07/19/2009 7th Sunday of Pentecost Mark 6:30-34, 53-56 – By Pastor Mark Moore Older Sermons
Generally…I like a good story
I like to take a look at a
rough, ROUGH Greek translation of the text
(of course that’s the only kind I can do without
someone else’s layer of interpretation on it )
Most of all I like to look at what was happening then in comparison to what’s happening now
Of course law and Gospel goes without saying.
Today’s gospel reading just sort of breaks into 3 parts
You’ll note it’s actually two separate segments of chapter 6 of Mark’s gospel, and it leaves out two really big stories
… the feeding of the 5000 and Jesus walking on water
Fear not… we’ll hear these as they are reported in John’s gospel next week
Jesus has sent out his disciples on a mission to preach and teach and heal and they have returned
The "apostles" have now gathered together with Jesus and report everything that they did and taught
However, we are not told anything more about what they did or taught
Perhaps it is better that we didn’t get the specifics
We, who continue the apostolic mission, need to determine what we need to do and teach in our time and place
We can't simply repeat what the original disciples said and did.
Do you ever think… how do we make use of the authority Jesus has given us "over unclean spirits"?
We need to discover how we can best spread the gospel in our time and place with our words and deeds.
I’ve thought a bit about how Jesus uses the word apostle too
The noun "apostle" occurs only twice in Mark.
Here Jesus calls the twelve by this title
I think that for Mark, "apostle" is not a technical term "The Twelve Apostles" but a descriptive term
It is related to the verb, which means, "to send out …with a message"
The noun then means "people who are sent out ..with a message"
As a descriptive term then, it is one that also applies to us
Like the first twelve, we are also “people who are sent out with a message"
It wasn't just an activity or a title for the first twelve but for all who follow
I think that we have made a mistake by referring to the "apostolic tradition" primarily as doctrine or theology or teachings
These are very important but the word "apostolic" implies the necessity of being sent out
Douglas John Hall writes:
Christianity does have a mission to the world, and that mission is the most basic reason for the existence of the church. There are religions that do not have a missionary impulse in them; but Christianity has been pushed out into the world from the beginning, like a little fledgling bird nudged out of its cozy nest by its parents.
That is in fact a good analogy, because what drives Christianity towards the world is not personal eagerness for exposure to the public sphere, nor a desire to become big and powerful, nor a sense of its superiority over every other faith.
It is "sent out", usually against its own will, by the God who has called it into being, because of love for ... the world.
… the mission of the church is of central importance to Christian faith, so much so that it constitutes the most basic reason why the church must exist.
Of course the church needs to have periods of retreat from the world, to recover its own identity through study and prayer, to renew its courage, and so on
But precisely in these times of renewal, the church learns once more that it does not exist for its own sake.
A church that kept to itself and was content to be a comfortable "fellowship" would contradict the whole message of the New Testament.
If we are to be apostolic … as we confess, that requires a "sent-out-ness" to our being, a spreading of the message, rather than just keeping “the correct” message for ourselves
After Jesus de-briefs the twelve on their mission experience, they go off in a boat to find a place away from crowds; that are not even giving them an opportunity to eat in peace but these people saw where they were going, followed them around the lake, and even got there ahead of the boat
What do they expect from Jesus?
that leads them to go to where he is going?
What motivates people to drop everything and seek Jesus today?
We aren't told anything about the crowd's motives but we are told about Jesus' motivation
He has compassion on them. Because "They are like sheep who don't have a shepherd."
I find some parallels in this story with the Psalm today, the familiar and comforting 23 psalm, “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not be in want”
The first thing that Jesus does with these shepherdless people is to teach them many things. I would think that his teaching would help "lead them in right paths."
The second thing that Jesus does with these shepherdless people is to feed all them
Psalm 23 deals with food and drink:
"He makes me lie down in green pastures."
"He leads me beside still waters."
"You prepare a table before me."
The third and fourth things Jesus does only with the disciples, not the whole crowd is to send them across the lake and then to come and protect them from the storm.
"Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death
I shall fear no evil; for you are with me."
This middle segment began with Jesus expressing compassion for the crowd
The teaching and the feeding show that Jesus is the shepherd.
This combination is characteristic of all of Jesus' ministry
People today find it difficult to balance those two aspects of Christian responsibility
Some think that the social ministries of the church are all that is necessary to make Christ present in the world
Others think that the church should have nothing to do with feeding and healing except when it is necessary to help someone in the local community
Both sides are equally wrong.
There is no Christianity without proclaiming the gospel.
Teaching and learning the Word of God are as essential to faith as prayer and belonging to a Christian community
A community that has the same compassion for the suffering that Jesus exhibited cannot be content with only preaching the gospel to the already converted
Christians must also attempt to meet the pressing social and material needs of others, even if few of those who receive such services ever become members of the church
The last segment has the guys in a boat again. Jesus has the disciples get into the boat to go on ahead to the other side, to the Bethsaida. However, they end up at Gennesaret. Perhaps the storm forced them to go where they didn't intend to go, but where they were needed.
That’s a common theme with “call” stories, which is kind of a paradox because they are really stories about being sent out rather than called in
They go like,
“So, Pastor, how did you come to be in the ministry
Well, I tried real hard not to but God is mighty persistent”
Just look what old Jonah went through trying to avoid taking a message to Nineveh
They may have wanted to be in Bethsaida but they and Jesus needed to be in Gennesaret
Whatever had been an impediment to Jesus in Nazareth recently was not a problem in Gennesaret
What happens after they step ashore?
People again recognized him and rushed around the countryside to bring the sick to him, begged, that they might even touch the fringes of his cloak and all were healed
How did they recognize him?
Had he walked a few yards on the water while getting to shore?
Had they seen pictures of him posted in the marketplace?
Or is the scene more like that in the first chapter of Mark when Jesus called Simon, Andrew, James, and John?
Without any apparent previous knowledge of Jesus, they left everything immediately and followed him.
What had they recognized in Jesus?
None of the gospels provide a physical description of Jesus
We will never be able to pin him down by virtue of his appearance.
Rather, we will always have to recognize Jesus for who he is and what he does.
It is more than the miracles and healings Jesus performed or the things he taught
It may actually take the gift of faith to recognize the one who died on the cross as the Christ
We have an apostolic imperative
We are sent out as a church …with a message
In compassion, we ought to teach and feed the shepherdless of the world
We can and will recognize Jesus in the faces of those who walk around lakes, climb over mountains, or face the swords of empire even today
Good Shepherd
Where and when shall we look for you?
In the crowds and in the deserted places?
When carrying others and when we ourselves are being carried?
Wherever we are, in whatever we do
let us find you
O Lord
Amen!