There is an ancient Greek – word, “Patrida.”
We are more familiar with a derivation of it, Patri, meaning “father,” as in patriarchal.
It is used here in Mark’s Gospel. It is perhaps “best defined” as being “one’s fatherland.”
Or, “the place of one’s birth…”
Or, “perhaps, one’s country of origin…”
Or better yet, “your “home.”
Again, the word is “Patrida.”
Jesus returns “home.”
It has been said, “With the possible exception of the family, nowhere “do the ties of the past” affect a person so much as those of the small town…or the village…” Memory serves them well.
Emotions run wild…they flood…they ebb…they can run high…they can seemingly rush…they can be overwhelming…
Talk about sensitivity…and being unsolicited!
When it comes to going “home” – feelings can run the gamut. Sadness, hurt, anger, resentment, remorse, guilt, confusion, anxiety, fear, excitement, warmth, love, glumness, worry, delight, affection, pleasure, tenderness, depression, fondness and attachment.
The area (that we are talking about) is about 25 miles southwest of Capernaum. Mark does not actually name the town…but we know it to be “Nazareth.” For Jesus(we are told) was a Nazarene.
There are usually reasons why people leave their hometown areas…and there are likewise reasons why they choose to stay.
Jesus left his hometown area. How long he was gone for, we do not know… Coming back home (for him) proved to be – “a surreal kind of experience.”
In Mark’s gospel this will also be Jesus’ last appearance in a synagogue.
We are told that his kinfolk expressed suspicion at his “deeds of power,” after all, to them; he was still just the carpenter, and the son of Mary.
Carpenters were at the bottom of the social structure in the first century – Israel. For some reason they even ranked below that of peasant farmers. Often times they would be gone for long periods of times on various work projects and therefore, were not present for their families. And Jesus was a carpenter…only he eventually left for good!
The townspeople would remember…they would not forget!
So, there was an implied animosity with his return. His decision to leave was a choice. He abandoned mother, siblings, and hearth and his fellow villagers.
I am sure you caught it; “they” (whoever “they are”) called him the “Son of Mary.”
The normal and obvious reference would have been through his father, not his through mother.
He would have been referred to as being, the Son of Joseph. But his kinsfolk chose to refer to him as the son of Mary, no doubt a slur on his possible parentage.
Rather than being enamored and in love with Jesus and impressed by what he was doing, they felt scandalized by him. From their point of view he brought shame to his family and shame to all of his neighbors.
Men of honor stay and take care of their families. Men of honor do not leave their village. Men of honor do not have questionable parentage. Men of honor are not carpenters. Therefore, it was concluded that Jesus was not a man of honor.
When the question was raised about his “apparent authority,” “his way with words” and where did he get it from…
It certainly did not come from his fellow townspeople. “They” did not like the things they were hearing about Jesus.
They did not want to see him do any deed of power. They didn’t care. They had heard more than enough.
He comes with his entourage. He acts all high and mighty and uppity, as some kind of a religious teacher. He says the things that “others” long to hear. They “know the truth.” They see through the façade. They are not fooled by anyone.
Going home isn’t always warm and fuzzy. Going home isn’t always about good memories and endearing people.
Jesus accepts their rejection. He does so with a “sardonic and proverbial observation.” He gleefully tells them that prophets are often “without honor” among their own people. How interesting is that – since prophets are generally honored. Except in their own hometown or among their own clan or in their very own village…
And Jesus left them for a second and final time, never to return again. So what is it like when you go home?