Travel Light
Transcripts are auto-generated and may not be 100% accurate.
I'm Debbie Manning. I'm one of the pastors here at The Table and it's really nice to be with you on this, um, incredibly spring-like sunny day, which a bunch of us were talking about. How amazing it is and kind of how scary it is. Like what does this mean for our future that it is almost 70 or whatever it was today on Uh, here we are on March 3rd?
But we are continuing on in our series on Mark. We're heading, we're in Mark for the next about year. Um, and tonight we're going to talk just a little bit, the text lends itself a little bit to travel and I wanted to talk a little bit about that. How do you guys all travel? And I'm talking about prep and packing because I will tell you I'm terrible at it. Absolutely terrible. I confess that, I mean just even heading out to the store, I have this list in my head, okay, glasses, wallet, um, phone, keys. And that could be just because I'm getting older.
But with even notwithstanding that if I'm headed out, whether it's for a weekend or a week, 100% of the time I overpack, I really do. I mean, I, I bet I use a quarter of what I bring because I'm very concerned that I'm going to be warm enough, I might get wet. So I need my raincoat. I need certain shoes for if I'm going to go running or walking. And then what if we go out at night, what am I going to wear at night? And then what am I going to do this? And the truth is, I pretty much wear the same thing over and over again. And, and that happens all the time.
Traveling light though doesn't work at all with kids. Last spring we were um, all of us, there's my son Sam in the airport last spring. All of our family, which is eight adults at the time it was six kids under the age of six. And we went out to see my nephew graduate in Colorado. And guess what? The women, which is me, my daughter-in-law and my two daughters, we stayed for a couple days to go hiking in Estes Park and all the guys there they are, they um, they headed back with the kids. And just so you know, that first picture with Sam, let me give you a little inventory on, what was his back Patti, will you put it back there? Let's see. He had a backpack. He had two car seats in a backpack, three kids in a stroller, an infant car seat, two razors. He was hauling, uh, a um, suitcase as well as a duffel bag. Um, and that's not traveling light.
But the next picture, if you go to the next picture and here I digress and I decided, guess what? I'm up front speaking. I can digress All I want. The funny, not so funny thing about this is the guys took those kids home and all we heard about was, “oh my gosh, you guys are the most amazing dads and grandpa that I've ever seen. Look at what you're doing.” And all of us women are like, “Seriously? Like no one has ever commented when we've had all the kids ever.” But oh my gosh, you guys are amazing.
Okay, back to the text. So in our text tonight, Jesus commissions the 12 to spread the good news and he does it with some very specific instructions. And those instructions include traveling lights. See, I'm tying it in somewhere. Um, and I'm going to tell you guys this, this text was a really hard one for me. And when you see it, you're going to go, why? It's like six verses and it actually is connected to what we talked about last week. All week I'm studying this thing, reading commentaries, kind of praying about it. Like usually something strikes me like, “oh man, this is like what I want to zero in on. This is really meaningful. I'm going to do this.” Never happened, never happened all week.
And I, I kept thinking, maybe because it's so simple and it's like, oh yeah, yeah, we know that. Yet the text actually had a lot of conviction for me. And it was a reminder that context matters. And what I mean by that is that Jesus' instructions are very specific to time to place and to purpose. And we need to keep that in mind as we're reading these ancient texts. I think.
So we're in Mark 6:6-13. And here in this piece, most scholars would say that we begin sort of this third major phase of Jesus's public ministry. And as he expands his ministry through the mission of the 12, he expands his reach beyond Galilee, which is where they have been hanging out.
And if you remember back in chapter 3, if you want to throw that up there, Patti, in 3:13-14: He appointed, he appointed 12 that they may be with him and that he may might send them out to preach and to have authority to drive out demons. Now while the disciples to this point have fulfilled the first part of that mission, they hadn't fulfilled the rest, right? They were with Jesus, they're observing, they're learning from him. But this is the first time that they're being sent out on their own. So we know this, from past weeks Jesus and his team has been all over Galilee and they've been preaching and teaching and healing and exorcising demons.
And last week we heard about, because this is tied together. Last week we heard about how Jesus headed back home to Nazareth, where he was from. And his um, welcome was uh, very much a both-and. because on one hand, all the people in, in his hometown were amazed at all the things he did. And on the other hand, they weren't so certain about who he was and they actually rejected Jesus. And the last verse of our text from last week was that he was amazed at the lack, their lack of faith. Yet he carried on.
And here we go, Mark 6:6-13:
Then Jesus went around teaching from village to village, calling the 12 to him. He began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over impure spirits. These were his instructions. Take nothing for the journey except a staff. No bread, no bag, no money in your belts. Wear sandals but not an extra shirt whenever you enter a house. Stay there until you leave town. And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, leave that place and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them. They went out and they preached that people should repent. They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and they healed them.
So the rejection at Jesus' hometown synagogue didn't stop Jesus at all. Didn't deter him. In fact, Jesus is undeterred in his goal to spread the gospel to towns and villages all over Galilee. And just to be clear, so we have a little understanding of this, the mission at this moment in time was for the disciples to spread the gospel to all of Israel so that they could be a light to the Gentiles. So that eventually that light and love of Jesus would be spent or um, sent to the end of the earth.
So this is a simple text, right? It's a text where Jesus commissions, Jesus instructs, and then he sends. And I think it's interesting when we think about the story of the disciples and how that relates to our life of faith, we experience Jesus. We're moved by the spirit, we're sent, we respond to that. It's very much like the life of faith, I think that we're called to.
And the message in this story, which I think is really important, is not for us to exactly copy Jesus's instructions to his followers. because again, those were very specific to the time, place, and purpose. And on the other hand, this isn't irrelevant to the call on our life today and our context. There are takeaways. This text is relevant to us today.
So here's what I realized last night. All along I'm thinking what, like what in here's kind of moving me? How's the spirit speaking? And I kept thinking it was sort of this, oh it's so simple, it's so straightforward. But what I realized last night, not exaggerating at midnight, this text makes me actually a little uncomfortable and a little anxious because as I stand up here in front of all you guys and I preach the gospel, I got to look at myself and my life and really evaluate how am I in this moment in my context living out the gospel? How am I embodying the gospel?
And when you really think deeply about it, when I thought deeply about it, it's a little scary. It was a little challenging because I'm going to be really honest with you guys. I'm tired. Like I don't think I can do much more than I'm doing right now. Like my life is really full and sometimes I forget to pause and examine and say, how am I responding In every context I am with the love, love of Christ? And that's where I think we land tonight with this.
So bear with me for a minute because remember last week's text, Jesus speaks to the town where he grew up. And really what he's saying is, Hey guys, I am back. This is what I'm about. This is who I am. And Jesus is naming what God is concerned about in the world, he's naming the truth and the responsibility for bringing that truth into existence. And when he does that, he's making a stand. And when he is making a very public stand like that, he's asking the disciples, and he's asking you, and he's asking me to do that too.
And so our, the question for us is how does our life reflect in this moment in time, in the context that each of us are in? because we're all in different contexts. How does that reflect with whom and where we stand? And for what we stand for? Because if we are followers of Jesus, that's what we say we are like, we are people who practice the ways of Jesus. If we are followers of Jesus, then we have to be engaged in the world. There's uh, no non-negotiable with that. And we better know whom we stand for and what we stand for.
And that's the thing about Jesus. He doesn't just preach, he messes everything up. He's always turning everything upside down for us. He's always making us just a little bit uncomfortable, maybe a lot of bit uncomfortable because he is trouble to the status quo. There is no business as usual Jesus.
And if you want to know who Jesus is and what it means to stand with and for Jesus, you just need to look at Jesus and who he says he's for. Jesus is good news to the poor. And he is release to the captives. He is sight to the blind and he is freedom to the oppressed. Let me say that again. He is good news to the poor, release to the captives, sight for the blind, freedom to the oppressed. That is the path of Jesus. And he's promised it all along new ordering, turning things upside down.
And guess what, friends? We are the keepers or the breakers of the promise that Jesus makes. That is our role. And there's no neutral stand in this process at all. And my guess is that I'm not the only one that has a few fears and concerns about taking a stand and embodying and living out the gospel. Because somewhere deep inside, we all know that that is the call in our life is being created by God, by following Jesus. We know deep inside, but sometimes we don't really want to hear it because if Jesus's words are fulfilled in our hearing, that means we have to change.
And guess what? Change takes energy and intentionality and um, makes us uncomfortable. And guess what is often sacrificial as well? For what and for whom do I stand? The text calls us to respond with the way that we live our life. And here's where I landed. because so far this is like kind of depressing. It's like oh yeah, this is like a lot to think about, a lot to work.
But here's what's so good about the text. This is the thing that hit me at midnight last night is that yes, it's instructional, right? This is instructional, but more than that it actually frees us. It actually brings us comfort and listen to this. So here's the thing, we don't go it alone. He tells us right there, he commissions the 12 and he sends them out two by two. And no doubt Jesus did that so that you know, they could support one another and have fellowship and for protection. But it's a reminder to us that we are created to do this, to embody the gospel message the love of God together. We don't go it alone.
Remember during Covid? And Sheems I'm pointing to you because I remember talking to you about this. And we were doing everything online. Some of it was kind of silly and trial and error, but we had some good music, some good messages. But guess what? That wasn't enough because people missed being in community. Because we can't just do this [points up to heaven] without doing this [points around in a circle]. They go together, they're woven together. But what a beautiful thing to know that we don't go it alone.
And number two, it's the authority of Jesus. It's God working in us. We don't have to carry that burden of “oh my gosh, it's my job to do this and I've got to do this.” No, you know what your job is step into those places and spaces that you're invited into and trust that God's doing the work. You don't have to know everything, have all the answers. Well you won't. And it's such a beautiful thing.
And I've talked about this so many times, but when I was a police chaplain, there wasn't a single time when I stepped up to a door to let someone know that their loved one had died that I knew what I was doing, that I knew what I was walking into. And it was in those moments that I was like praying at the door. I am so grateful God, that you know what you're doing, that you've got this and I'll step in and I will trust that because that is the reality is that it's God's spirit working in us, not more, not less.
Number three, Jesus says, here we are in the travel, travel light, simple dependency on God. Jesus sends us out with less. He invites us to trust him, to be ready to engage with the world and to respond to the world around us. And traveling light means that we already have everything we need. You don't need to read more books or have more money or have your life perfectly set. We don't need any of these things. We already have enough right now. We have everything we need so we can travel light. So let go.
And the fourth thing we see in that text, and this was so interesting to me, is to depend on hospitality. And let's broaden what that means because in ancient times that was just essential, right? There's no hotels or restaurants along the way like that was essential to the life, um, in biblical times. But it's also part of Middle Eastern culture then and today as well that kind of what we would consider this radical hospitality. But what Jesus is calling the disciples to do, and I think for us today is to accept hospitality to maybe own that you might need a little hospitality and needing hospitality requires that we're vulnerable. That we actually might say, Hey, I have to let go. It might require you to walk through the doors where you were invited to be cared for and to let go of the excuses of time and discomfort and worthiness. I think that is really a hard thing to do. because I'd sure rather provide the hospitality than take someone else's.
And you know, we've been, as we're walking through this season right now with Matt on sabbatical, people have been so amazingly supportive. And I'm in this intergenerational small group and they so graciously gave Steve and I this gift of a night at the Hewing that we're about to take next week. Um, and I'll tell you, it's like accepting that hospitality, like I was so overwhelmed and so grateful and I I think deep down there was this little bit, “am I worthy of this?” Like it was hard for me to take that! And Jesus is saying, “Man, if you can't take take in that love, take in that hospitality, how are you going to give it?”
So accepting hospitality, it's interesting because Jesus anticipates in this text, doesn't he, that the disciples are going to get both negative and positive responses. And if you're welcome, do you stay until you need to leave the town? And just for a little background, Jesus's concern there is for the motives of the missionaries and the unity of community.
Because back in those days it was kind of part of human nature that you'd take some hospitality and then maybe someone who's a little wealthier, they had a little nicer accommodations, you might keep moving up the scale. Well that would be antithetical to Jesus' message. And Jesus wanted to make sure that there was no jealousy, disunity not to mention like not relying on God. So he anticipates that some places would not welcome people.
And here's what he says: Shake the dust off your feet When you run into rejection, face, shake the dust off your feet. While some will welcome the disciples, others will reject them. We saw it with Jesus. And that entails a failure to welcome and to listen. And Jesus says, shake the just off your feet. That is related to rabbinic tradition where the rabbis would be off in foreign lands and they'd shake the dust off their garments when they entered back into the holy land. It's a symbolic action of wiping the dust off. It's sort of like us saying, I'm washing my hands of that as
I was like struggling with this and talking to my family. Like what do you guys see in this? And my daughter-in-law, Jennie said, it sounds like boundaries to me. I think it is. Those are not just physical, but their emotional boundaries. It's not taking it personally. It's letting that roll off you, not letting that stop you from your mission. My mission for us being the body of Christ.
I was sharing this I think with Maggie a couple weeks ago that, you know, getting into ministry a little later, and I had these amazing mentors, Rich and Jody Phenow were like the king and queen of pastoral care. And I was at a big church and we did a lot of pastoral care. And anytime for the first year I was doing it would walk into a hospital room, they'd go,”Oh, where's Rich, where's Jody?” And I was like, “You got the B team, but hey, God doesn't care. I am here.”
But you learn as you learn in life that that isn't about me. That God still works. That you keep going, that you shake, you shake the dust off your feet.
All of those things that I listed, they actually free us. If you think about it. Those things actually free us to take a stand. They actually free us to live out the gospel. And it's less about what we believe or what we say, but more about the way we live our lives in our context today. And here's what I'm thinking. And I think this frees us too, that taking a stand looks so different for every one of us in different moments of our life. And it's about listening and stepping in when we're called.
I was thinking about my friend Kathy Nielsen. She and her husband Chris used to be attenders here years and years ago. They lived in Edina, raised their kids there, and um, Kathy got into ministry around the same time. I didn't. She had a passion for the inner city and she and Chris got really involved in North Minneapolis, but they were there through YoungLife. They're providing meals. They just gradually and organically and slowly over time, they built real relationships with people over on the north side.
And then eventually they sold their house in Edina. They bought a duplex in North Minneapolis. They, they had the top floor for a bunch of young black men that were leaders in the community and in YoungLife. Um, and then they lived on the bottom half. And meanwhile, Kathy started, um, as the volleyball coach at North High. Chris died. She continued doing that after he died. She did some training and she bought a pizza wood burning truck. No. No, I said that wrong. [wood-fired pizza truck] Thank you. You get what I mean. You've seen it here. You've seen it here. because sometimes she comes.
But here's the cool thing that Kathy's done, and it doesn't seem big, but it matters, is Kathy is involved all those young high school girls at North High in, um, the pizza truck, that that's how they make money and raise money for their volleyball team and their uniforms because they've got nothing over there and she's also involved a bunch of her friends. So we get to go too.
And we're at North High on Friday nights and we're flipping pizzas and getting to know the girls and Kathy has be, has become in the lives of these girls who—literally, like I drove one home one night and her mom had been murdered in July. I mean these girls have hard lives, but she's been that one steady presence. She's been the embodied gospel for these girls in north. In her context she has stepped in and it's grown and it's changed, but she continues to listen.
So where and with whom and for what do we stand? So sometimes I think, oh, and you know, I have to say it, it's always the both/and, Sometimes it feels complicated and you got to look a little deeper. And sometimes it's so simple that we just miss it. So, gosh, I don't know when this was Jake, but a few months ago, um, my granddaughter, our granddaughter, Sammy, who's four years old. There she is, there's Sammy. That's just from yesterday. And apparently she was at Shields and let out a big Yee-haw. And about six people responded, yee-haw. And I think we all said on the family text, of course they did. That's Sammy.
So they're driving home from skating one night and they're driving down Lyndale and they see a tent and she asks Jake, um, what that was all about. And Jake explains that not everybody has a house and the people in the tent don't have a house right now. And Jake and his text to us literally said, and Patti show this, she said three things:
If I were a builder, I would build them a house because I want them to have a home. If they were by our house, I would welcome them in so they could be in our house. And then she said lastly, sometime when can we go to the tent, their tent and bring them some food because they're probably hungry and I don't want them to die.
Now the simplicity right of a child. Now I do have to add that the last statement was, and I dunno if I gave that to you, Patti, but the last statement in that text chain was, “And then she asked if she could be Luke Combs kid. It was a roller coaster of a drive home.” How beautiful is that though? Sammy's context. She saw the need. Here's this kid. Four years old comes up with all these little ideas. How simple is that? How often do I drive by what I see right in front of me? I think that is just a beautiful reminder of what it means to embody the love of God.
So we ask that question one last time, where and with who? And for what do you stand? Jesus the Christ, the son of love. And here's what Sammy has to say about it: “A hey, hi daddy. Papa, I just want to remind you, life is a gift. Love is a point. What do you got in your hand there, buddy? Who is that? Where'd you get that Memorial? At the memorial. Can you say, I love you to Papa and Dede.” “I love you!”
Tonight instead of a prayer with one of my favorite scripture passages text, it's at the end of Matthew when Jesus is about to ascend into heaven and here it is: “Then Jesus came to them and he said, all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything I've commanded you. And surely I am with you always to the very end of the age.” Amen.