Mark 6:1-13
July 9, 2006
Sermon preached by Rev. Donald Ng at the First Chinese Baptist Church in San Francisco.
In the many years that I used to travel for work, I never lost a bag. Knock on wood! In 1982 when I sponsored a youth mission trip to Thailand, the youth delegate from Puerto Rico lost her bag. When she connected in New York City, her bag went to Europe but she came to San Francisco. By the time we completed our orientation in San Francisco to leave for Hong Kong, her bag arrived in SFO. By the time we left Hong Kong for Bangkok, her bag arrived in Hong Kong. It was not until we stayed a few days in Bangkok did her bag finally caught up with her. She learned to borrow things from the other youth but she was happy when her own bag finally got to her.
I reduce the risk of losing my bag because whenever I can help it, I carry my bag on the plane. Yes, I’m one of those people who struggle to stuff his bag into the overhead bin. But I have never lost my bag.
When we travel, most of us think that we need all kinds of stuff to get by. Different color shoes for different outfits. We need our toiletries, hair dryer, dressy clothes, casual clothes, exercise clothes, camera, sightseeing guidebooks, socks, belts, and many other things. No wonder they sell those oversized suitcases in Chinatown!
Take Nothing
In our Scripture lesson for today, we read that Jesus instructs his disciples to take nothing when they go on a trip. With only a staff, they are to take no bread, no bag, no money in their belts. They were told to not even have an extra change of clothes.
With these instructions, I can’t imagine Jesus even having a carry-on bag with him. When Jesus came back to his hometown, he probably didn’t have his entourage of disciples carrying his bags. He definitely was a light traveler. On that Sabbath day, he started to teach in the synagogue but when the townspeople heard him, they were amazed and in disbelief. They couldn’t believe that Jesus being a carpenter’s son whose mother was Mary and who had sisters and brothers living in this town could have so much wisdom. They were astounded by his deeds of power done by his hands.
They started muttering ugly things to each other. “Where did he get this stuff?” “What is he talking about?” “Who does he think he is, doing all these amazing things?”
The Bible said that the townspeople took “offense.” In fact, in Luke’s version of the story, they didn’t just “take offense,” they were “filled with rage.” So filled with rage that the townspeople all got up, drove him out of town to the edge of the cliff and tried to hurl him over the edge. Now if Jesus had a bag or a suitcase that was filled with souvenir gifts that he has bought while traveling around, they might have not been so angry at him!
After Jesus was amazed over the townspeople’s disbelief, he still went out among the villages and taught. He was not dissuaded, but launches a plan of evangelism. He calls the twelve disciples together and sends them out two by two with the authority and power to cast out unclean spirits. He ordered them to take nothing except a staff—no food, no supplies, no money, not even an extra change of clothes. If you are welcomed, stay. If you are not, shake the dust of your feet as you leave that town.
Don’t you get the picture that in the towns and homes that welcome the disciples in, their new friends would be more than happy to let the disciples borrow any toiletries or spare clothes they would need just like the youth delegate from Puerto Rico experienced when she lost her bag?
Evangelism
From today’s Scriptures, we are talking about evangelism. Did you know that 33% of adults have not attended a Christian church service within the past six months? That represents 65-70 million people in America. Sixty-four percent of the un-churched people in America believe that a good person can earn his or her way into heaven. Although 67% of un-churched adults call themselves Christian, 44% of them define God as just an entity other than the perfect, all-powerful, all-knowing Creator of the universe who continues to rule creation today. We need evangelism in America!
When Jesus was trying to teach about God, he was rejected by his own hometown. After appearing that Jesus was angry and even sarcastic at the people, he eventually left, saying that he “could do no deeds of power there” except for curing a few people who were ill, and when he left, he was amazed at their unbelief.
Jesus then sends his disciples two by two on trips to proclaim about God, that they should repent from their sins. And if they came to a house that refuses to listen to them, they are to leave by shaking off the dust from their feet and proceed to another house that might listen to them.
There are three aspects of this text that we can understand the meaning of evangelism for us today. First, the disciples are only sent out because Jesus gave them authority. Their mission and evangelistic pursuit could only take place because Jesus gave them the power and right to go. The disciples didn’t go off on their own without Jesus’ knowledge and consent—their mission was directly related to him.
We all know that Jesus could have saved the world all by himself. But instead he delegates the disciples to help him. Jesus does not work alone, does not expect to accomplish his goals by himself. Rather, he calls ordinary people like you and me to share in his work.
In our 21st century, we find ourselves confused and often afraid to share our faith with others. We wonder if we tell people about Christ, will we be accused of being exclusive? We make excuses that since we are not the “minister,” we don’t have the authority or the ability to share our faith. We ask why we can’t just wait until people come and ask me about my faith.
There was a pastor who learned a great deal about the importance of evangelism in his first church. A young woman came to worship with this church for 3 months or so, and then she disappeared. The pastor ran into her in a local store and said he missed her in worship. She told him that she had just joined a neighboring church. When the pastor asked why she left them to go there, she said that in all the time she attended worship with this church, no one had ever asked her to join. She assumed that meant they didn’t want her. When the pastor told the congregation this, they all said they didn’t want her to feel pressured, so they hadn’t said anything.
I wonder about some of the people who have come to our church even since I have been here. They have come faithfully for weeks if not for months. And suddenly, they disappeared. I hate to think that no one ever asked them to join the church. We are sent by Christ. Like the disciples, we are clearly called, appointed, and sent with authority by Jesus himself on a mission of evangelism.
The second point that we can glean from this passage is that the disciples are sent out only with the message—no distractions. It seems a little insensitive of Jesus to send the disciples out with nothing but the shirt on their backs and a staff. The importance of evangelism for the disciples is that only the message is important—not the disciples’ personal comforts. There were to be no distractions from proclaiming the Good News about God and God’s healing.
We can imagine when the disciples entered the village and went to the public square to preach that someone would offer them their house to stay accompanied with a meal. This was not the time to unpack their bags to give a hostess gift. And they were not there to accept gifts either since they had no bags to put them in. They were not there to impress the townspeople with how well they dressed. It was only about preaching the Kingdom of God is coming.
One of our biggest distractions from us in preaching the Good News is watching TV. By the age of 20, the average American had watched at least 20,000 hours of television. Did you know that one can earn a college degree with about 5000 hours of effort? In 10,000 hours, one can learn a new language, become an astronomer, or walk around the world. The trouble with TV is that it can distract us from living out our Christian mission to proclaim Good News to others.
What distracts you in following Christ? Are you carrying too much unnecessary baggage that you need to let them go, have the airlines lose your bags or throw them away so that you might only focus on proclaiming the Kingdom of God?
The third point in this passage is that people may reject you. The disciples are told to “shake the dust off their feet” if they are not welcomed. Jesus knows that rejection is a reality. After all, he had just been rejected in his hometown and by the Pharisees and the scribes and others as soon as he began his public ministry. So he prepares his disciples for the same kind of rejection—not everyone will embrace this message as they have. And if they don’t, leave this experience behind you. Don’t bring up their rejection and negativity, their refusal to listen to become a part of your trip. Move on with God’s message and persevere.
Are we willing to face rejection? Today, we would probably rather not say anything at all versus facing the possibility of rejection or ridicule. We want to conform to everyone else and not face the rejection by others.
Did you notice that evangelism is not meant to be an individual endeavor? Rather when Jesus sent the disciples out, they went two by two. I know that the images running through your heads are the Mormons and the Jehovah Witnesses coming two by two to your front door. But at least they are doing evangelism!
Studies have revealed that those who have become the most committed to Christianity have developed deep bonds with their fellow believers. A recent poll found that for those who attend church at least once a week, 72% say their best friend (not including family members) is also in the congregation, compared to only 39% of all church members. What this means is that communal bonds play a central role in our Christian faith. Imagine with me the possibility of two people who are good friends on Sundays as well as on the other six days of the week sharing their faith with others. Even if they faced rejection, they would be able to support each other and rise above the challenges.
It is estimated that only 5% of church-goers shared their faith with anyone outside of their own congregation, and even fewer shared their faith with someone who was a self-proclaimed non-Christian.
If we are afraid of sharing our faith with others, we can look at the example of Peter. While Christ was being questioned by the high priest, Peter stood down in the courtyard and denied Christ three times, “I don’t know him,” “I don’t know him,” “I don’t know him.” Yet this is the same man who at Pentecost stood up and shared about who Jesus was and the salvation he brings. In Acts 2:41, three thousand people heard his message and believed and were baptized. Peter was willing to face his fears and possible rejection and had amazing results.
Our Mission
Most of us have our bags already packed and ready to go on a vacation trip that we miss the opportunity to share about Christ with someone right beside us. Most of us live in a world that is so busy and hectic that the distraction of activities and noise keep us from ever having a chance to share with someone why we go to church let alone sharing the meaning of Christ.
The one thing I want you to do this week is to identify one person in your life to whom you can pray for. This will open your hands to the mercy of God and provide you with an opportunity for a soulful conversation with this person.
You will discover that you don’t need that carry-on bag after all. Nothing should distract you from your mission and your destination. When I used to travel for work when our children were young, I would sometimes desperately search for a gift to bring home to them. One time, with little time at the airport gift shops, I grabbed this blue vinyl cloth covered bulldog to give to Lauren. When she saw this thing, she was not impressed. It was quite ugly. She would name all of her stuff animals and named this dog, “Ralph.” To this day, “Ralph” finds his way into many of our family conversations because he was so ugly.
The lesson that this pathetic incident taught me is that after all of the travel and souvenir gifts I bought for the kids, they were distractions. The important fact was that I was coming home. Having a traveling parent come home should not be distracted by souvenir gifts packed in your carry-on bag.
Jesus instructed them to “take nothing for their journey except a staff; no bread, no bag, no money in their belts, and not even an extra change of clothes.” We are called to go out with the authority given by Jesus Christ himself, with no distractions from the only message to proclaim the Kingdom of God and for people to repent from their sins, and to expect that some people won’t like what we have to say.
Since Jesus himself was rejected by his own townspeople, let us also be prepared to be rejected when we proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. Thanks be to God!
Let us pray.
Loving Jesus, we know that, all too often, we hear your voice sending us out toward those who wait in longing for your love but we close our ears to your call. We stay safely within the walls of our sanctuaries, singing our hymns and saying our prayers, as though that is enough for us to be your people. We are sorry for the times when we fail you, O God. Forgive us and send us with only the shirts on our backs to share the Good News of Jesus Christ in the world. Amen.