Shake Off the Dust

This was written in 2021 for Mark 6:1-6. Feeling a bit overwhelmed this week, I’m repeating it for the identical passage, Matthew 13:54-58, at the end of Sunday’s gospel.

Shake off the Dust 
Pentecost 9; Matthew 13:54-58 Year A 
(also Pentecost 6, Mark 6:1-13, Year B)
The locals doubted Jesus could be wise:
he grew to manhood right before their eyes,
a carpenter whose kin they thought they knew.
His gift was hampered, though he healed a few.
Belief, it seems, enables Spirit power,
and sceptics flourish in this day and hour,
pursuing facts and leaving wisdom out.
The chance to heal is undermined by doubt.
So those of us who teach the ways of soul
in hopes the world might turn and be made whole
are stripped of what sustains us on the road,
while lack of welcome multiplies our load.
We see so many signs of lack of trust,
it’s hard to leave behind the clogging dust.
	Barbara Messner 30/06/2021