Mark 6: 1-13
There are two connected stories in
today’s reading from Mark. In the first story, Jesus goes home to preach and
teach in the synagogue. No doubt he has become famous, and it’s nice to have
the hometown boy come and preach.
When I made the decision to go to
seminary, people said to me that they’d like for me to come back and be their
pastor. I said, that probably wouldn’t work. I’d prefer to come “home” to
retire. Obviously that was before we moved to Florida and my body said it likes
Florida winters better than southwest Michigan winters!
People say, “You can’t go home
again.” It’s true; while we are away,
home changes, and isn’t home anymore.
Jesus went home to preach, and
most of them didn’t like what he had to say. He talked about change in a place
and time where change didn’t happen much, except for births and deaths. People
were restricted to their roles: once a baker, always a baker; once a stone
mason, always a stone mason; once a grain miller, always a grain miller. There
were no opportunities to change class, to increase income, to go to college or
trade school to get a better-paying career.
So, here was Jesus. He had
probably been a star student in Torah school. He may have been known to make a
few healings happen. But, perhaps he never shared his new, radical ideas with
the people of Nazareth. He never before talked with women outside his family;
he never before challenged the temple practices; he never before reminded
people to take care of the poor.
So here he is with his new
message. Women are people. Forgiveness comes from God, whether you pay the
temple priests or not. It was easy to forget the messages from the prophets to
take care of the poor, the widow, the orphan.
People who knew him “when”
wondered who this Jesus really was. Some who knew him slightly wondered, “Isn’t
this Mary’s son?” They don’t mention Joseph – was he dead by now? Was Mary a
single mother? Notice also that Jesus has brothers and sisters, lots of them!
The townsfolks didn’t like what
Jesus was saying and doing. Jesus reminded the folks that prophets are not
welcome where they are well known.
Amazingly, after this rejection in
his hometown, Jesus gathers the disciples and sends them out, two by two, to
preach and teach and heal. He knows they risk rejection, and warns them about
it. He tells them, “In the towns where the people refuse to listen to you,
leave the town and shake the dust from your sandals so they know you reject
them as well.”
He sends them out empty-handed.
Take no purse or wallet. Take no extra clothes. Take no food. You will be
totally dependent upon the kindness of strangers – the people in the towns you
visit. And you will be dependent upon God, through the authority I give you to
heal and cast out demons.
Here’s how I imagine this worked.
James and John go down to the
seashore and start a conversation with some fishermen. They explain that they are
fishermen, too. They sit down and helped mend nets. After they talk and mend a
while, they ask if the fishermen have heard about Jesus and how he wants to
reach – catch – folks like them.
Martha and Mary go to the well and
themselves to the women they find there. They go to the women’s homes and help
mix and knead and shape bread. They tell the women about how Jesus talks to
women as if women have as much value as men. They tell the parable about the
reign of God growing the way a bit of yeast makes the dough rise.
Matthew the tax collector and Judas
find the local banker. They talk about money, and the power it has in their
lives. They ask the banker what he values most. Then they tell him Jesus’
parable about the field with a great treasure buried in it. Would the banker
sell all he had to buy the field and own the great treasure? Then they tell the
banker about the great treasure of a relationship with God as Jesus describes
it.
Andrew and Simon Peter find a
beggar with a badly crippled leg. They ask him what his life is like. They tell
him that he can be healed if he wants to be made well. They tell him about
Jesus, and heal the man, in Jesus’ name.
They all went out in the same way.
They took nothing but Jesus with them. They found some people to get to know,
and began by talking about what they had in common. They found a need in the
person’s life and related how Jesus could make their life better, make them well
and whole. Can you imagine their amazement at what they were able to do?!
… We, too, are sent out. We are
just like the first disciples, sent to tell people how much God loves them, how
readily Jesus forgives them, how having a relationship with God leads to a much
better life.
Some of us travel pretty light,
others carry the world, just in case. What do you always have in your pockets? In
your purse? … money, ID, car keys, cell
phone, candy, bandages, safety pins, pain medicine. … What if, before we began to talk with someone
about Jesus, we left all that stuff behind? What if we took only Jesus with us?
Imagine what could happen if we used
the same method the first disciples used. Imagine trusting Jesus to guide the
conversation, putting words in our mouths and belief in the hearts of those with
whom we were chatting. Imagine discovering that they don’t have a relationship
with God, and finding a way that Jesus could fill that gap in their lives.
I have a hunch most of us would
resist sharing Jesus, because, deep down, we don’t believe that Jesus will
really show up. We fear rejection, and so we anticipate it. We don’t see the
possibility of acceptance. We are too skeptical – and so, we are more like the
people of Jesus’ hometown than we want to believe.
This week, pray. Pray for God to show you
someone who needs Jesus, and to also show you how to reach them. Pray for the
confidence to open your mouths and speak. When the opportunity arises, tell
someone about the Jesus who loves you and all people.
Please pray with me. This week, O
Lord, we know we need you. Give us words, give us courage, give us the faith to
conquer our fears and take your message to those who need you the most. We pray
in your holy and powerful name. Amen
