Sermon for the 6th Sunday after Pentecost: 5 July 2015
Sermon for the 6th Sunday
after Pentecost, 5 July 2015
The Rev. Carrie Ballenger Smith
***
(A farewell sermon for the ELCA's Young Adult in Global Mission volunteers and Mennonite Central Committee volunteers)
Grace and peace to you from God our
Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
 |
| Pastor Carrie and baby brother, Carl, ca. 1977 |
My brother
is nearly five years younger than I am, so I remember well the day he was
brought home from the hospital. I remember how I had begged for a sibling – a
little brother specifically – and the photo in our family album of me holding
baby Carl for the first time, with a big grin and my toes curled up from
excitement, shows just how thrilled I was to meet him.
And then he
started crying. And crying. And crying! It wasn’t long before I was telling my
mom and dad to take him back. “I
changed my mind. I don’t want a brother. This
isn’t what I was expecting!”
A number of
years ago, I was visiting a friend in her home in Louisiana. She wanted me to
meet a new friend from church, a friend she told me was named George Takimoto.
I tried to hide my surprise when I was introduced to George Takimoto – who
turned out to be a woman, and not the least bit Japanese. She wasn’t who I was expecting!
In the same
way, when folks heard Jesus preaching in his hometown synagogue, it was not at
all what they were expecting. They came out to see the small town boy who had
made a name for himself as a preacher and healer, but what they heard was very confusing.
“Wait, is this the same Jesus? Isn’t this Mary’s son? Where did he get these
ideas? Who does he think he is?” In fact, the text says they were more than
surprised at what he had to say—they “took offense.” Jesus and the Gospel
message were a scandal even in his hometown.
This is a
very interesting Gospel text to consider today, as we prepare to say farewell
and Godspeed to Julie and Jeff, Joanna and Jessy, Kanika, Michael, Sheldon, Amy
and Clare—our coworkers in the kingdom, who have faithfully served with the
Young Adults in Global Mission program and the Mennonite Central Committee. Soon,
friends, you will return home, and people will have many expectations of you.
They will expect you to be holier now, having lived near Jesus. They will
expect that you are now an expert on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. They’ll
expect you to have two minute answer to easy questions like: “So, how did you like
Israel?” and “So, do you think there can be peace over there?
And don’t be surprised if you—like every missionary, seminarian, or pastor—are expected to offer the prayer at every meal for the rest of your life. (I’m only half kidding about this!)
Of course, family,
friends, and your home churches will also expect you to share stories of your
time in the Holy Land. They will want to see pictures of holy sites and
archaeological digs. They will want to hear how you walked where Jesus walked
and prayed where the saints prayed. They will want to see you, their loved one,
standing in historic churches, surrounded by ancient stones.
However, many
will not expect to hear about the
living stones of Israel and Palestine. They will not expect to hear that being
Christian in the Holy Land is less about appreciation of church history and
more about the challenge of keeping the faith today. They will not expect to
hear how living the Good News of Jesus in
his homeland is less about re-discovering “that old time religion” and more
about resisting systems of oppression, breaking down walls, and working for a
better future for all the peoples of this land.
This
probably isn’t the Jesus they are expecting.
The truth
is, this may not be the Jesus you were expecting, either, when you arrived in
this place. Even those of us who have known Jesus a long time (like his old
neighbors in Nazareth) are often surprised by the impact of Jesus’ message on
our lives. After all, we didn’t expect forgiveness. We didn’t expect grace. We
didn’t expect the cross, and we certainly didn’t expect the empty tomb. We
didn’t expect love to triumph over sin and death. And yet, this unexpected turn
of events is the amazing grace, the blessed assurance, and the solid rock on
which we have built our lives! Thanks be to God!
The impact
of Jesus and his Gospel of love is always so much greater than we expect. The
scandal of the cross and the unexpected power of the resurrection continue to
challenge, convict, and inspire us, whether we’re in the Holy Land or in our
hometowns. Dear friends in Christ, you’ve no doubt seen things you never wanted
to see during your time here—occupation, oppression, division, deceit—the ugliest
parts of our sinful human nature.
But I know you’ve also seen how the Gospel of
love overcomes even separation walls and razor wire. You have seen faithful
people resisting the powerful pull of cynicism and hatred, and choosing instead
the life-giving path of forgiveness, mercy, and reconciliation. You have encountered
Jesus in places where no map, no historical marker, and no Holy Land handbook
suggested it was possible—in our Muslim and Jewish neighbors, in our enemies, and
in each other.
You have not
only seen the holy site of Jesus’ crucifixion, you’ve seen the suffering of the
cross as lived by the people on the other side of the wall and on the other
side of town.
You have not
only seen the holy site of Jesus’ resurrection, you’ve seen how the hope of
peace and justice and equality keeps rising from the tomb, again and again,
like the sun rising over the separation wall during our Mt. of Olives Easter
sunrise service.
This
challenging, scandalous, unexpected Good News is the message Jesus now empowers
you to carry home. In Mark chapter 6 we read that after his message was
rejected in his hometown, Jesus called together the twelve and began to send
them out two by two. He told them to travel lightly, and to rely only on the
hospitality of those who would receive him. And he gave them some critical
advice: "Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave the place.
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."
The Good
News, however good it is, however creatively you tell it, however many pictures
you share, will not always be well received. It will not always be understood
or even heard. And people may very well say: “Wait, is this the same Kanika?
Isn’t this the Gulliksen kid? Who authorized Jessy to speak like that?”
Who do we
think we are, to say such things? Who gives us the authority to proclaim God’s peace,
justice, love and mercy over against a gospel of security, maintenance of the
status quo, protection of privilege, and fear of the Other?
Who
authorizes us to preach and teach and live such scandalous ideas? None other
than Jesus our brother, crucified and risen. By virtue of our baptisms, and by
the power of the Holy Spirit, we are authorized to share the scandalous love of
God which we know through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. You don’t
need to be a Bible expert to share the love of God. And you don’t need to be a
Middle East expert to speak against injustice or to be an advocate for peace!
We don’t need degrees, or denominational backing, or bread, or a bag, or money
in our belts—we need only good sandals for the long journey, and a staff to
propel us forward when we are weary.
Most of all,
as you return home carrying this message that others may not be expecting, know
that you are not responsible for how it is received. You are only responsible
for how you carry the message. (This
is a word of grace these days, when we see so many churches up in arms over
what their neighbors and fellow Christians believe or don’t believe!) Let me
say it again: You are only responsible
for how you carry the message. Therefore, go out in love, and speak in
love, and act in love, and when the message is not received, or when others
interpret the message differently, do not be dismayed. Do not be discouraged. Shake
the dust off your feet and move on.
This reminds
me of the best advice I ever received in seminary. While it was intended for
pastors being sent out to their first churches, it’s actually excellent advice
for the Christian life in general. Here it is, the top 3 things every pastor
(or every Christian) must do:
#1. Love the
people
#2: Love the
people
#3: Love the
people
Dear sisters
and brothers, love the people, wherever
you are, whoever they are. Just as
you came here to love the people of Palestine and Israel, so now wherever you
find yourself on the next leg of your journey, let the scandal of God’s love
for the world be your witness. It’s not what the world expects, but it is
exactly what the world needs.
And let the
peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in
Christ Jesus. Amen.
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