A Sermon on Mark 6.1-29
May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart, be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.
It would seem that, throughout the Bible,
every time God has grand plans,
there's a human being, or a group of human beings,
trying to stop it from happening.
The readings from today paint three of these pictures.
Jesus had just left Jairus' house where he raised his daughter from the dead, and stopped in his hometown.
He begins to teach in the temple, and the people around him,
instead of hearing what he has to say,
they're distracted by who he is.
Isn't this the guy we grew up with?
I know his dad.
I thought he was just a carpenter...
They're so distracted by how they know him and his family,
that they can't imagine him being anything more.
They can't even hear the good things he has to say.
Can you imagine being Jesus.
knowing what he knew,
having the gifts he had,
being able to cure people,
having the power to raise the dead...
If you were able to do all of that,
can you imagine anyone you would want to share that with more
than the people in your home town?
Instead, Jesus was faced with rejection from the people he probably would have felt the most connected to.
It says that he left there, amazed at their unbelief.
Hometowns hold special places in our hearts.
I know mine does.
Jesus visits his, wanting to share himself.
But instead, he's rejected.
...However, in the face of human opposition, that does not mean God is done.
After this, Jesus goes out amongst the villages, where he was teaching.
He sends out the 12 disciples in pairs
to go into the villages and proclaim repentance, cast out demons, and heal the sick.
But before they can leave, Jesus gives them instructions.
He tells them that they can only bring a staff, sandals, and one tunic.
They are to be at the mercy of the hospitality of others.
And for those who welcome them, they should stay there.
But Jesus is also realistic.
He's realistic about the fact that people are going to slam the door in their faces.
Remember, what Jesus and the disciples were teaching was risky stuff.
People might have been worried or scared,
or possible mistrusting of these strangers.
But this fear of getting doors slammed in their faces
didn't stop them from going out.
Jesus didn't say, "If they refuse to hear you, give up and come on home."
No.
The message they were spreading,
and the work they were doing,
was far too important!
Because in the face of human opposition,
that does not mean God is done.
Our third story,
takes place when Herod hears about Jesus
as his name makes it through the grapevine in the area.
People were saying that Jesus was John the Baptist, raised from the dead.
This especially worried Herod, since he was the one who had John killed!
The story of John the Baptist's death is actually a flash back to the event itself.
John the Baptist had told Herod that he shouldn't marry his brother's wife. Because of this, Herodious, Herod's wife, wanted John killed. Now, Herod knew that John was a holy man, so he protected him. But Herod had a birthday party where he was tricked into killing John.
All John had been doing was preaching and spreading the word of God.
He didn't do any harm.
He didn't hurt anyone.
He simply reminded Herod, and Herodious, of what God expected from them.
And, ultimately, this got him killed.
And not only killed, but beheaded.
This is all so catastrophic.
So violent.
It seems so excessive!
I have to be honest,
if I heard that pastors we're being martyred for preaching,
I don't know what I'd be that brave.
But the very next thing we read in the passage in Mark is;
the disciples took his body and laid it in a tomb.
They didn't go into hiding.
They didn't disburse to different corners of the world and assume new identities.
In fact, the very next story in Mark is the feeding of the 5000.
The ministry kept going.
Because in the face of human opposition,
that does not mean God is done.
These three stories tell tales of rejection, refusal, and death,
and the ministry that lived on.
They tell tales of people trying to get in the way of God's plan.
When I was writing the worship notes this week,
one of the questions for reflection I wrote was;
Where do we find the gospel, or good news, when good news isn't obvious?
The gospel stands here;
that during those times where nothing seems good,
where it seems that human doubt is bigger than ever,
that God's promise and message of love persists.
This is a kind of good news that can be found all the way back to Genesis 2,
where Adam and Eve were presented with their first opportunity to disobey God,
and they took it.
It could have all stopped right then and there.
Why would God even keep trying?
Why would God care?
Humans couldn't follow the one rule God gave them,
why not scrap the whole project?
Then it's false idols.
Then it's other gods.
Then it's false prophets.
Then it's the right prophets running from, and denying, their calls...
All the way to King Herod, killing all the infants in and around Bethlehem in order to kill the Son of God...
But yet, in the face of human opposition,
that does not mean God is done.
It's the good news in here (the Bible)
and it's the good news in here (the sanctuary).
None of us are setting out to be road blocks to what God is doing in this place.
Not intentionally.
But there are times when we get in our own way of being the church we're called to be.
It's not just this church.
This isn't specifically an Elim problem.
This is all churches.
Because churches are groups of people,
and where there are people, there are imperfections, and mistakes,
and disagreements, and conflict.
It's true that wherever two or more are gathered, God is with them.
It's also true that wherever two or more are gathered,
there are probably at least two different opinions and ideas.
We, as human beings, are all made so different,
that the existence of differing opinions is inevitable.
There is always going to be more than one way to do things.
Typically, even, more than one right way to do them.
The trouble begins when we focus on these differences,
these gaps between one another,
and lose focus on the purpose of God's mission for this place.
You see, whether we all agree with each other or not,
ministry will continue to happen here because below and above and within it all,
this is Christ's church.
This is the Spirit's church.
This is God's church.
Elim is nearly 125 years old!
God's church, in Elim, was here before any of us were here.
And it will continue to be here after all of us are gone.
Because in the face if human opposition,
that does not mean God is done.
Amen.
It would seem that, throughout the Bible,
every time God has grand plans,
there's a human being, or a group of human beings,
trying to stop it from happening.
The readings from today paint three of these pictures.
Jesus had just left Jairus' house where he raised his daughter from the dead, and stopped in his hometown.
He begins to teach in the temple, and the people around him,
instead of hearing what he has to say,
they're distracted by who he is.
Isn't this the guy we grew up with?
I know his dad.
I thought he was just a carpenter...
They're so distracted by how they know him and his family,
that they can't imagine him being anything more.
They can't even hear the good things he has to say.
Can you imagine being Jesus.
knowing what he knew,
having the gifts he had,
being able to cure people,
having the power to raise the dead...
If you were able to do all of that,
can you imagine anyone you would want to share that with more
than the people in your home town?
Instead, Jesus was faced with rejection from the people he probably would have felt the most connected to.
It says that he left there, amazed at their unbelief.
Hometowns hold special places in our hearts.
I know mine does.
Jesus visits his, wanting to share himself.
But instead, he's rejected.
...However, in the face of human opposition, that does not mean God is done.
After this, Jesus goes out amongst the villages, where he was teaching.
He sends out the 12 disciples in pairs
to go into the villages and proclaim repentance, cast out demons, and heal the sick.
But before they can leave, Jesus gives them instructions.
He tells them that they can only bring a staff, sandals, and one tunic.
They are to be at the mercy of the hospitality of others.
And for those who welcome them, they should stay there.
But Jesus is also realistic.
He's realistic about the fact that people are going to slam the door in their faces.
Remember, what Jesus and the disciples were teaching was risky stuff.
People might have been worried or scared,
or possible mistrusting of these strangers.
But this fear of getting doors slammed in their faces
didn't stop them from going out.
Jesus didn't say, "If they refuse to hear you, give up and come on home."
No.
The message they were spreading,
and the work they were doing,
was far too important!
Because in the face of human opposition,
that does not mean God is done.
Our third story,
takes place when Herod hears about Jesus
as his name makes it through the grapevine in the area.
People were saying that Jesus was John the Baptist, raised from the dead.
This especially worried Herod, since he was the one who had John killed!
The story of John the Baptist's death is actually a flash back to the event itself.
John the Baptist had told Herod that he shouldn't marry his brother's wife. Because of this, Herodious, Herod's wife, wanted John killed. Now, Herod knew that John was a holy man, so he protected him. But Herod had a birthday party where he was tricked into killing John.
All John had been doing was preaching and spreading the word of God.
He didn't do any harm.
He didn't hurt anyone.
He simply reminded Herod, and Herodious, of what God expected from them.
And, ultimately, this got him killed.
And not only killed, but beheaded.
This is all so catastrophic.
So violent.
It seems so excessive!
I have to be honest,
if I heard that pastors we're being martyred for preaching,
I don't know what I'd be that brave.
But the very next thing we read in the passage in Mark is;
the disciples took his body and laid it in a tomb.
They didn't go into hiding.
They didn't disburse to different corners of the world and assume new identities.
In fact, the very next story in Mark is the feeding of the 5000.
The ministry kept going.
Because in the face of human opposition,
that does not mean God is done.
These three stories tell tales of rejection, refusal, and death,
and the ministry that lived on.
They tell tales of people trying to get in the way of God's plan.
When I was writing the worship notes this week,
one of the questions for reflection I wrote was;
Where do we find the gospel, or good news, when good news isn't obvious?
The gospel stands here;
that during those times where nothing seems good,
where it seems that human doubt is bigger than ever,
that God's promise and message of love persists.
This is a kind of good news that can be found all the way back to Genesis 2,
where Adam and Eve were presented with their first opportunity to disobey God,
and they took it.
It could have all stopped right then and there.
Why would God even keep trying?
Why would God care?
Humans couldn't follow the one rule God gave them,
why not scrap the whole project?
Then it's false idols.
Then it's other gods.
Then it's false prophets.
Then it's the right prophets running from, and denying, their calls...
All the way to King Herod, killing all the infants in and around Bethlehem in order to kill the Son of God...
But yet, in the face of human opposition,
that does not mean God is done.
It's the good news in here (the Bible)
and it's the good news in here (the sanctuary).
None of us are setting out to be road blocks to what God is doing in this place.
Not intentionally.
But there are times when we get in our own way of being the church we're called to be.
It's not just this church.
This isn't specifically an Elim problem.
This is all churches.
Because churches are groups of people,
and where there are people, there are imperfections, and mistakes,
and disagreements, and conflict.
It's true that wherever two or more are gathered, God is with them.
It's also true that wherever two or more are gathered,
there are probably at least two different opinions and ideas.
We, as human beings, are all made so different,
that the existence of differing opinions is inevitable.
There is always going to be more than one way to do things.
Typically, even, more than one right way to do them.
The trouble begins when we focus on these differences,
these gaps between one another,
and lose focus on the purpose of God's mission for this place.
You see, whether we all agree with each other or not,
ministry will continue to happen here because below and above and within it all,
this is Christ's church.
This is the Spirit's church.
This is God's church.
Elim is nearly 125 years old!
God's church, in Elim, was here before any of us were here.
And it will continue to be here after all of us are gone.
Because in the face if human opposition,
that does not mean God is done.
Amen.