August 13, 2023 ~ 11th Sunday after Pentecost
Rev. Beckie Sweet ~ Tending the New Creation
We, the God-created, unique and special human beings, have a variety of different ways of packing for a journey. I come from a proud line of humans who want to be prepared for anything that might happen ~ while I am on a journey, for after I have reached my destination, for how I will handle it if I get delayed on the way or fail to reach my destination, and for the journey back home. In other words, I over-pack BIG TIME!!
To give you a glimpse of that, let me tell you about my time working at Sky Lake. I lived in the Farm House on the West Shore, which was ½ mile from my office, and the center of most activities at camp on the East Shore. Now, I have always been known to be more than a little clumsy. In fact, while growing up, one of my nicknames was “Stumble Bum!” As I became an adult, however, while still stumbling a lot, I learned to be prepared to recover well from my stumbles! So, while at Sky Lake, I carried an extra set of clothes and shoes in my car, washcloth and towel, just in case I landed face first in a huge mud puddle. AND, because my car would not be close by if I was hiking with campers or with a retreat group, I also carried in my back pack an extra set of clothes and shoes, washcloth and towel, and a water bottle, a first aid kit, a camera to capture special moments, sunscreen, bug spray, rain poncho, a whistle (for those areas where there is no cell signal), a couple of breakfast bars, a hair brush, chapstick, notebook and pen, …. And the list goes on and on. My backpack was stuffed to the brim, and it was heavy. So, since the weight of the backpack would sometimes shift and throw me off balance, I also carried my walking stick!
When I read this scripture text about the early evangelistic adventures of Jesus and his disciples, my response was, “What was Jesus thinking?” Listen to those verses again:
Then he [Jesus] 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.
What was Jesus thinking? What if they stub a toe while wearing those sandals? What if they get hungry on the road? What if they want to pick berries, but have no bag to put them in? What if they want to buy food, but have no money? What if they fall in a mud puddle, but do not have a change of clothes in order to help them “recover well?” What if? What if?
In response to the “what if’s” Pastor Jo Anne Taylor states, “When we carry less of ourselves, we can do more in Jesus’ name. Minimizing our personal baggage maximizes our impact for the cause of Christ.” Hmmm! You mean, I have to trust that Jesus, and fellow believers and kind humans will provide for my every need? That is a lot of TRUST for someone who displays fierce independence and pride in one’s own preparedness!
Let’s look at the context of this scripture text. Jesus had been traveling from Capernaum up into the hill country above the Sea of Galilee. He was heading home, to Nazareth. He had made a significant impact teaching and healing down by the lakeshore, even healing the woman to snuck up behind him in the crowd as we heard last week. He had brought a dead girl back to life, the daughter of a temple official, Jairus. Now it was time to head back home. It was time to discover how the good news of God’s reign would be received in more familiar territory. That’s where we pick up today’s story.
Things did not go well for Jesus in Nazareth. People knew his history, and had no trust or expectation that this hometown guy could do miraculous things, or that he should speak with God’s authority. Who did he think he was?? Sure, they had heard the “rumors” of what he had done around Galilee, but they knew he was JUST a carpenter, conceived out of wedlock, who could get free meals and clean clothes at the home of his mother who still lived in town. Who was he to claim the authority of Almighty God? They certainly lacked faith in Jesus! They had too much personal baggage to avail themselves of the freedom that Jesus could give them.
Rather than getting caught up in local rumors and scandals, Jesus knew it was time to move on. And, it was time to give the disciples the opportunity to teach about what they had learned from Jesus, and even try their hands at healing! Now, this text comes relatively early in the story of Jesus’ ministry. Even in the fast-paced gospel of Mark, we are just at the beginning of chapter six, and there are 10 more chapters of the story yet to unfold. Jesus did not wait for the completion of the disciples’ training, or the perfecting of their faith, before sending the disciples out, knowing that they were already equipped to change lives with God’s love and grace.
Jesus CALLS the disciples to him, and gives them instructions for their mission and evangelism before they depart. You have heard those instructions from the NRSV twice this morning. Eugene Peterson, in his paraphrase of the text, puts a different spin on this as he states:
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. … Keep it simple. …”
How many times do we make the telling of our faith story so long and complicated, that others can’t follow us, and don’t get the message? And what if we have the right words to say, but we don’t model the kind of trust in Jesus that we are expecting of others? What if we don’t “practice what we preach?” What if it is painfully obvious that we are carrying so much baggage from the pain and mistakes of our past, that we are overburdened, using our past as a crutch, in order to avoid the light future of service and blessing that God has in store for us? In that case, our message will not be very effective.
Think about it! Maybe there is . . .
- Some hurt or regret you can’t or won’t let go,
- Some grudge you hold onto,
- Some addiction that has come to define your identity,
- Some anger that continues to burn in you,
- Some fear of failure that paralyzes you,
- Some problem that you just don’t quite want to trust to God to solve.
That can be heavy baggage! So, I go back to Jo Anne Taylor’s quote: , “When we carry less of ourselves, we can do more in Jesus’ name. Minimizing our personal baggage maximizes our impact for the cause of Christ.”
The disciples who followed Jesus to Nazareth didn’t abandon him when the town rejected his message. They were watching him closely to see what Jesus would do. Jesus not only continued on his ministry journey, but he multiplied and enhanced the effort by engaging others in that ministry as well. As they, together continued with ministries of preaching good news and healing the sick, casting out unclean spirits and giving hope to the poor, the disciples were learning what it meant to be followers of Christ, those who live like Jesus.
As when Jesus encountered the baggage-laden folks in his own hometown, the disciples would certainly encounter resistance, rejection, and even threats to their lives. But Jesus tells and shows the disciples how to deal with such rejection. Shake it off and move on. Following Jesus means putting it all on the line. There will be some who do not want to hear our message of hope. That doesn’t mean that we stop sharing it. Some may ridicule us or walk away.
But there are others who will respond to the good news that God loves them. When we put our full faith and trust in Christ, brokenness can be changed into fruitfulness. When we pack lightly, God moves us more nimbly!
Ask yourselves today: What baggage do I need to release into God’s care? What doubt do I need to set aside, so that Jesus can begin a mighty work in and through me? What impact for Christ’s reign is God just waiting for me to believe is possible? What am I willing to release, so that I may be sent out to share the good news? Remember: “Don’t think you need a lot of extra equipment for this. YOU are the equipment.” Share the good news!