Pentecost 6
Sermon for Hope Episcopal Church
The Reverend Martha Frances
Year B, Pentecost 6, Proper 10
16 July 2006
Text: Mark 6: 7-13
Other Readings: Amos 7: 7-15; Psalm 85: 7-13; Ephesians 1: 1-14
Jesus called the disciples & began to send them out 2 by 2, giving them authority over unclean spirits. In last week’s gospel, Jesus visited a synagogue in his own home town, & neither his family nor his neighbors took him seriously because he was too familiar to them. He was a dismal failure there at home, for he was just the neighbor boy. Mark tells us he could do no mighty work in Nazareth—except to cure a few sick people.
However, undeterred, Jesus has moved on to other villages & towns, continuing his ministry where he is better received. Further, he calls the 12 together & assigns them each a partner & the duos the task to spread the Gospel in all the villages & towns of Israel. Can’t you just hear the disciples now? “Already, Jesus? Are you crazy? We’re not ready yet. We haven’t gotten our degree in gospel story-telling yet. What do you mean, authority over unclean spirits? Surely you don’t expect us to heal & exorcise already. What can we do?”
All these excuses remind me of Amos’ hesitation when he was thrust out of his comfort zone & out of his home in Judah to prophesy into Israel. Amos lived in a prosperous time, so it was doubly hard to tell strangers living the good life that soon, their land would be desolate since they were self-satisfied & did not care adequately for the poor & disenfranchised in their land. Perhaps it’s a lot like Americans’ reactions some time ago when Europeans warned us that we would soon pay $3.00 for gasoline. Why should we consider changing our driving habits as long as we had the cheapest gas in the world? Now the Europeans are saying, “We told you so!”
When God called Amos, Amos had told God just what he now told Amaziah: “I’m not qualified for this job. I’m not a prophet, don’t come from a prophet family, & don’t know how to speak. On top of that, I’m a foreigner, & no one will listen to me!” Of course, God didn’t take no for an answer which is why Amos ended up standing up to Amaziah & giving him the what-for about prophesying just exactly what King Jeroboam wanted to hear instead of what God wanted the king to hear.
Jesus doesn’t take no for an answer either but sends out his disciples in pairs with specific instructions. They don’t have to have the Gospel down pat to get out & share it with others—neither do we. They are always on a journey & invite others to travel with them. They go in twos to assure the validity of their witness as well as to represent the community of faith. We Christians aren’t supposed to be Lone Rangers but part of a community.
Why on earth does he send them out with only a staff & a pair of sandals? They can’t even have a change of tunic—what we would call underwear! The emphasis here is on the urgency of carrying the message & for the disciples’ total reliance on God. It takes a lot of trust to believe that God will provide the necessities you aren’t carrying with you, doesn’t it? These folks are to travel light & focus on the ministry they have to do. God is still asking us to do the same: travel without encumbrances & portray the Gospel of Jesus Christ not only with our lips but in our lives. What keeps us from doing just that? Whatever does is an encumbrance.
The disciples are to rely on the hospitality of others, staying where they are offered lodging rather than shopping around for more luxurious quarters. And what should they do if the people don’t accept their message? Shake the dust from their feet just as Jewish travelers did when they returned to the Holy Land. They aren’t to judge those who aren’t hospitable but leave that to heaven & move on. They are to recognize when they’ve done all they can & let go of guilt feelings for not accomplishing more. I have a hard time with letting go when enough is enough. Do you?
After all, whatever the disciples do is not to their own credit but to God’s. I don’t know about you, but when people reject what I have to offer, I get pretty put out with them. My 1st reaction is to assign blame. It’s either my fault or theirs. Jesus reminds the disciples before they even set out that their job is to be faithful whether or not they are successful.
The last part of the passage summarizes how these disciples ministered, & we can learn from them. After all, they had walked & talked & lived with Jesus in the flesh, so they proclaimed a living, breathing Gospel as they traveled. They preached repentance for things people shouldn’t have done, & they promised life eternal for the penitent. However, the disciples were to be concerned not only for the souls of those they met but also for their earthly needs. They cast out demons & anointed the sick with oil & healed them. We see the disciples ministering much as Jesus had cared for others, providing hope for abundant life now in this life & in the next. It’s almost as if Jesus sends the disciples out for a trial run so they will know they are capable of continuing Jesus’ ministry even after his death.
The missionary journey of the disciples was actually quite successful. Most places in his Gospel, Mark portrays the disciples as quite dense, not really catching on to what Jesus so patiently tried to teach them. Yet here, they seem to have gained enough of Jesus’ good news that they are able to pass it on. You know, we’re given the same commission as those disciples long ago to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ. How do we go & tell?
First, each of us has a story, a time or times in our lives when we have experienced God’s presence—God’s love—in a totally new way or to a new degree. Those times might include moments of conversion or the time when we hit bottom & were willing to be vulnerable enough that Jesus could change our lives. As we identify those moments, we need to learn how to tell about them, to see & share with others how our stories intersect with The Story, the Gospel Story. Our own experience is our most authentic & effective evangelism tool!
Secondly, we must learn to be good listeners. Today’s psalm celebrates our listening to what the Lord God is saying, & listening for Christ’s voice in our hearts & lives (often through the voice of another person) is a significant way we grow in trust of God. But we also need to learn to listen to other people’s stories. We need to honor God’s work in their lives & help them see God’s hand in their life journeys. Most people are thrilled just to be listened to, that something they have to say is important enough to pay attention to. I suspect much of the healing which Jesus, & later his disciples, did was as a result of really listening to others. We can give others that gift, too. We need never forget that it is not ourselves we proclaim but Christ Jesus—crucified, dead, & then risen. We don’t act as individuals either but as a member of a team, a community of other Christians with whom we worship, share our lives, & lift up one another in love.
Perhaps you, too, say—like the disciples—who me, Jesus? But I’m not ready yet! I don’t know enough! I’m only a lay person! Once again, Jesus doesn’t take no for an answer. Jesus calls each of us to active discipleship. Our credentials are our baptism. And our education for ministry is lifelong—worshipping together each week, praying & studying in small groups, taking part in training sessions like we are beginning in two weeks on the 30th—all on-going in-service in preparation to be ever-more-effective representative/ambassadors for Christ. Over & over we begin here in community: proclaiming the Christ story we share, gathering at the Eucharistic table in thanksgiving, recalling God’s amazing love in creation & redemption, breaking bread together, & stepping forward into the future in hopeful expectancy.
The Reverend Martha Frances
Year B, Pentecost 6, Proper 10
16 July 2006
Text: Mark 6: 7-13
Other Readings: Amos 7: 7-15; Psalm 85: 7-13; Ephesians 1: 1-14
Jesus called the disciples & began to send them out 2 by 2, giving them authority over unclean spirits. In last week’s gospel, Jesus visited a synagogue in his own home town, & neither his family nor his neighbors took him seriously because he was too familiar to them. He was a dismal failure there at home, for he was just the neighbor boy. Mark tells us he could do no mighty work in Nazareth—except to cure a few sick people.
However, undeterred, Jesus has moved on to other villages & towns, continuing his ministry where he is better received. Further, he calls the 12 together & assigns them each a partner & the duos the task to spread the Gospel in all the villages & towns of Israel. Can’t you just hear the disciples now? “Already, Jesus? Are you crazy? We’re not ready yet. We haven’t gotten our degree in gospel story-telling yet. What do you mean, authority over unclean spirits? Surely you don’t expect us to heal & exorcise already. What can we do?”
All these excuses remind me of Amos’ hesitation when he was thrust out of his comfort zone & out of his home in Judah to prophesy into Israel. Amos lived in a prosperous time, so it was doubly hard to tell strangers living the good life that soon, their land would be desolate since they were self-satisfied & did not care adequately for the poor & disenfranchised in their land. Perhaps it’s a lot like Americans’ reactions some time ago when Europeans warned us that we would soon pay $3.00 for gasoline. Why should we consider changing our driving habits as long as we had the cheapest gas in the world? Now the Europeans are saying, “We told you so!”
When God called Amos, Amos had told God just what he now told Amaziah: “I’m not qualified for this job. I’m not a prophet, don’t come from a prophet family, & don’t know how to speak. On top of that, I’m a foreigner, & no one will listen to me!” Of course, God didn’t take no for an answer which is why Amos ended up standing up to Amaziah & giving him the what-for about prophesying just exactly what King Jeroboam wanted to hear instead of what God wanted the king to hear.
Jesus doesn’t take no for an answer either but sends out his disciples in pairs with specific instructions. They don’t have to have the Gospel down pat to get out & share it with others—neither do we. They are always on a journey & invite others to travel with them. They go in twos to assure the validity of their witness as well as to represent the community of faith. We Christians aren’t supposed to be Lone Rangers but part of a community.
Why on earth does he send them out with only a staff & a pair of sandals? They can’t even have a change of tunic—what we would call underwear! The emphasis here is on the urgency of carrying the message & for the disciples’ total reliance on God. It takes a lot of trust to believe that God will provide the necessities you aren’t carrying with you, doesn’t it? These folks are to travel light & focus on the ministry they have to do. God is still asking us to do the same: travel without encumbrances & portray the Gospel of Jesus Christ not only with our lips but in our lives. What keeps us from doing just that? Whatever does is an encumbrance.
The disciples are to rely on the hospitality of others, staying where they are offered lodging rather than shopping around for more luxurious quarters. And what should they do if the people don’t accept their message? Shake the dust from their feet just as Jewish travelers did when they returned to the Holy Land. They aren’t to judge those who aren’t hospitable but leave that to heaven & move on. They are to recognize when they’ve done all they can & let go of guilt feelings for not accomplishing more. I have a hard time with letting go when enough is enough. Do you?
After all, whatever the disciples do is not to their own credit but to God’s. I don’t know about you, but when people reject what I have to offer, I get pretty put out with them. My 1st reaction is to assign blame. It’s either my fault or theirs. Jesus reminds the disciples before they even set out that their job is to be faithful whether or not they are successful.
The last part of the passage summarizes how these disciples ministered, & we can learn from them. After all, they had walked & talked & lived with Jesus in the flesh, so they proclaimed a living, breathing Gospel as they traveled. They preached repentance for things people shouldn’t have done, & they promised life eternal for the penitent. However, the disciples were to be concerned not only for the souls of those they met but also for their earthly needs. They cast out demons & anointed the sick with oil & healed them. We see the disciples ministering much as Jesus had cared for others, providing hope for abundant life now in this life & in the next. It’s almost as if Jesus sends the disciples out for a trial run so they will know they are capable of continuing Jesus’ ministry even after his death.
The missionary journey of the disciples was actually quite successful. Most places in his Gospel, Mark portrays the disciples as quite dense, not really catching on to what Jesus so patiently tried to teach them. Yet here, they seem to have gained enough of Jesus’ good news that they are able to pass it on. You know, we’re given the same commission as those disciples long ago to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ. How do we go & tell?
First, each of us has a story, a time or times in our lives when we have experienced God’s presence—God’s love—in a totally new way or to a new degree. Those times might include moments of conversion or the time when we hit bottom & were willing to be vulnerable enough that Jesus could change our lives. As we identify those moments, we need to learn how to tell about them, to see & share with others how our stories intersect with The Story, the Gospel Story. Our own experience is our most authentic & effective evangelism tool!
Secondly, we must learn to be good listeners. Today’s psalm celebrates our listening to what the Lord God is saying, & listening for Christ’s voice in our hearts & lives (often through the voice of another person) is a significant way we grow in trust of God. But we also need to learn to listen to other people’s stories. We need to honor God’s work in their lives & help them see God’s hand in their life journeys. Most people are thrilled just to be listened to, that something they have to say is important enough to pay attention to. I suspect much of the healing which Jesus, & later his disciples, did was as a result of really listening to others. We can give others that gift, too. We need never forget that it is not ourselves we proclaim but Christ Jesus—crucified, dead, & then risen. We don’t act as individuals either but as a member of a team, a community of other Christians with whom we worship, share our lives, & lift up one another in love.
Perhaps you, too, say—like the disciples—who me, Jesus? But I’m not ready yet! I don’t know enough! I’m only a lay person! Once again, Jesus doesn’t take no for an answer. Jesus calls each of us to active discipleship. Our credentials are our baptism. And our education for ministry is lifelong—worshipping together each week, praying & studying in small groups, taking part in training sessions like we are beginning in two weeks on the 30th—all on-going in-service in preparation to be ever-more-effective representative/ambassadors for Christ. Over & over we begin here in community: proclaiming the Christ story we share, gathering at the Eucharistic table in thanksgiving, recalling God’s amazing love in creation & redemption, breaking bread together, & stepping forward into the future in hopeful expectancy.
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