6th Sunday after Pentecost
Elizabeth M. Deibert
8 July 2012
Guide
us, O God, by your Word and Spirit, that in your light we may see light, in
your truth find freedom, and in your will discover your peace; through Jesus
Christ our Lord.
Many
of you know that I served as interim pastor of my hometown church for two years
before accepting the call to come to Peace in 2005. When I read scripture from the pulpit, I read
from the Bible, given in my father’s memory.
When I proclaimed God’s word, there were some there who remembered when
I had no words. There were others who
had gone to school with me from Kindergarten to 12th grade. There was my mother in the choir, my sixth grade
teacher, my jr high basketball coach, an old boyfriend’s mother and sister, my
piano teacher, my high school chorus director, and I could go on. I was now faith leader to those who had taught
my Sunday school classes and fed me at youth group, and watched me grow in
faith. It was an interesting time to
find my voice, my God-given authority as a pastor among people, most of whom
had known me well for the first twenty years of my life.
Yet there is a familiarity that
breeds contempt. There is no one who
can cut you down quicker or point out your inconsistencies better than a spouse
or sibling who wishes to put you in your place. In Jesus’ hometown it was no
different. The people who had watched
him grow up figured he was just like them.
How could a carpenter’s boy act like the Son of God? I mean, really, that just Mary’s boy. “Don’t you remember his brother? He was an average guy.” So the hometown community
rationalizes away all Jesus’ authority.
But the interesting thing about this
story is that when Jesus realizes his power has been thwarted by those who
don’t believe in him, he then simply passes off his healing power to his
disciples and sends them out in twos, multiplying the mission of God.
Let us now ponder what the Spirit is
saying to her church, as we read Mark, chapter 6, verses 1 to 13.
Mark 6:1-13
He left that place and came to his hometown, and his
disciples followed him.
2 On the sabbath he
began to teach in the synagogue,
and many who heard him were astounded.
They said, "Where did this man get all this?
What is this wisdom that has been given to him?
What deeds of power are being done by his hands!
3 Is not this the
carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses
and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with
us?"
And they took offense at him.
4 Then Jesus said to
them, "Prophets are not without honor, except in their hometown,
and among their own kin, and in their own house."
5 And he could do no
deed of power there,
except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and
cured them.
6 And he was amazed
at their unbelief. Then he went about among the villages teaching.
7 He called the
twelve and began to send them out two by two,
and gave them authority over the unclean spirits.
8 He ordered them to
take nothing for their journey except a staff;
no bread, no bag, no money in their belts;
9 but to wear
sandals and not to put on two tunics.
10 He said to them,
"Wherever you enter a house,
stay there until you leave the place.
11 If any place will
not welcome you and they refuse to hear you,
as you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as
a testimony against them."
12 So they went out
and proclaimed that all should repent.
13 They cast out many
demons,
and anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.
(New Standard Revised Version)
Have you ever considered that Jesus’ exercise
of power is dependent on those around him, believing in it? Our text tells us that when Jesus’ hometown
questions him, he is not able to do much, except a few healings. All of us function better when people
believe in us, when they affirm us, when they trust in us. But ordinarily when we talk about believing
in Jesus, trusting in him, we think of it differently -- that Jesus demands trust
as a proof of our loyalty. But in this
story, it is clear that he needs it.
Believing in him is essential to empowering him to do what he is capable
of doing. Could the same be true in
your life – that your trust in Christ empowers him to do more in your life and
others? I expect so.
The New Testament only records two
occasions where Jesus is amazed. Once,
he is amazed at the faith of the centurian, who believes Jesus can heal his
servant from a distance, only by saying the word. The other instance is in this story, where
Jesus is amazed at his hometown friends’ lack of faith. Faith or lack of faith are what amaze
Jesus. Jesus may not be actually be amazed
with us, but if he is, I prayed he is amazed at our faith, not at our lack of
faith. But I fear the latter may be
true – that Jesus is shocked at how little faith we have. Faith must be exercised to grow. Following Christ is exercise. Going where he says go. Doing what he says to do. All of this takes faith, courage, and
dogged determination to keep trying, even when the going gets tough.
In C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia, Aslan, the Lion King of Narnia, is
a Christ figure. Lucy, conversing with Mr. Beaver, is curious about Aslan. She
has never seen him, but has heard everyone say that he is "on the
move," and anticipates meeting him. "Is he safe?" she asks. "Who said anything about being
safe?" said Mr. Beaver. "Course he's not safe, but he's good. He's
the King I tell you." Following
Christ is not safe, but it is good.
And Jesus truly is the one "on the move." In Mark’s high speed Gospel, it is clear he is
going places and all who follow him must be ready to go also. The second
part of this passage is the sending of the twelve. In fact, the word “apostle” means literally
“sent ones.”
There are many people who believe
that the reason the Church (big C Church- not Peace and not just the
Presbyterian Church) is struggling is that we forgot that we are the sent
ones. We are called to go, to take the
Gospel into the world, not wait on the world to come to us. What are you doing about that?
And don’t miss the fact that when
Jesus sent the twelve he told them to travel light. The Gospels vary on exactly which articles
of clothing they should take, but the point is, especially in Mark, that they
do not need to carry a lot. This means
they will be depending on others for hospitality, for food, as was customary in
their day. He challenges them not to
try to find the most comfortable room in the town, but to stay with whomever
offers them a place first in that town.
And then, of course, the most memorable part of the message he gives
them is the shaking the dust off your feet when your message is rejected. This was a practice of pious Jews when
leaving a Gentile house, to purify themselves.
Jesus, having been raised as a faithful Jew, thought that the same
should apply when people are not open and welcoming to the Gospel. Move on, rid yourself of any regrets, any
bitterness or blemish left with you by their lack of faith.
For those of us who particularly like
to please people, this is a very helpful message. Some of us have very muddy shoes, from
carrying around with us all the negative comments we have received from
others. And it is not a good idea to track
the mud from previous relationships into the homes and lives of new
friends. Shake off the dust. Wipe off the mud. Rid yourself of all that negativity. Shake off the Christians who were a bad
witness. Shake off the people who don’t
want to give the church a chance.
Shake off the people who are just plain rude. Don’t be rude back, but let it go. It does not need to dirty your day. Shake off all the horrible, hurtful stuff
and put on Christ as Paul describes in Colossians 3. As God’s chosen ones, put on the forgiving love
of Christ, along with compassion, kindness,
humility, meekness, and patience. (Col 3:12 NRS)
Gospel sharing cannot happen without
Gospel living within you. You cannot
share what you do not have in your life.
So cultivate a life of faithfulness, of trust in the good news of God’s
love in Christ. But even so the Gospel
is not easy to share. Sometimes people
are not interested. Sometimes people
misunderstand. Sometimes people reject
us because they have lost trust in the church as institution, and
understandably so. The church has
committed some atrocities through the years and we’ve been terribly slow to
admit it.
And don’t forget: people expect us to be more loving than the
average person. They want to know we
were Christians by our love. We, the Church,
need to regain the trust of people if we ever hope to have an effective witness
again. Only if they trust us, will they
open their doors and hearts to us. Only
if our lives are a faithful witness we might earn back the trust that the
church for years has been losing by hypocrisy, by judgmentalism, by sexual
misconduct and by ecclesiastical battles over non-essentials.
But this passage reassures us, that
no matter how hard we try to be an effective witness, we will still be rejected
sometimes, even as Jesus warned the first twelve who went out. Jesus, thinking he could not secure the
respect of his “homeys,” sent others and empowered them to be witnesses of his
goodness by their healing of those in need.
And Jesus explicitly told his followers to travel light. We live in such a different culture than 1st
century early Christianity. What does
it mean for us to travel light as we engage the great commission – going into
the world to share good news? It surely
does not mean that we travel with no money and no clothing beyond that on our
backs. But perhaps it means we
simplify. Too much stuff slows us down,
encumbers us, makes it more difficult to trust in God to give us each day our
daily bread. We do not have to have
every latest and greatest electronic gadget.
We do not have to have a pair of shoes for every outfit. We do not have to eat out so often. We could live with fewer cars, a lot less
sugar, and smaller houses. We’ve
doubled the average house size in the last fifty years. Why not begin to live more simply?
Had the first disciples not been so
willing to carry the torch for Jesus, to go where he sent them, to share good
news of his power and healing touch, then the church may never have gotten a
foothold in the world. But they did and
it did. They were captivated by a
desire to follow, even at great risk and sacrifice. By the power of the Holy Spirit at work even
today, may we too be willing to accept the cost of discipleship and live grace-filled
lives of gratitude that commend the gospel to others.
Now to the One who by the power at work within us is able to do
far more abundantly
than all we can ask or imagine, to God be glory in the church and
in Christ Jesus
to all
generations, forever and ever.
