Synagogue Church in Nazareth
Mark 16:9-15
A fellow was stuck on his rooftop in a flood. He was praying to God for help. Soon a man in a rowboat came by and the fellow shouted to the man on the roof, "Jump in, I can save you."
The stranded fellow shouted back, "No, it's OK, I'm praying to God and he is going to save me."
So the rowboat went on. Then a motorboat came by. "The fellow in the motorboat shouted, "Jump in, I can save you." To this the stranded man said, "No thanks, I'm praying to God and he is going to save me. I have faith." So the motorboat went on. Then a helicopter came by and the pilot shouted down, "Grab this rope and I will lift you to safety." To this the stranded man again replied, "No thanks, I'm praying to God and he is going to save me. I have faith." So the helicopter reluctantly flew off.
Soon the water rose above the rooftop and the man drowned. He went to Heaven. He finally got his chance to discuss this whole situation with God, at which point he exclaimed, "I had faith in You but You didn't save me, You let me drown. I don't understand why!"
To this God replied, "I sent you a rowboat and a motorboat and a helicopter, what more did you expect?"
Jesus almost seems a bit frustrated with His disciples in today’s Gospel, a lot like God in the story. He appears to Mary Magdalene, she tells the disciples and they don’t believe. He appears to the 2 disciples on the way to Emmaus, they tell the disciples and they don’t believe. Finally He appears to all the disciples and REBUKES them! I sent you Mary Magdalene and other disciples – SNAP OUT OF IT! What more do you want?
But then something unexpected happens, at least unexpected for us. Jesus changes His tone and sends them off into the world to proclaim the Gospel. He MOVES ON! He made Himself clear, He got His message across and He corrected their attitude. And then He commissions them to go out into the world. He doesn’t harp on their stubbornness and He doesn’t let them remain focused on their past failings. Let’s move on!
Aren’t we all just like the disciples? Too often we stay mired in the past, with things we failed to do; we refuse to let go of our stubbornness or our faults. We fail to accept them and then move on. God calls us all today to recognize our past faults, learn from them and then move on.
Get up! Get moving! You have God’s work to do today!