“FROG”

(Mark 6:1-13) 

Jesus left that place and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him.  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?  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.  Then Jesus said to them, “Prophets are not without honor, except in their hometown and among their own kin and in their own house.”  And he could do no deed of power there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and cured them.  And he was amazed at their unbelief.

Then he went about among the villages teaching.  He called the twelve and began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over the unclean spirits.  He ordered them to take nothing for their journey except a staff; no bread, no bag, no money in their belts, but to wear sandals and not to put on two tunics.  He said to them, “Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave the place.  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.”  So they went out and proclaimed that all should repent.  They cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.

Now, when I prepare to go out for the day, especially if I won’t be able to stop back at home, I have to have my stuff: my calendar book, my Bible, other things to read in case I have to wait somewhere, my walking shoes in case I have time to do a little hike, a bottle of water, my purse, money (for sure), my herbs and supplements, perhaps some food, maybe a change of clothes.

So, why in the world did Jesus tell the disciples to take nothing for their journey when he sent them out?  “Take nothing except a staff,” they were instructed.  In addition they were to wear their sandals and only one tunic.  Why?  It seems so…shortsighted, so foolish, so flaky. 

The connection with Mark’s sending out the 12 disciples and the previous story in which Jesus was disrespected in his own town is simply to help us to understand Jesus’ complete focus on the Kingdom of God.  There would be nothing that would get him off track from his mission and ministry, even dynamics in his hometown and with his family. 

And that is the sort of focus he was calling out in his disciples—complete and total trust in God.  The preparation for ministry that Jesus gave to them, which seems strange to us, is that we must shed all illusions of self-sufficiency and independence.  This is necessary so that God can direct and sustain those who are called and sent.  This story was a teaching moment for the disciples and, of course, for us.

Now, don’t get Jesus wrong, or me, for that matter.  If you’ve ever gone to church camp or helped with a mission trip or stay-cation; if you’ve ever set out on a spiritual retreat or been a chaperone on a mission trip, you probably received a list of “what to bring items.”  Our text and words from Jesus are not permission to ignore your TO-DO lists.  This is not to say that you can go out without packing and preparing, procuring what tools you might need, and doing the beforehand work. 

It is a story that is intended to show us that the most important preparation for ministry (and that is what most of us are doing whether we intend it or not) is to let go of the thinking that we can do this by ourselves, that by packing our stuff and taking our muscles, our emotions and our brains, we have done all we need to do. 

No, the most important preparation really is the prayer and the reflection.  It is all about opening ourselves to God’s direction and care for us.  It’s about letting go of the thought that we can do this, that is, that we can touch lives and make a meaningful experience, all by ourselves.

I’m also thinking of what we all do daily when we’re out and about.  Those times when we’re in a doctor’s office or out shopping or visiting a friend, we must take what we need: our list of questions or things to do, the right walking shoes or our water or eye drops and, of course, our cell phone.  But, most importantly, we must always pray and trust God in all things. 

I know I’ve told this story before, but it’s a good one.  Some of you remember Blessing, our friend from Nigeria.  Well, one evening Blessing and I were driving to Akron-Canton Airport to meet her brother, Napoleon and his family.  They were arriving after a long trip from their time in a refugee camp in Benin.  They were in Benin upon escaping from Nigeria after Blessing’s husband, John and the other Ogani 9, had been hanged.  Because Napoleon had been part of the protests against the Nigerian government, he and his family were in danger, as Blessing had been. 

Blessing and I had been waiting for some time for their plane to get in.  I was tired and ready to go when they arrived.  Finally we were in my van, and I was making sure everyone was in a seat belt, had my hand on the ignition ready to start the car and throw it into reverse.  But Napoleon interrupted me and asked if we could pray.  It was a beautiful prayer that he offered, of thanksgiving and asking God to keep us safe in our journey to their new home in Akron.  I have never forgotten that important lesson.  Take a minute to connect with God in gratitude and ask for God’s help in going forward.  That’s what Jesus is talking about in this lesson.  

Clearly, these are difficult lessons for all of us to learn because even after the 12 disciples had been sent out with this important teaching, we see them later getting all bent out of shape about how in the world they were going to see that 5000 people had enough to eat and how that was going to happen.  Even after Jesus (read God) had fed the multitude, the disciples did not understand.  They had already been sent out to do ministry with only sandals, a staff and one tunic, yet their inability to trust God completely continued throughout the Gospel story even on the way to the cross. 

We, as you already know, are not so different from the disciples, so we have to beware.  Our purpose, when we are out taking God’s word into the world, is to see that that Word is heard.  It is NOT to make ourselves look good.  Ministry is intended to point beyond ourselves so that people can see God in what we do, and so that all of God’s children can see, hear and receive the Good News of God’s great love in Christ, the news of repentance and belief, repentance and faith, repentance and being sustained by God alone.

Now, there are folks who do good works as ends unto themselves, as a compartment of their lives, and that’s more than OK if it works for them.  We followers of Jesus, on the other hand, understand that all we do is connected to the very depths of our being, connected to the way we know ourselves to be forgiven and loved by God.  All that we do is connected to how faith grows because of our experience of Christ’s love and how that sustains us through the most difficult of times.  It becomes a whole life venture, seeping into every pore of our being. 

Without this complete, wholistic, God-trusting way of living our faith, we can find ourselves in the tight spots that various public figures have found themselves in.  And that is saying one thing, doing quite another, hypocritical and without integrity, not walking their talk in any way, shape or form.

The preparation for ministry, for serving, for living (for that matter) is in shedding all illusions of self-sufficiency and independence, so that we are open to God’s direction and care, so that it is clear that God is in charge. 

On this post-Independence Day weekend, it is a good thing to remember.  We all love our country and are proud of our heritage of bravery and freedom, and democracy.  Sometimes, though, I think we can get things a little backwards.  We connect patriotism with faith.  We connect partisan politics with faith.  We connect our own opinions with faith. 

When we shed the illusion that our little pea brains can figure all this out, that we can handle everything, we will be totally and completely open to God’s guidance.  Then our lives, our ministry, our mission can begin to reflect God’s purpose and the person of Jesus Christ.

In a little while we will celebrate our Lord’s Supper, an act in which we are reminded to repent and believe, to take the bread and become the Christ’s body in the world.  Clearly, this is not something we can do on our own.  Only with God’s help, may you, may each of us, be Christ to our aching and ailing world.  Just as his disciples went out, forced to trust God, may we go out into the world in Christ’s name, fully trusting and relying on God.  Amen.