The Rev. Kenneth H. Saunders III
St. James Episcopal Church
Greeneville, Tennessee
Year B - Proper 9 - July 8, 2018
This past week was a busy one… Not only did I make my “final move” to Tennessee, but in the context of everything thing that was going on, we celebrated the 242 anniversary of these United States of America becoming a sovereign nation.
As a bit of a history buff, what I find interesting is that the actual legal date of out separation from British Rule was on July 2, 1776. This is when the Continental Congress voted to accept the “resolution” of independence. Only after this resolution was debated and revised, was it writ in a declaration of Independence on July 4th (the Vestry folks in the congregation would know what I'm talking about)
Some years back, I led a Christian Education class and talked about the closeness and interrelatedness of the foundation of our government in this country and the foundation of our beloved Episcopal Church (I would like to do that here soon if I am given the chance).
The American Episcopal Church - Independent from, but ironically now in full communion… full relationship with the Church of England. The church, our church, has been in America since the first settlers came to Roanoke Island in 1584 in a expedition chartered by Queen Elizabeth I and led by Sir Walter Raleigh.
See, the church was an important piece of life for those that set out to colonize a new land. So important that they took their church with them. The first Christian baptism, was administered and recorded in that small settlement to the “first born” in the “new world," Virginia Dare. She was baptized in accordance with the Book of Common Prayer 1559. Baptized into the Christian faith and made part of the body of Christ by an English priest, Fr. Martin, who accompanied them on that voyage. Yes, there was a priest there and he suffered with them through the hardships that led to their mysterious disappearance.
It must have been amazing to be that mission minded, and focused on bringing not only civilization to a unknown foreign land, but to also bring their church with them. What courageous missionaries they must have been for what they were willing to do in order to share their belief in Jesus Christ as Lord with a much different culture than their own.
Today’s Gospel lesson is about mission and about Jesus words of urgency and preparation for his disciples to go out into the nearby towns and villages and proclaim the good news to repent – that the kingdom of God has come near.
But, In today’s Gospel lesson, things aren’t exactly what they seem to be; especially to those folks whom Jesus has come home to see. Jesus has gone with his disciples to the synagogue in Nazareth. And there, Jesus begins to teach. Now, when Jesus lived in Nazareth, the people knew him there as the carpenter, son of Mary and Joseph... oldest brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon, and of course his sisters.
But, Jesus has now returned as a wise prophet of the living God, and he tried to preach and teach and they reacted like we probably would (given the circumstances) “where did this guy get all this?”...“who does he think he is?”... “isn’t he the carpenter?” They are all caught up in their perception of what they “expect” Jesus to be, rather than focus on what he has come to do.
Jesus has come to prepare them... and teach them how to make way for the kingdom of God. He has been on both sides of the Sea of Galilee, and in the middle, preaching, teaching, and healing and performing great miracles and acts of the living God. But, now he has returned home – home to the place where he was raised, to astound and possibly bewilder the crowd with his teaching, only for them not to believe in him. The scripture says that because of their unbelief, he was made powerless there, other than laying hands on a few sick people and healing them.
Then, after it seems that his own hometown has rejected him, he uses the incident as an opportunity to prepare his disciples for the work they must do to build up the body of believers. Prepare them for their “mission” among the villages and towns... The “hard” work that they have to do. The hard work that will NOT be received by everyone, especially in their hometowns… Hard work that will be the source of ridicule and laughter to some, and the way to salvation for others, but ALL must be reached.
It’s all Mission. Mission framed and mission focused in a sense of urgency to Go Out! Go Out! Don’t stop to pack a bunch of stuff! You don’t need anything extra for your journey… just a staff. You don’t need any money, or food, or even a change of clothes. You just basically need to just put on your shoes, grab your staff and go!
Now, I don’t know about you, but when I go somewhere, there is usually some serious packing involved… At least an overnight bag, provisions for food or shelter, and definitely my computer and book-bag (I am not going anywhere without that!) After all, what would I do if I couldn’t check my e-mail? And after this recent episode this week with packing the U-Haul Truck and coming to Tennessee… and thinking about all the boxes and “stuff” in my house... And then thanking my lovely bride, who stayed back for the past 2 months and managed everything and made sure that it all came together.
So, after all that, I had to stop and think about what this passage was trying to tell us today. I felt that this was Jesus teaching us how mission is to be done. Not relying on ourselves, but trusting in God’s providence. For God to provide what is needed for what must be done. Focus on God’s providence in the face of challenge and rejection. So, it’s mission done with urgency and complete trust in what God provides.
How come when it comes to modern mission in the church, we don’t follow that biblical example? We would rather complain about our scarce resources are than trust in God’s providence and love for us. We would rather focus on our sensitive nature and how we may feel when negative rejections come, rather than rejoicing in the many blessings that God has provided for us. We would rather be sure of our own security than to risk it boldly spreading the Gospel.
Jesus sent the disciples out, and gave them instructions, to spread a message of repentance to everyone, knowing that some will refuse them and some will listen. The scripture tells us that they went out and were able to cast out demons and they anointed many with oil and cured them. Jesus wants no less from us…
Jesus wants us to be bold. Bold and daring to be the church in the world. Bold enough to proclaim by word and example that the kingdom of God has indeed come near, and is here with us in the living body of Christ, the church. The Church... the community gathered together in worship, engaging in dialogue, learning and challenging one another. The community where we continue to hold each other up, support each other, and reach out into the world around us... bringing everyone and everything nearer to the kingdom of God.
We can learn a lot from our history… The history of the foundation of this country is deeply ingrained and entrenched within the missionary efforts of those Christians, both lay and ordained, that have gone on before us, spreading and building up the kingdom of God as they went.
We are here today in this Christian Community because in 1842, someone saw fit to start an Episcopal church here in Eastern part of Tennessee. We share that wonderful legacy of foundation and mission, and we have the responsibility to continue to build up the kingdom of God right here in Greene County. And we have that opportunity each and every day…
Every time we walk down the street, or see a neighbor in the yard, or talk to a friend in the grocery store; we have the opportunity to share with them the terrific and life giving presence that we know in our lives, because of our relationship with Jesus Christ. And we have an opportunity to ask them to be a part of the fellowship in mission and come and worship with us. Not forcing them or scaring them into believing this or that, but inviting them to be a part of a movement – the Jesus Movement and nurturing their souls with what we have to offer.
We can only imagine the hardships that the first missionaries faced, but they trusted that God’s provision and grace would give them exactly what they would need at the time that they would need it. Since its missionary inception, this church has survived 176 years of wars, suppression, depression, economic calamity, and even ritual and liturgical change. And yet, we keep on going. We continue to be formed, informed, and transformed by the living presence of Jesus Christ in our lives, as we celebrate and worship him.
Some of you may know that the 79th Triennial General Convention of the Episcopal Church is meeting right now in Austin, Texas. The House of Deputies and the House of Bishops are voting and debating on resolutions and making decisions that will affect what we do as a national church for next several years.
In the context of this convention, Bishop Curry, our presiding bishop, has challenged us to vision the Episcopal Church, as a missionary church, a re-creation, something he calls “The Jesus Movement.” Getting us back to the roots of the Gospel message, he asks us to be part of the movement… The Jesus Movement. A movement of love and healing that advocates for justice and peace and respects the dignity of every human being. A Jesus movement that goes out in love and lives the gospel in our lives and feeds the hungry, lifts up the lowly, and cares for those on the fringes of society. A movement that offers a place of steadiness in this unsteady and ever changing world.
And as members of this Jesus Movement are each responsible, we each are responsible for our own faithfulness. We are not responsible for the response we may receive when we offer our ministries in Christ’s name, but we are each only responsible for being faithful ourselves... responsible for our own faithfulness to what we are doing.
Our challenge today is to go forth from this place and envision what that this “Jesus Movement” will look like at this time, in this place.
Using Mark’s Biblical lesson of urgency and providence, trust that God will be there with us as we reach out to others and invite them to new life in Jesus, thriving and vital, focused and engaging… what will it look like?
