After hearing our scripture reading for
this morning, one would have to wonder what these two very different stories
have to do with each other. At first glance
. . . not much. One story tells of Jesus
returning to his home town and receiving a wishy-washy welcome in which folks
don’t give him any credence in his growing popularity as a teacher and prophet. He could do nothing. In that story Jesus is sad at their lack of
faith. In the other story, Jesus sends
out his disciples to preach. He sends
them out with nothing . . . no food, no money, just the clothes on their back. The disciples were quite successful. Two stories, two very different stories, and
yet they are thrown together for the reader to make sense of . . . to figure
out what the message is.
Well, good luck!
So, let’s shift gears. I want to talk a bit about being a
pastor. Even though it is not taught in
seminary, the role of the pastor is one of being the person out in front
leading the charge . . . they are the commander-in-chief . . . large and in
charge. That is how most congregations
see it, and how most pastors live it.
Everything centers around the person in charge. Which is great when it works, but really
sucks when it doesn’t. In seminary they
do teach many different models of being a pastor . . . especially those models
that rely upon the teamwork of everyone working towards a common goal. And, yet, the Lone Ranger model—as I like to
call it—always seems to be the one everyone works with. It is a tough lesson to learn . . . as a
pastor and as a congregation. Lots of
heart ache.
I learned this . . . not through the
ministry . . . but through my job at the Montana Center for Inclusive Education
at Montana State University Billings.
One day I was going over my annual performance review with the director,
and as we were talking she was encouraging me to take on more of a leadership
role in the center. Of course, I hemmed
and hawed about it because I could not see myself in that role. She told me I was an “idea” person . . . a
dreamer, and that I had a lot of good direction for the center and its future.
Again, I couldn’t buy into what she was
saying. I told her that that was the
problem . . . I had great ideas, but I was lousy at figuring out all the ways
to make those ideas realities. That is
when she looked me in the eyes and told me to trust those who worked in the
center . . . to trust my co-workers . . . that they could work the ideas into
reality. “You may not know how to do it,
but others do. Trust the process,” she
said. Since then I have learned that if
the idea is good, others will embrace it and bring it to life. It does not matter whether it is at the job I
do at the Montana Center at MSUB, or in the ministry.
In the first story, Jesus’ community and
family had a difficult time in accepting Jesus in this new role. This was not the Jesus they knew . . . not
the Jesus who grew up among them. This
was something completely different. They
could not “buy” into this new role Jesus was living. No, they could only see the old Jesus. Because they could not get beyond what they
thought and wanted him to be, they refused to acknowledge him in his new
role. Because of that he could do
nothing . . . no miracles, no healings, nothing.
On the other hand, Jesus sends out the
disciples and basically tells them to evangelize to the people. They are to take nothing . . . no extra
clothing, no money, no food—nothing! He
tells them to share the message and to rely upon the goodness of the people
they share the message with. They are at
the mercy of the people as they go forth to evangelize. And, they do exactly as they are told to
do. Much to the surprise of the
disciples, they are successful. The
writer of Mark’s gospel tells us: “They went out and preached that people
should repent. They drove out many
demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.”
In both stories the success or failure
depends upon those who receive the message.
If they believe . . . if they trust . . . there is success. We see this in the disciples’ mission. If they do not believe or trust, there is
failure . . . nothing happens. We see
this in Jesus’ homecoming. And, so it is
when it comes to sharing the good news.
It is not a matter of us or the story, it is a matter of belief and
trust on the part of the listeners.
At the same time, I don’t think we
should short change the Holy Spirit in all of this. I truly believe that the Holy Spirit has a
role to play in all of this. It is the
Holy Spirit that piques a person’s interest . . . sparks that curiosity . . .
that motivates one into action.
Years ago, in a ministerial association
that I belonged to, we had a young man who was the youth pastor at a large
evangelical church in the community.
Every month when we gathered he would brag about how many young people
he had brought to Christ. And, every
month all of us clergy would roll our eyes . . . we would roll our eyes because
we knew and understood that no one can bring anyone to Jesus Christ. No one!
The only person who could bring him or herself to Christ was the
individual him or herself. No one can
make another person believe or trust.
Even Jesus understood this. Maybe
the time wasn’t right . . . maybe the person sharing the story wasn’t the right
person . . . whatever the cause, just because the story is told doesn’t mean
everyone is going to jump on board. And,
that is okay. Jesus understood this. It is an individual choice.
The disciples were successful because
those people believed. As the old camp
song states, “It only takes a spark to get a fire going.” I cannot light up a room with a single candle,
but I can light another candle, and together we can pass the flame from candle
to candle until the whole room is lit up.
Jesus showed us the picture . . . had
the idea . . . and, he showed us how it could be; but, he never planned on
doing it himself. He believed in those
that he had called to be his disciples . . . to be his followers. He trusted them. In them the picture would be drawn . . . the
idea would become a reality. It was
through his followers that the Kingdom of God would be realized.
Because of this, we who are the
followers of Jesus, are called upon to go and share the good news through the
words that we speak and the actions that we take—both are powerful
messages. We are not to force it down
the throats of others or to beat them with it.
No, we are simply to share it and allow the Holy Spirit to work. Sometimes it will work, sometimes it will be
a complete washout. And, that is
okay. Maybe it was not mean to be at
that time. The important thing is to
share our story . . . to share the good news . . . as we are. To be ourselves.
So often we miss the mark because we
think that it all comes down to Jesus . . . that Jesus will do and be all. That all we must do is to introduce Jesus and
our job is done. But it doesn’t come
down to Jesus . . . it comes down to the individual who we share the story
with. It comes down to their belief . .
. to their trust in what they are hearing.
It comes down to that spark being lit . . . and, that flame beginning to
burn. Jesus shows us the way, and the
way only works if there is belief and trust.
Here is the hint: If it is God’s will,
and there is belief and trust, it shall be done. But the only way we will ever know is to
share our stories . . . God will do the rest if others believe and trust. Don’t miss the mark. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment