Where Is the Awe?

Introduction

What do you like most about a new car? Maybe it is being able to look at the odometer and realize it has only a few miles on it and you are going to be the one who will put all the miles on it. Maybe it is pride of ownership. Maybe we like a new car because there is a certain sense of pride in being able to make such a purchase. You know what I think most people like about a new car? It’s the smell. New cars have a smell to them that a used car doesn’t. In fact, odor manufacturing companies must know there is something to that new car smell because it is possible to buy new car smell in a bottle. Just a little spray every few days and you can keep that new car smell for a long time.

Have you noticed what happens though as the car ages? As the odometer begins to pass the 20,000 mile mark and we have owned the car for a couple of years or so, the floor mats begin to look worn, the accumulation of dirt is evident, and there are bits of trash in the ashtrays and crevices. And as the car begins to have that lived in look, the car begins to lose its luster. We have gone from taking great care to remove dirt and bird droppings during those first months of newness to washing it once a year and that is through the car wash. What happened? Is the car less valuable? We say the newness has worn off. We have a saying in our culture—familiarity breeds contempt. This is a short pithy way of saying that we begin to take things for granted the more we are around something. Something new loses its luster and we may not mistreat it, but what was once new and shiny and dear becomes something old and dull and expected.

So we go car shopping every few years to regain the new car smell. Sometimes we approach relationships this way. There really is a seven year itch. That’s about how long it takes for couples to begin to feel like the relationship is dull and lifeless and the marriage has lost its new car smell. And so some go looking for something better. Jobs lose that new car smell. Sometimes we find after a few years at a job that what once excited us is no longer exciting. Now it is tedious, boring and unfulfilling and the longer we remain at the job the easier it is to notice the bits of trash in the crevices and see the accumulation of dirt. Familiarity breeds contempt.

No Appreciation

Jesus goes home. Nazareth. It’s a little town. He grew up here. He knows the people. The people know him. Mark tells us that they know him too well. He goes to his home congregation and preaches. The people are amazed. They aren’t proud. They aren’t believing. This isn’t the amazement that comes when the home crowd thinks this little boy grew into a man of such wisdom and learning, we would have never thought that was possible. No, this is the amazement which comes when people think there is no way we can accept what this man is saying to us. This is the amazement which comes from familiarity. The people in this town know him. They know his family. They do not accept him as he truly is.

In those days the social lines were drawn very tightly. While we have our own social lines, we do allow people to cross those lines upwardly. We aren’t surprised when someone leaves the ruts of poverty and finds a way to excel in our culture. But in Jesus’ day, once a carpenter always a carpenter. Education was only for the elite. Teachers came from those who gave themselves over to lots of study not to a man with hands roughened by daily use with wood and stone. These folks knew Jesus too well. They did not see him as a prophet. They were offended by him. His teaching, his healing, his call to a higher form of living resulted in their dishonoring him. They rejected him.

And in one of those times Mark allows us to see the emotions of Jesus. The NIV says he was amazed. It is a word which expresses deep disbelief. As we would say “I can’t believe it.” Again, Mark is a master at revealing Jesus’ story to us. Notice the following: the evil spirit cries out in Jesus’ presence in a synagogue at Capernaum “I know who you are—The Holy One of God!” But the people in that same passage say “Who is this? A new teaching—and with authority.” The demons know who Jesus is. But some of the religious leaders say “Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” The evil spirits call out “You are the Son of God.” But the disciples who watch him control the harshest storm on Galilee say “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!” The legion of demons cry out “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?” But the people say “Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?”

Do you not find that incredible? The demons know him but the people do not. The demons believe him to be the son of God, but the people reject his claims. The demons want nothing to do with him because they recognize his power; the people want nothing to do with Jesus because they think they know him. Familiarity breeds contempt.

Where is the Awe?

Jesus in his hometown is considered common. The people watched him grow up and the stories that they have heard about him are ignored. There is no sense of wonder among the people. Instead they reject Jesus. Being familiar with him, he doesn’t receive a hearing among the people. Here is the point: when there is no sense of awe, there is no faith. Last Sunday I returned to the congregation where I grew up and preached. I have done this for several years. But it always happens. Someone will say “I remember when you were a little boy.” Well, of course, they do. They watched me grow up. They knew my personality and some may even base their ideas about me upon what they remember. In Jesus’ case, what the people remembered about him resulted in their lack of faith.

Let’s be real. We can end up just like those Nazareth folks. Some of us grew up hearing the Jesus story. Many of us can quote bits and pieces and maybe even large sections. We read our Bibles and the words are just like the words on any other page. We have become so familiar to Jesus that we take him for granted. And when we take him for granted there is no faith—there is only traditions. Instead of the words of Jesus leaping into our hearts to change us and mold us they become stale lifeless sounds. We know we are supposed to believe them, like them, respond to them, but the life is gone out of the words because familiarity breeds contempt.

When there is no awe, there is no faith and when there is no faith there is no power. Mark tells us that because of the lack of faith in Nazareth, Jesus didn’t perform many miracles there. It wasn’t that he couldn’t perform them, it was that he chose not to perform them because of the lack of faith. God doesn’t waste his power on those who do not want it. Do not misunderstand, I am not making a blanket statement about the connection between faith and seeing the power of God. I am making a connection between faith and recognizing that God is among us. And when we recognize God’s presence we will see his power.

When there is no sense of awe about Jesus, then there is a lack of faith and when faith is lacking God’s power is not readily seen or appreciated. Notice that Mark tells us that Jesus did some miracles in Nazareth, but even those few weren’t enough to help the people see that God was among them. The demons believed, but the people didn’t. The demons confessed, but the people rejected. What will you do?

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