Road Trip

Ezekiel 2:1-5

He said to me: O mortal, stand up on your feet, and I will speak with you. And when he spoke to me, a spirit entered into me and set me on my feet; and I heard him speaking to me. He said to me, Mortal, I am sending you to the people of Israel, to a nation of rebels who have rebelled against me; they and their ancestors have transgressed against me to this very day. The descendants are impudent and stubborn. I am sending you to them, and you shall say to them, "Thus says the Lord GOD." Whether they hear or refuse to hear (for they are a rebellious house), they shall know that there has been a prophet among them.

2 Corinthians 12:2-10

I know a person in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven--whether in the body or out of the body I do not know; God knows. And I know that such a person--whether in the body or out of the body I do not know; God knows-- was caught up into Paradise and heard things that are not to be told, that no mortal is permitted to repeat. On behalf of such a one I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, except of my weaknesses. But if I wish to boast, I will not be a fool, for I will be speaking the truth. But I refrain from it, so that no one may think better of me than what is seen in me or heard from me, even considering the exceptional character of the revelations. Therefore, to keep me from being too elated, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me, to keep me from being too elated. Three times I appealed to the Lord about this, that it would leave me, but he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness." So, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.

Therefore I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities for the sake of Christ; for whenever I am weak, then I am strong.

  

Mark 6:1-13

He 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? What deeds of power are being done by his hands! 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.

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How many of you have been on a road trip this summer? This weekend? How many have one coming up?

·      I want you to think about your latest road trip for a minute. First, think about the sort of preplanning you did.

o  do you make lists in advance, or do you just throw things in a bag, jump in the car and go?

o  do you pack a cooler? or bring your own sheets and towels? or maybe your tent and sleeping bag and camp stove?

o  Do you bring along a bicycle, or playing cards, or umbrellas?

·      OK, now think about your destination. Whether you were visiting people, or checking into a hotel or campground, how welcomed did you feel when you arrived?

o  think about the things that made your visit there, wherever you were, feel hospitable. maybe it was a welcoming gift of some sort, or a mint on your pillow, or fresh baked cookies in the lobby, or a smiling face that greeted you….

o  or maybe you didn’t feel so welcome – what might have caused that?

·      OK, so then you come back home. How did it feel to return home? Was your home all closed up and hot and needing to be aired out? Were your pets there and happy to see you, or were they maybe still being boarded and so the house felt more empty and quiet than usual? Did you take the trip by yourself, and if so, were there friends or family who welcomed you back after you got home? Who did you get to tell about your trip after you came “back to reality”, as we like to call it?

Jesus has been traveling with his disciples; they have all been on an extended road trip together. From the time he chooses the 12 disciples, they are on the go. To Capernaum, throughout Galilee, back to Capernaum, along the sea, across the sea and back again. He preaches in synagogues, he heals and he teaches. And now he has come back to his hometown, back to Nazareth. 

When the Sabbath comes he begins to teach in the synagogue, and the locals are, to put it mildly, skeptical. They have watched him grow up; they know his parents and siblings; and there is nothing in this human Jesus that seems like it should be so out of the ordinary. How does this carpenter, from a family in this small town, think he knows so much that he can preach with wisdom and authority? Who does he think he is, anyway?

And Jesus finds out that he can do very little in terms of deeds of power, here in his hometown. They are astounded by him, when they hear him, and he is amazed by them, by their unbelief. So he heads back out to other villages to teach.

But now he also begins to make good on his promise to the disciples when he first called them from their lives as fishermen, saying : “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of people.”

Up to this point they have been companions and spectators, but now he is sending them out as partners in mission. They are getting ready to go on their first road trip as disciples. They will need to go it alone, because he knows that his road trip will ultimately lead to his arrest, and the cross, and the grave, and the resurrection, and the ascension.

So the road trip for the disciples will not be easy, and it will not be a vacation or a visit, like the road trips we often take.  Jesus gives them specific instructions, and there is much to learn from these instructions of his. For we are also called to be disciples of the Lord, and in so doing, we have road trips in front of us too, as we journey through life as followers of Christ.

Jesus sends them out in pairs. It’s best not to go it alone. It’s safer this way, and it gives you someone to be your companion, much as Jesus and the disciples have all been companions up to this point.

It also gives you another voice, another set of ears, to help you process what has taken place with everyone you meet. It’s hard to go it alone, and really keep perspective on the experience you are having.

Jesus told them to travel light and stay mobile. Now, how many of us do both of those things? I would guess that we do plenty to stay mobile on our trips. Perhaps we take a car that has plenty of comfortable space, and a DVD player to keep the kids entertained. Perhaps we fly and rent a car when we get there. If we go in a motor home, perhaps we tow a car, or we tow the camper using a car that can get us around once we arrive. Perhaps we bring bikes or scooters with us.

But what about traveling light? Stop and think about the lightest you have ever traveled. For me, I went to Europe last year for a week with only a backpack – that was probably the lightest I’ve ever traveled. I’ve traveled light when I’ve gone bicycle camping too, since you carry everything you need on packs on your bike.

But Jesus tells the disciples – bring no food or money with you. Wear sandals and one tunic – no spare clothes. Bring your staff with you – because a walking stick is essential for the kinds of walking across the countryside that they were doing. But everything else – your lodging and your food – assume it will be provided for you. Someone will provide. So go into a village, and find a place of welcome –  a house where someone will take you in. And stay there until it’s time to go. Seek out hospitality that is offered through the faith of others, and accept that hospitality from them. Share with them the Good News that you have received – that the kingdom of God has come near.

Jesus must be expecting that they will find mostly hospitality – he can’t be sending them out to starve or to die from being out in the elements. So the expectation is acceptance of their message, not so much rejection.

But Jesus knows that they will experience rejection too. There are places where they will not be welcomed.

We hear this also from Paul in his letter to the Corinthians that was read today – where he says “I am content not only with weaknesses and calamities, but also with insults, hardships, persecutions – for whenever I am weak, then I am strong. In weakness it is not my own power, but the power of Christ that dwells in us.”

It takes our weakness for us to allow the power of Christ to come through us for others. Whenever I am weak, Paul says, then I am strong. Strong in Christ, not in myself.

And in the Old Testament passage today, Ezekiel is being called by God for the first time. The Lord says to him – stand up and I will speak with you. I am sending you to the people of Israel. You should expect to encounter impudent and stubborn people. Maybe they will hear, maybe they will refuse to hear. Either way, when you are speaking the Word of the Lord God, through the Spirit that is in you,  they shall know that there has been a prophet among them.

So by now you might be thinking,  “wait a minute! we started out talking about road trips like they were a vacation, a time for R&R!

But now Jill is telling me that I need to share the Good News while I’m out on my road trip?”

Well, yeah, that is what I’m telling you. Because we are all on a road trip that is not just about a short visit and a pleasant time.

Our lives are a journey, a road trip, where every day gives us the opportunity to be a prophet among those we meet, to share the Good News in our kind words and our caring deeds,  to accept the hospitality of strangers, and even to anticipate them so that we don’t need to “go it alone” – being independent of our neighbors because it seems like the right thing to do.

In fact, Jesus is telling us that giving and receiving hospitality, even and especially to those whom we have never met before, is what he is looking for as evidence of faith, evidence of readiness for healing,  evidence of those who want to follow Him. Being interdependent is more like true Christian life than being independent.

And what if they don’t hear, if they refuse the Word? Well, going back to our fishing metaphor, it’s a lot like casting out and watching the bobber on the surface of the water. If the bobber just sits there, if nothing is biting, then before long it’s time to pull in your line, and move on to another spot. Of course the bobber analogy falls apart when you think about the hook and the worm on the end, but the idea is similar.

If you are not received, if your word is not accepted, if they refuse to hear what you are trying to say - don’t keep pushing and pushing and pushing. And don’t conclude that judgment or punishment is up to you. Just shake off the dust from your sandals and go on to the next place. Shake off the dust as a testimony against them. What sort of testimony is Jesus talking about?

Well, it’s the equivalent of making a list of the places they have visited, and putting an X mark instead of a check mark in the box

 indicating “how did it go”?

It’s a testimony before God of where this person or household or village stands with respect to faith.And in this case as in every case,

we do what we can and we leave the final results up to God. An unrepentant village is liable to judgment, just like everyone is. But an unrepentant village can change their minds and hearts, as we saw in the book of Jonah, where Nineveh is spared when it repents, despite its past wicked ways. Much like the prodigal father, God waits to hear our “yes” – God waits patiently, and with hope, and works in us to help people move along on their own journeys of faith. It’s different for all of us.

The rabbis in that time shook the dust off their feet when they were leaving Gentile territory, to avoid carrying the uncleanness that they understood these villages to contain, along with them.

And that is also what we do when we “shake the dust off” along our journey. We don’t carry the unnecessary baggage of others along with us. We do carry the “dust”, so to speak, of those we meet along the way who reflect faith in our Lord and Savior.We carry with us the memories and experiences of the great cloud of witnesses who have influenced us by their faith, who have helped us discover our own faith, who have shown us how to share our faith with others,

to live out our faith among others. 

For those who do have faith, great healing can happen. The disciples healed many, and drove out many demons. As with the stories of Jesus in the past chapter, these disciples show how great things can happen once faith enters into someone’s heart.

The thing is, we are all called to share our faith with others. This story tells us that hospitality is the starting point – both giving it and receiving it. The relationship that this creates is the starting point

for allowing us to speak about the hope that is in us, in Christ Jesus. If the other person also has faith, there is joy in the sharing. If the other person perceives a spark of faith being kindled because of our conversations and our actions, we can rest assured that Christ will continue the good work that we have begun. And even if we are rejected, or if our word is not heard and taken in well, we can shake it off and go forward, not condemning, not judging, but trusting in God to bring the right next person along at the right time. Knowing that we each become a step in the path that leads to God.

Faith is a decision, a choice. We make it every day.

With a little faith or a lot of faith, great things can happen.

When we reject faith, whether for a day or a lifetime,

         no other healing is possible.

Grace awaits us, come what may, no matter what.

It is undeserved and unearned. 

We are called, every one of God’s children, to come home, to open the door, to turn back, and God meets us when we do, wherever we are, and leads us on a new journey, which is best taken with no baggage, with few expectations, with steadfast faith and trust in God’s grace and mercy, with a sense of adventure and openness

to what God will bring us every day, and with a steadfast trust that God is with us, now and forever.

 Amen.