Sermon - Mark 6:1-13 - 7/3/21

<p>I mentioned in last week’s sermon that, while I feel joy as we regather, I am also feeling a certain kind of grief and sadness.  I grieve because I know the church is not going to be what it was pre-Covid. This is proving true across the board for churches of all denominations, not just us. As we begin the process of regathering, I am fully aware that the post-Covid church is going to be different.  And, quite frankly, this change can be seen as a bad thing or a good thing.  This can be seen as a real opportunity for the church.  Just maybe, all the challenges the church now faces present a real <strong>opportunity</strong> for the church to be reborn, reshaped and made new.  Just maybe, God is calling for faith communities to become truly <strong>prophetic</strong>, to <strong>proclaim</strong> and <strong>live</strong> the gospel good news in fresh and innovative ways!  If that is the case, we need to be open to the change, and ready and willing to face the same challenges all prophets throughout time have faced.  And, as always, today’s readings are life-giving for us in this present moment because they speak of three “prophets” – Ezekiel, Paul, and Jesus.  All three of these men were called to stand up on their feet, prophetically call the people to faithfulness, speak truth to power and privilege, speak a word of warning, speak a word of comfort, and proclaim the good news that God’s life-giving power is breaking in and present in this world.  And, as has happened to all prophets throughout time, all three of these figures faced elements of significant rejection.</p> <p>In today’s first reading, we hear Ezekiel’s call story. God literally picks Ezekiel up off the ground where he has fallen prostrate because he knows his own unworthiness before God. God then prepares him to speak God’s message to the people of Israel.  That preparation includes warning Ezekiel about rejection as God says, <em>“I am sending you to them, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God.’ Whether they hear or refuse to hear