Preaching text: Mark 6:1-13
Let me tell you about Charlotte. Charlotte is a teenage girl, a former member of the church I served in Davis, WV. I first met her when she was about 5 or 6 years old when I had the sad duty of burying her father who died in an ATV accident. Charlotte’s mom, Karen, became good friends with my wife, Sarah, and Charlotte herself struck up a friendship with my daughter Emily. She was a big part of getting Emily into Scottish Highland dancing for a time. I’ve kept in touch with Karen and Charlotte through Facebook and Charlotte has recently graduated from high school. Her reward for this accomplishment was a trip to New Zealand.
Karen and Charlotte are nerds like me and so, of course, while she is there, Charlotte had to visit the sets where the Lord of the Rings movies were filmed. Suffice to say, I get a little envious when I watch her doing a Highland dance outside of Bag End. I want to go. I want to see that.
We’ve been hearing a lot from Thailand lately. Many of us have been watching and listening to the news of the boys soccer team there who got trapped by flooding in a deep cave. The boys are alive, but still trapped. Divers can get food and provisions in to them, but with all the rain, it’s going to be a while before they can get out. I have a good friend, Rich, who is a teacher in Thailand. I’ve heard it's a beautiful country, filled with wonderful and beautiful people. I want to go. I want to see that.
I’ve been very lucky. Dennis (a member at Canadochly) was teasing me the other day when he observed there are a lot of places I know about and have been to. While I have not been to overseas locales like these two previous examples, I have been a lot of places here in the United States. Nearly every state east of the Mississippi I have visited at least once and a small handful of those west. I am well traveled, as they say, an opportunity that does happen for everyone. I’ve met more than a few folks who’ve never gone beyond the borders of their own state, sometimes even their own county. For these, the world is a VERY big place.
I talk a lot as a pastor about the mission Christ has given us to join him in saving that world. He, of course, came into it, was born of Mary, grew up, led a religious movement with disciples and followers, got arrested, executed, and then rose again from the dead. We all know this story, the story of how he gave his very life for our sake and for the sake of everyone. Before he departed this earth, he gave his followers their marching orders: Go proclaim the good news and make disciples of the whole world.
For many of us in the Church, that great commission is terrifying. To go into that big world to spread the Gospel and to make converts. For those of us who are not “well traveled,” that’s an intimidating prospect.
Which only adds to the other intimidating prospects in regards to evangelism. Talking about religion is taboo. Talking to people about our own beliefs demands an intimate disclosure many of us are not willing to make. Getting something wrong or being confronted with a question we can’t answer is embarrassing. All rationale, legitimate, and reasonable reasons why most of us don’t do it.
As hard as it is to say, the Scriptures don’t always help in this regard. We hear the gradious stories of apostles Peter and Paul and the journeys that they took across the width and breadth of the Roman Empire (the “whole world” of their time) to make new disciples. Church tradition tells us that Thomas went to India, Andrew to Scotland, and a whole slew of folks scattering to the four winds to convert often hostile pagans to the faith of Christ. More than a few of those expeditions did not end well.
But there are stories in Scripture that I think are encouraging in this regard, that calm our anxieties, and give an answer to our many objections and today’s Gospel is one of them. Jesus sends the disciples out two by two into the various villages across Galilee. Galilee is not much bigger than York county, so we’re not talking a vast area here. It’s small, contained, manageable.
He also tells them what to do. He does not ask them to get into theological debate. He does not demand nor expect instant conversion. What he tells the disciples to offer instead is compassion, care, concern, love. Heal the sick. Cast out demons. Do what you can to help people in need. Do it in my name. Do it because of me.
What if, rather than trying to evangelize the whole world, we focus on OUR world, that is to say our portion of the wider world? Our neighborhood, our social circles, the people we encounter in public places, our friends, our family, what if we focused on them? And rather than regale them with our knowledge of Scripture, potent rhetoric, and persuasive charisma, we were simply kind, compassionate, and giving? What if we tend to the needs of those around us, giving of our selves to help people manage their way through life? That seems a lot more reasonable, a lot doable, and a lot less scary.
That essentially what Jesus asked of the disciples going out two by two. Do what you can to make life better for people and when they ask you why, say it was because of Jesus. Say it was because Jesus cares and so do you. That is evangelism. That is spreading the Gospel. That is the fertile ground in which the seed of the Spirit can grow.
When Jesus was here on Earth, people were drawn to him for a whole slew of reasons. Some liked that he stood up to the authorities of the time. Others found his theological arguments persuasive. But most followed because Jesus had done something for them, a miracle, a healing, an overwhelming expression of compassion that showed them how much they mattered. As we continue to weave our way through a world where people are bombarded with the message of how little they matter, there are few more powerful truths we can offer to them. We can show them they matter by our kindness, compassion, and care for their lives. This is evangelism. This is how it's really done. And this is something we can do. And we don’t have to travel the world to do it. Those who need the word we offer are right here in front of us. Amen.
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