Sixth Sunday after Pentecost Proper 9 Yr B July 4 2021

Sixth Sunday after Pentecost Proper 9 Yr B July 4 2021

2 Samuel 5:1-5, 9-10, Psalm 48, 2 Corinthians 12:2-10, Mark 6:1-13

 

It seems like a rather harsh reaction. Jesus has gone home to preach, and first the people are somewhat surprised, and then they quickly turn to “who is this guy, isn’t he just Mary and Joseph’s son?” “Hasn’t he gotten a bit full of himself, too big for his britches?” Could this be a story about the hometown boy making good, and I wonder if they aren’t just a little bit jealous. And then Jesus’ friends and neighbors turn away and resist Jesus’ invitation into the grace and mercy that is offered, and Jesus just can’t believe it. 

 

But Mark’s reason for telling us this story isn’t just about that, I think it’s about something much deeper. Jesus invites those who were listening in the synagogue, and us who are hearing this 2000 years later, to partner in this ministry of love. Which means that each and every day we have before us the opportunity to be channels of grace and mercy to people and a world desperately in need of grace and mercy.

 

Mark continues to tell this tale of rejection. The people who are in the synagogue, Jesus’ hometown church, Jesus’ friends and neighbors, take offense and reject him. But in the quiet, the back rooms, the barns, Jesus and those who followed, continue to heal. But Jesus tells the followers, “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”. It makes me wonder what’s going on that makes Jesus and the disciples so unwelcome. 

 

Jesus instructs the disciples to go out into the villages and teach, taking nothing with them and accepting hospitality as it is offered, and if it is not offered, Jesus tells them to move on. But so many of their neighbors are trapped in their comparisons and complaints, they are not remotely interested in receiving Jesus’ blessing. Even Jesus cannot believe it.

 

In a world so desperate for grace and mercy, why does Mark tell this story, why will the people not accept Jesus’ offer. Why would people kick them all out?

 

What about now? Can we imagine ourselves as the ones in the pews when Jesus comes, are we the people who kick Jesus out of there? We would know Jesus, we would welcome Jesus, we would offer coffee and donuts and a bed to sleep on. And we would welcome Jesus’ disciples, wouldn’t we?

 

What’s going on here? Jesus offers grace and mercy, and that comes as a threat to the principalities and powers. Jesus’ message of love is a message that includes everyone. Jesus’ disciples are not the ones in power, Jesus’ disciples are not the well to do, Jesus’ disciples are fishermen. They stink like fish.

 

In our communities and our neighborhoods, we have a lot of trouble welcoming the ones that stink. We want them to be like us, well groomed, well fed, well moneyed. We want them to look like us and talk like us. We want to be able to know that their God is our God. And we really don’t want to be upset by any difference in belief, or culture.

 

In this world where there is so much fear, it’s really hard to offer hospitality to those who we don’t know, or those who don’t come with a good recommendation, or those who have nowhere else to go. We are the ones, you see, who close our doors to stinking fishermen.

 

The good news in this story is that Jesus invites the disciples to partner in the ministry of love. Jesus tells them to travel light and accept the hospitality that is offered. Jesus equips and commissions the disciples to carry on the ministry. They are now partners in ministry in a way they have not been up to this point in the story. And the instructions Jesus offers demonstrate the mutuality, even interdependence, of the disciples on those to and with whom they minister. They go out in pairs, because this work can’t be done alone. And they do not take their own provisions but rather depend on the hospitality of those they meet. And while some will receive them and be blessed, others will refuse their ministry and blessing.

 

And the good news in this story is that even in the face of rejection, even when the principalities and powers refuse the invitation to love, the invitation to grace and mercy that Jesus and the disciples offer, the offer continues to be made. Jesus does not recant, Jesus continues to bring love even when that love, and grace, and mercy, is rejected.

 

The good news for us is that Jesus invites us to partner in this ministry of love. Jesus invites us. And really, we are the stinky fishermen, and we are the well-groomed. We are the very imperfect humans that are created in God’s image. We are the ones who are really good at loving one another, and we are the ones who miss the mark mightily on many days. We are the ones who are broken, and we are the ones who are healed in the bread that is the body broken for us.

 

And the good news for us is that our actions matter. Not as works that earn God’s favor but as a response to God’s holy invitation. God has chosen us in Baptism, not only for salvation but also for purposeful, consequential lives here and now, and each day we have a choice between resisting God’s activity or partnering with God’s intent and action to bless and care for God’s world.

 

We are the ones who bear love, mercy, and grace into all the places we find ourselves: our homes, our work, our schools. We are the ones who break down the barriers between us and them. We are the ones who meet people in their places of brokenness or joy. We are the ones who seek out those who will listen to the words of God’s love for everyone, we are the ones who love compassionately and fail miserably in the short sightedness of our compassion.

 

Our love, mercy, and compassion matters. Even when it seems like no one listens. What we do matters. Every time you choose to love and not hate, every time you choose to cross the barriers to offer love, we come closer to the dream God dreams for us. Jesus invites us to partner in the ministry of love, and this beloved community equips us to be agents of love, of grace, and of mercy. Love does indeed, win. Amen.