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Sunday July 9, 2006 - Proper 9, Year B

It's a story
that comes in two parts, and at first glance
they don't seem to have a whole lot to do with each other.
First we have Jesus going back to his home town and being rejected,
and then second
he sends out his disciples out two by two
to share in his ministry.
It looks like someone's just shoved two stories together kind of randomly,
and so most often
people read one or the other
and try to think how that bit at least
connects with their life,

But it seems to me, that there has to be some reason
why the person who collected all these stories about Jesus together to make the gospel of Mark,
there has to be some reason
why that person
put these two stories next to each other.
And so today let's look at both of them,
and see if we can find any connection.

It all began when Jesus
decided to go home for the summer.
Well, maybe not the summer, but according to Mark,
it's the first time that Jesus has been back,
as far as we know, the first time he's been back
since he stood in the Jordan River and was baptized by John, the first time
since he called James and John and Simon and Andrew away from their fishing, the first time
since he had become famous
for preaching and teaching and healing people.
Jesus went home, and I imagine his mother, like all mothers, was glad to see him, and fussed around washing his clothes and preparing his favorite meal and boasting to her neighbors
about how well he had done.
But I imagine
that she wasn't quite so happy
that he arrived not by himself
but with a whole dorm full of buddies,
twelve of them,
all needing clean clothes and food and all the rest of it too.
And of course, Jesus' younger brothers and sisters were hanging around too,
trying to catch some time with their famous big brother.
The small house was full to bursting point, and it didn't seem to matter which way Mary turned, there were people everywhere,
talking and laughing and sometimes snoring away in a corner.
So she was glad of the peace and quiet
when Saturday morning came
and they all piled out the door to go worship at the synagogue.

Of course, it wasn't a big town
and so when Jesus arrived with all his family and friends
it doubled the congregation,
and even though he tried to sit inconspicuously at the back,
people kept turning around to check him out,
so that it was difficult to concentrate on what was happening up front.
And then the guy up the front said,
"Any volunteers to read?
And Jesus, figuring everyone was staring at him anyway, stood up, and began to read the reading set for the day,
and then, when he was done, began to teach them about what it meant. And if Luke's version of Jesus' homecoming is anything to go by
Jesus was probably not doing a nice straightforward bible study on the history of King David
or how to keep the ten commandments,
instead, he most likely opened up the book of Isaiah
and announced the fulfilment of the prophecies about the Messiah.
The disciples sat
in absolute silence,
drinking in the words of their master — they were used to this sort of stuff; it was why they'd followed him halfway across the country to this small town in the back of beyond — but for the locals, it was just all too much to swallow.
And so after a couple of minutes
the whispering began.
"What's he doing up there? What right does he have to say that stuff?
Who does he think he is? The Messiah?
We know his father, and his mother, and the rest of his family — we know the truth. He's no better than the rest of us."

Jesus closed the scriptures, looked them straight in the eyes, and said,
"So maybe you didn't believe my mother's stories about the angel, or those dreams that made my father take us to safety in Egypt. All these years, you've been thinking they were crazy. But what if, what if they were telling the truth? I'll bet you've heard the rumors,
that when I lay my hands on people, they get healed.
I'm not boasting, God really is here.

"You just messed up big time. God doesn't like it
when people don't believe. And you know
it looks like
because you don't believe, I won't be able to any of that healing stuff round here. God doesn't like
to be mocked."

That's the first story.
And then comes the second.

Jesus left his hometown, and headed out into the countryside. His mother tried to give the whole bunch of them
provision: food, a change of clothing, a few coins pressed in their hands. But he wouldn't let them take it. "Give it to the poor" he said to his mother. "We don't need it."

And then he divided the twelve up into pairs,
two by two like the animals going into the ark.
It was time for them to do some work.
And so while he was traveling round villages teaching,
he sent them off on their own.
To preach and heal and bring the good news
to people.
But he also gave them a warning.
"If people don't welcome you, move on.
Don't waste your time. There are plenty of others
who want the good news."
And so the twelve went, and it was just like he had said.
They preached and they healed, all by themselves. Jesus had given them
the power of the good news.
But sometimes, sometimes, people didn't want to hear their message
and so they moved on.

Two stories, one about Jesus in his hometown,
one about the twelve apostles sent out two by two. And what links them together
is the warning.
It's told to the disciples — don't waste your time with those who aren't interested.
It's acted out
in Jesus's hometown synagogue — they didn't want to hear his message
and so Jesus
was unable to do the miraculous things
he'd done in other places.

It's tempting
if not to put ourselves in the place of Jesus, at least to put ourselves in the place of the disciples. Jesus has commissioned us to do his work;
we should go do it, and if people don't respond
we should just let them be and go work with people who are more grateful.

But what if, what if,
we are not Jesus or the disciples,
but the people in his hometown,
people in the villages who don't want to welcome Christ's messengers?
Because God doesn't always speak the way we expect.
While the TV evangelists
dress in fancy suits and list their credentials,
sometimes, maybe even often,
God comes to us
through people who are much more ordinary,
sometimes even
people we would prefer not to be around.
Just like those disciples, two by two, who carried no spare clothes, so probably looked
little better than tramps.
God came the villagers, God comes to us
often when we least expect it.
It might be the voice of a child.
Or someone who is a newcomer.
Someone from a different culture or race.
Someone
who we don't think of
as a great success.
And of course the danger is
that we will miss it.
We'll assume that the voice we hear
is too young, or comes from a different background,
or is too set in their ways, or too radical,
the voice we hear
just isn't how
we expect to hear God.
And if we do that,
we'll miss out
on the gospel, the work
of God in our lives.

It's kind of scary. The idea that God might have something to say to us,
but because we're not willing to listen — because maybe we just
don't quite trust the messenger, God might say, "Enough. I'm done with these people. I'm going to go talk
to someone else, someone who might
be willing to listen."

God welcomes everybody. But if we turn our backs on God
God's not going to force us to pay attention. As far as God is concerned, we have free will. We have a right to choose. And if we can't be bothered with God — well, God grieves — but in the end, if we can't be bothered with God,
God lets us live
with our choices.

But of course,
the other side of it all is,
if we welcome God,
if we listen,
if we pay attention,
amazing things can happen.
If we pay attention,
if we say to God
"Speak Lord, your servant is listening"
God might surprise us.
And we may find ourselves being fed, being forgiven, being healed
in the most unexpected ways.
It's a whole new life:
thanks be to God.

Sermon ©Raewynne J. Whiteley 2005