Lectionary 14B

Mark 6:1-13

Merry Christmas!

While I know some people begin a countdown to Christmas six months ahead on June 25, we are only celebrating Christmas in July on this one Sunday. Celebrations like ours have been around since at least the 1940s and every one of them is unique. Today, at Grace, we are celebrating through our music, using this long, green church season of Ordinary Time to connect with Christmas, a day and a season that often feels crowded with family gatherings, parties and gift-giving. Santa Claus isn’t here, but hospitality is providing Christmas cookies for the coffee and fellowship time after worship.

Our readings are not the Christmas readings, but we do hear about Jesus’ mother Mary and her husband Joseph the carpenter, as well as his brothers. We don’t hear about the donkey Mary rode to Bethlehem or the baby Jesus whom we celebrate at the Nativity, but we do meet a grown-up Jesus back in his hometown and we hear about the new life the disciples will have as they are sent out into the world.

And that’s where my focus is for us today.

Just like many folks go home for the holidays, Jesus and his disciples have returned “home.” But instead of being warmly welcomed and encouraged, the people there, including Jesus’ own family, are skeptical and question what he is doing. You can almost hear them sneering and asking, “Just who does he think he is?”

Mark even says Jesus’ own power was limited by their unbelief.

This verse has been used in harmful ways to tell people to “have more faith” and to “believe more” when they are experiencing challenges, trials and tribulations.  But faith and God’s works aren’t an “if/then” proposition.  They are always a “because/therefore” statement. Witnessing God’s works in our lives is never a question of “IF you believe, THEN God will act.” It is always “BECAUSE God loves you, THEREFORE God acts.” And yet, faith is important; faith is how we know God, live for God, and show others what God is doing in our lives.

Thankfully, when faced with unbelief and hostility, Jesus doesn’t falter. He knows who he is, and that his power and authority come from God. So, he takes his disciples to other villages, and he teaches there.

And then Mark tells us that Jesus chooses the first twelve apostles or “messengers” to carry the Gospel to others. They have already witnessed Jesus’ rejection by his family and neighbors. And they have witnessed his determination to persist in teaching about God’s abundant, boundless love despite the disappointment and hurt caused by those who dismissed him.

So, he sends them out, in pairs, and gives them authority over the devil and all the forces that defy God and the powers of this world that rebel against God, and he gives them instructions, warning them that they too will face rejection. It’s just part of following Jesus – not everyone will have ears to hear the Word that God loves them; not everyone will receive messengers of God’s love with kindness. And, before they go out, he tells them how to respond.

Does he tell them to holler at those who won’t listen? Does he say to mock them or curse them? No! As Eugene Peterson says in his paraphrase The Message, “Don’t make a scene. Shrug your shoulders and be on your way.” (Mark 6:11)

Whenever I remember these words, I remember that God knows more than I do.

I remember the Sower of the seeds that we meet earlier in Mark’s gospel (Mark 4). The Sower’s job is to sow; it is not to measure the results, and it is entirely possible the Sower will never see the fruit borne. All we can do as we follow Jesus is share the Good News of Jesus Christ that we know and experience. The rest is up to God.

And I remember that God is with me when I face rejection, when following Jesus is scary or hard, or I cannot see the fruits of my work and discipleship. And I feel less alone.

On a Sunday when we are celebrating a new child of God with the baptism of Luca Carlos, our Gospel reminds us that the baptismal journey that begins at the font is a lifelong journey - one that is filled with ups and downs, and one on which God always accompanies us.

Let us pray.

Good and Gracious God,

We give you thanks for your Son Jesus,

who calls us and sends us out to share your good news.

We give you thanks that at the font, you call us your children, and our life with you is everlasting.

Give us faith that we will remember you are always working in the world and help us see your presence in and around us.

We pray in Jesus’ name.

Amen.