroe, NC. 

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