St. Mary's Episcopal Church

The Reverend Beth Fain
July 23, 2006
Pentecost 10b: Out not in (Mark 6. 7—13)

I think that most of you that I am one of the participants in an Eli Lilly Grant for Congregational Excellence called Women Touched by Grace.

For the past three years, I have gone twice a year to Our Lady of Grace Monastery outside Indianapolis and lived in Benedictine Community with 29 other women clergy from all over the US and Canada and the 80 or so nuns of the Monastery.

Our seventh, and final meeting will be this coming November in Rome. We will travel, all expenses paid, and stay in a Benedictine Monastery one train stop from the Vatican.

We’ll day trip out to various places in Italy significant to St. Benedict. Right now, besides praying for one another for an assortment of needs and sharing knitting tips, the hottest topic on the WTBG list-serve is what kind of luggage are we going to use when we go to Rome.
That’s because most of us do not travel light.
During my sabbatical last fall, I tried to learn to travel light.
The best I can say that I did was learn to travel lighter.
In our gospel this morning, Jesus shows his disciples how to travel light. So that they can travel with the fullness, the abundance to overflowing of God with them.
This is the first time that Jesus has sent his disciples out to join him in ministry.
Up until this point, Jesus has been doing the teaching and healing and casting out evil spirits on his own.
Whether they knew it or not, he’s been getting the disciples ready.
First he called them to follow him.
Then he gave them a community of other disciples.
Then he demonstrated what life would look like when they follow God. Now he’s given them the authority—do you hear that?—his authority to do everything he does.
In Mark, since Jesus’ own ministry began with him casting out an evil spirit. Exorcism.
In Mark, this is the first authority that he gives to his disciples as well. Authority over evil spirits.
And so not to distract from that authority, cutting away everything that is not essential to the mission.
Having a partner in ministry—essential.
Having clothes on their back—essential.
Having food to eat and a place to stay—essential.
Having the power to heal and to get rid of all those powers and things that are not in God’s perfect will--essential.
Nothing extra. Pared down.
About as different from us as can be.
What Jesus’ disciples were sent to do was not that unique to Jesus’ time.
There were other traveling preachers in Jesus’ day.
There were “pagan” preachers equipped with a staff and a wallet and not much else going to and fro sharing a message.
There were Jews sent out in pairs to do ministry, though most often the ministry was to collect alms, offerings for the poor.
Simplicity of dress and tools, sandals and a staff, were what the Israelites were told to take with them when they left Egypt.
Hospitality was taken for granted in Jesus’ time.
Guest rooms were the inns of Jesus’ day.
Anointing with (olive) oil was a standard medicinal remedy.
It was common Jewish practice to dust one’s feet after dealing with someone who did not accept one’s ministry.
So it’s not the specifics that are important.
It’s not the details that we are to emulate.
It’s what the whole passage with all its bits and pieces shows us.
The wonder of possibility when our lives are scaled down so that we can do whatever Jesus sends us to do; when our major possession is leaving a place for God to provide.
First, like the 12, we, too, are sent by Jesus to do what Jesus does.
So of course he’ll give us his strength and his power to do this.
Second.
When we are sent out to do what Jesus does, we don’t need to clutter ourselves up with lots of extras and safety nets.
Just the very most essentials are necessary—if that much, because God does the rest.
Third. We are reminded this morning that the first sermon the disciples preached, like the first one Jesus preached was to repent.
Change the direction of their lives and follow the direction of God.
We, too, must allow God to change the direction of our lives and follow the direction of God if we are going to be taken seriously as Jesus’ disciples. Because I’m assuming that everyone here wants to be more fully a disciple of Jesus.
I want us to remember this gospel for the next three weeks.
I want us to be pondering this gospel for the next three weeks.
Because in three weeks, August 6, we are going to be sent out in twos to do mission work.
All of us. To be disciples.
With only the essentials.
Paper door hangers with information about St. Mary’s for us to place on the doors of our neighbors.
Inviting them to come and be with us.
To remind us that Jesus has not called us to stay happy in church.
Jesus has called us to go out and share with others the abundant life we’ve experienced by being part of the community of St. Mary’s.
Because I know there’s a whole world of people out there who are looking for something but don’t know what they’re looking for.
People for whom God’s answer to their search is to come and be part of God’s family by sharing community with God’s family at St. Mary’s.
For us to do our part, it’s being like the 12 in Mark 6.
It‘s living the mission statement that the people of St. Mary’s discerned through lots and lots of prayer.
St. Mary’s Episcopal Church is a welcoming family.
That magnifies God through worship, education, and service.
Sharing Christ’s love.
We reach out to the community.
For the expansion of God’s kingdom.
AMEN