Mark 6:7-13
Jesus called the Twelve to him, and sent them out in pairs. He gave them authority and power to deal with the evil opposition. He sent them off with these instructions:
“Don’t think you need a lot of extra equipment for this. You are the equipment. No special appeals for funds. Keep it simple.
“And no luxury inns. Get a modest place and be content there until you leave.
“If you’re not welcomed, not listened to, quietly withdraw. Don’t make a scene. Shrug your shoulders and be on your way.”
Then they were on the road. They preached with joyful urgency that life can be radically different; right and left they sent the demons packing; they brought wellness to the sick, anointing their bodies, healing their spirits.
Last week, if you’ll recall, we talked about the “who does he think he is?” story – the one where we are told about the people from Jesus’ hometown, who – even though they were initially impressed with his teaching – soon discounted him as anyone to be listened to – simply because they had known him as a child and thought they knew everything they needed to know about him. Before he came to Nazareth Jesus and his followers had been traveling around, teaching and healing in the towns around the region and he had been well enough received there, but in the end, he couldn’t accomplish anything at home and had to move on again to other people in other towns.
Today’s reading picks up right where that one ended. As often happens in Mark’s gospel, though today’s story follows directly on last week’s, they don’t at first glance seem to be connected, even though they are linked together in the lectionary as a single unit.
This is the 6th chapter of Mark. In chapters 1 through 5 Jesus was baptized by John, called his disciples, traveled extensively around the countryside teaching, and healed quite a few people - of both physical and emotional problems – all of which makes last’s week part of the reading just that much more inexplicable – and, emphasizes it’s point even more. Other people and places may recognize you, but don’t expect much understanding from those who are convinced they already know all about you.
Leaving all that behind them, Jesus and his followers set out again - only this time, the disciples are sent on further still – in pairs -- without Jesus – on their own. They are given instructions that we can only wish more self-labeled “Christians” would listen to:
• don’t carry a lot of baggage with you - all you need is already inside you
• forget the luxuries - be modest in your wants and needs
• if you aren’t welcomed and heard, leave quietly - don’t make a scene
Compare that list to the “my way or die” Christians who seem to be trying their best to take over our country today, with their endless news conferences and screeching demands. They don’t have leather-bound bibles and a memorized list of every “gotcha” text therein. They don’t have theological degrees. They certainly don’t have the government’s blessing to shove their beliefs down everyone’s collective throat.
Instead, this handful of disciples went out, armed with nothing but the Christ Spirit inside them. They loved Jesus; they listened to Jesus; they were so enthralled with what they had found that they just had to tell others about it. Armed with nothing but this desire, Mark tells us they sent demons packing ..... brought wellness to the sick, anointing their bodies, and healing their spirits.
And they did all this by going out and telling the Good News – the good news that life can be radically different. I sometimes fear that “radically different” is absolutely the last thing we want here in our comfortable lives. To listen to many church goers today, change is no longer necessary or desired because we have already arrived at perfection. For all too many, change is not only not wanted, it is actively resisted, and for many folks the ultimate goal is to even go backward to some golden age in the past.
No, these first disciples went out two by two and told the Good News – and they told it to others because they actively, actually believed it to BE good news – not just a nice bedtime story but a real achievable, here and now possibility in our own lives, in our own world – that our wounds could be healed, our guilt be forgiven, our broken hearts could be mended, that our relationships with others could be made right.
And as if that weren’t enough, this translation tells us that they did all this with “joyful urgency” ... Then they were on the road. They preached with joyful urgency that life can be radically different.
When was the last time you shared the Good News with either joy or urgency, much less the two together? Why not? Why not? The disciples risked everything to share this news and they did it joyfully and with a sense of urgency. They went into the world to tell people their lives could be “radically different.” Why do we – the recipients of this news sharing – not feel the same urgency? Not feel the same joy?
I think that part of the answer lies in a distaste for the pushier forms of proselytizing we have all run into in our time, and certainly a dislike for the aggressive “You’ll burn in hell if you don’t believe like me” garbage that seems so prevalent today – and yet, none of those things are what our scripture describes today.
Instead, the disciples are told to speak their piece – offer what they know – and then if it’s not received with interest to just quietly go on their way – much as Jesus had just done when he had tried, and failed, to teach in Nazareth. He demonstrated to us how to deal with those who will not hear us. He didn’t argue, he didn’t make a scene, he simply moved on to teach others elsewhere – those who will hear.
In our lives, there will be those with whom we share the journey. There will be those who honor our journey without feeling a need to join us there. And there will be those despise our journey and think us foolish. We don’t control anyone else’s response to our journey. We simply set one foot in front of the other and tell our own story of how our own lives are radically different than how they were before we met the ideas and the open-hearted love of this Jesus person - we tell our story with joy, and perhaps, some sense of urgency – not because there is a deadline, but because we are that excited about the story ourselves.
Today’s reading picks up right where that one ended. As often happens in Mark’s gospel, though today’s story follows directly on last week’s, they don’t at first glance seem to be connected, even though they are linked together in the lectionary as a single unit.
This is the 6th chapter of Mark. In chapters 1 through 5 Jesus was baptized by John, called his disciples, traveled extensively around the countryside teaching, and healed quite a few people - of both physical and emotional problems – all of which makes last’s week part of the reading just that much more inexplicable – and, emphasizes it’s point even more. Other people and places may recognize you, but don’t expect much understanding from those who are convinced they already know all about you.
Leaving all that behind them, Jesus and his followers set out again - only this time, the disciples are sent on further still – in pairs -- without Jesus – on their own. They are given instructions that we can only wish more self-labeled “Christians” would listen to:
• don’t carry a lot of baggage with you - all you need is already inside you
• forget the luxuries - be modest in your wants and needs
• if you aren’t welcomed and heard, leave quietly - don’t make a scene
Compare that list to the “my way or die” Christians who seem to be trying their best to take over our country today, with their endless news conferences and screeching demands. They don’t have leather-bound bibles and a memorized list of every “gotcha” text therein. They don’t have theological degrees. They certainly don’t have the government’s blessing to shove their beliefs down everyone’s collective throat.
Instead, this handful of disciples went out, armed with nothing but the Christ Spirit inside them. They loved Jesus; they listened to Jesus; they were so enthralled with what they had found that they just had to tell others about it. Armed with nothing but this desire, Mark tells us they sent demons packing ..... brought wellness to the sick, anointing their bodies, and healing their spirits.
And they did all this by going out and telling the Good News – the good news that life can be radically different. I sometimes fear that “radically different” is absolutely the last thing we want here in our comfortable lives. To listen to many church goers today, change is no longer necessary or desired because we have already arrived at perfection. For all too many, change is not only not wanted, it is actively resisted, and for many folks the ultimate goal is to even go backward to some golden age in the past.
No, these first disciples went out two by two and told the Good News – and they told it to others because they actively, actually believed it to BE good news – not just a nice bedtime story but a real achievable, here and now possibility in our own lives, in our own world – that our wounds could be healed, our guilt be forgiven, our broken hearts could be mended, that our relationships with others could be made right.
And as if that weren’t enough, this translation tells us that they did all this with “joyful urgency” ... Then they were on the road. They preached with joyful urgency that life can be radically different.
When was the last time you shared the Good News with either joy or urgency, much less the two together? Why not? Why not? The disciples risked everything to share this news and they did it joyfully and with a sense of urgency. They went into the world to tell people their lives could be “radically different.” Why do we – the recipients of this news sharing – not feel the same urgency? Not feel the same joy?
I think that part of the answer lies in a distaste for the pushier forms of proselytizing we have all run into in our time, and certainly a dislike for the aggressive “You’ll burn in hell if you don’t believe like me” garbage that seems so prevalent today – and yet, none of those things are what our scripture describes today.
Instead, the disciples are told to speak their piece – offer what they know – and then if it’s not received with interest to just quietly go on their way – much as Jesus had just done when he had tried, and failed, to teach in Nazareth. He demonstrated to us how to deal with those who will not hear us. He didn’t argue, he didn’t make a scene, he simply moved on to teach others elsewhere – those who will hear.
In our lives, there will be those with whom we share the journey. There will be those who honor our journey without feeling a need to join us there. And there will be those despise our journey and think us foolish. We don’t control anyone else’s response to our journey. We simply set one foot in front of the other and tell our own story of how our own lives are radically different than how they were before we met the ideas and the open-hearted love of this Jesus person - we tell our story with joy, and perhaps, some sense of urgency – not because there is a deadline, but because we are that excited about the story ourselves.
RSS Feed