A sermon preached at Kowloon Union Church on Ninth Sunday after Pentecost 25 July 2021, by Rev Judy Chan . The scripture reading that day was Psalm 145:10-18, Ephesians 3:14-21 and John 6:1-21.
Good
morning.
In
today’s readings, we’re now in the Gospel of John rather than Mark. And we’ll
be looking at the 6th Chapter of John for the next 5 weeks. In this
first reading, there are two miracle stories – the feeding of the 5000 and
Jesus walking on water. When I saw this, I thought, Oh, a double header. That’s
a baseball term – when you have 2 games one after the other, same venue, same
teams. Sounds fun, huh?
John’s
double header however presents a dilemma. Do I preach on one miracle or both?
Then I discovered that Mark and Matthew also have the same two stories one
after the other in their gospels. So, I figured the two stories must go
together for a reason. And perhaps John’s version as the latest can teach us
something important about Jesus, miracles and our own spiritual lives. So, come
with me as I take you out to the ball game, so to speak, and let’s see what’s
happening.
I
want to begin by saying a few things about miracles - Jesus’ miracles in
particular. For some people, the miracles in the Bible are hard to believe.
Really, they say, how could Jesus feed 5000 people with five loaves of bread
and two fish? And walking on water? Sorry, that’s just not scientifically possible.
Over
the centuries, people have tried to come up with logical explanations. The one
I’ve heard most often about feeding the 5000 goes like this. The crowd was so moved
by the little boy handing over his meager lunch, they decided to share their
own lunch basket too, thus enough food for everyone plus leftovers. Jesus
walking on water is harder to explain – maybe the water was shallow or he was
walking on top of blocks of ice. I suppose that’s marginally better than saying
the events never happened or that they were grand embellishments promoted by
the early church. But, frankly, I’m not satisfied with any of these
explanations.
Now,
whatever your position on miracles – that of course they happen or of course
they don’t happen, or somewhere in between, let me share something I learned
from my seminary professor. His name is Luke Timothy Johnson and he taught me New
Testament. I didn’t learn this in his class but from his later writings on the
topic of miracles. Prof Johnson says if we don’t believe in miracles, then how in
the world can we be a Christian? As he puts it, the most fundamental truths by
which Christians live and die involve miracles. And the two greatest miracles of all? The
Incarnation and the Resurrection. In other words, Christmas and Easter! For
what else are these festivals but a celebration of miracles?
Christmas: The miracle of God coming to us in Jesus Christ through His Incarnation.
Easter: The miracle of our returning to God through Jesus Christ in His
Resurrection. Indeed, if the Incarnation and the Resurrection are not true,
then nothing else matters. But if they are true, and Christians believe they
are, then everything else does matter.
Johnson
says the trouble with modern folks is we lack imagination. We live in our own
little bubble of reality, not realizing or even caring that there may be other
ways of knowing or being that are even better. There’s an old story, you’ve
probably heard it, about a man who was sure he was dead. His family tried to
convince him he was wrong but he insisted it was so. They sent him to a doctor.
“Doc, I’m a dead man.” The doctor said, “No, you’re not! You’re sitting here
talking to me, how can you be dead?” The man refused to change his mind. So,
the doctor had an idea. “Do dead men bleed?” he asked. “No,” replied the patient. So, the doctor
took a needle, pricked the man’s finger and out came drops of blood. “What do
you make of that?” the doc asked. The man stared at his finger. “Well, what do
you know? Dead men do bleed!”
To
understand miracles in the Bible, we don’t have to suspend reality. We don’t
have to put aside common sense and intellect. What we have to do is to imagine
a different reality. A world not defined by the limits of human knowledge and
experience, but a world defined by a relationship with the living God –
a world bursting with divine presence and power in creation. That’s the world
in which the Bible writers lived and moved and had their being. And if we can
enter that world with them, even briefly, we’ll understand better what they’re
trying to tell us. C.S. Lewis said: “Miracles are a retelling in small letters
of the very same story written across the whole world in letters too large for
some of us to see.”
So,
let’s get going. As I mentioned, these two miracles in John are also found in
Mark and Matthew. Luke only records the Feeding of the 5000. I think each
writer told the story of Jesus in their own way. They were highlighting
different aspects for different audiences. Scholars generally agree that the
Gospel of John was the last to be written, and by that time, he didn’t need to
repeat what Matthew, Mark and Luke had already said. His intention, then, is
not to recount the life of Jesus, but to tell us instead what that life meant.
John has been called the most ‘theological’ of the Gospels, and that’s not a
bad thing. For what is theology but “faith seeking understanding”?
For
me, a key to interpreting John 6 comes in a verse we may not even have noticed,
v.4: “Now the Passover, the festival of the Jews, was near.” John is the only
Gospel writer who places these miracles at the time of Passover. Remember what the Jewish Passover was about? It’s
a commemoration of the Hebrews’ liberation from slavery in Egypt as told in the
book of Exodus. It’s a time to give thanks for miraculous protection from
destruction. And John, different from the other Gospel writers, connects these two
miracles of Jesus with those miracles of Passover.
How
does he do it? The feeding of the 5000. What’s the picture? Lots of hungry
people, panicked organizers, a desperate situation. Remind you of any time in
Exodus? Of course, the Israelites in the wilderness after escaping Pharaoh. “Why
did you bring us out of Egypt to let us starve out here, Moses?” they
complained. But they didn’t starve, did
they? God sent the Israelites daily bread in the form of manna from heaven.
Likewise,
Jesus’ disciples were facing a desperate situation. How were they going to feed
this humongous crowd that had followed them? “Know any good supermarkets
nearby?” Jesus asks. They look at him in disbelief. “That would cost a fortune,
Master! Have you checked our bank account recently?” I imagine at this point
Jesus kept silent, waiting to see what the disciples did next. Still grasping
at straws, they noticed a young boy with five loaves of ordinary bread and two
dried fish. A peasant’s lunch. “It’s no use,” they conclude. “We give up.” Only a miracle could save them now.
But
no one was going to see a miracle by looking at the crowd or their money bag or
a young boy’s lunch. The disciples were only going to see a miracle if they
looked to Jesus. Because that’s where God’s presence and power are most
mightily revealed – in the person and work of Christ our Savior. So, the point
of the miracle is not the food, though that’s what we tend to get fixated on.
The point of feeding the 5000 is Jesus, the Son of God. Without Him, they can
do nothing. He is the one who is even mightier than Moses. He is the one who
provides bread from heaven with His own hands. He is the one who performs a
miracle when you’ve put your trust in Him. Got that?
Now,
what about the other story – Jesus walking on water? Again, what’s the picture?
A raging sea, terrified folks, no way forward and no way back. Can you think of
another time God’s people were desperate to get safely to the other side of the
water? Yes, the Israelites crossing the Red Sea. The water in front of them, Pharaoh’s
army behind them. They were doomed. But God provided. The waters parted. The danger
was over.
In
John 6, we find the disciples equally in crisis. They had gone down to the sea
in the evening to cross over to Capernaum. The trip started well enough, but
then it became rough sailing with high winds mid-way. What could they do? It
was no use calling out to Jesus. He was somewhere off in the mountain. They were
all on their own. Or so they thought. Then they looked out and there was Jesus walking
on the sea towards them. They were scared out their minds. Was it the spirit of
a dead man? But then they heard His voice: “It is I. Don’t be afraid.” And they
believed and obeyed. And the next thing they knew, the boat had safely reached
the shore.
Again,
let’s interpret the story carefully. What do we usually focus on? Walking on
water, right? That’s remarkable in itself of course. But the real point is what
Jesus is teaching his disciples. Yes, you can do nothing apart from Him, but
He is also never far apart from you. I’m sure the disciples weren’t expecting Jesus
to come to the rescue. But when all hope
was gone, like the Israelites fleeing Pharaoh, God moved over the waters and they
made it safely to the other side. “It is I. Don’t be afraid.”
As
I said earlier, if we don’t believe in miracles, how in the world can we be a
Christian? Maybe you think if I could see those miracles with my own eyes, then
I would believe. But, you know, Jesus never performed miracles on demand. He
never performed miracles to prove He is the Son of God. Jesus performed miracles
because He is the Son of God. The God who has compassion on all who
suffer, who reveals His Kingdom in unmistakable signs and wonders. The God who
possesses power and control over the whole Universe.
The
Bible tells us many, many people witnessed the miracles of Jesus. But not
everyone became His disciple. If fact, most did not. Some doubted. Some wanted
the miracle but not the man. Some even tried to shut Him down. I think it’s
probably the same for many, many people today. But for those of you who have witnessed
the miracles of God in your own life firsthand – and I’m looking at some of you
right now – you know. You know if we have eyes to see, ears to hear and a heart
to trust and obey Him, we’ll not only be happy in Jesus, we’ll have joy in this
life and the next. Thanks be to God! Amen.
# posted by Kowloon Union Church : Sunday, July 25, 2021
A sermon preached at Kowloon Union Church on Sixth Sunday after Pentecost 4 July 2021, by Peter Youngblood . The scripture reading that day was Mark 6: 1 – 13.
The account of the sending out of the disciples in Mark 6 is our earliest example of Christian mission. The 12 are the first evangelists, spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ. But these verses also show us what it was like to be an early Christian missionary, and it does not sound easy. Jesus orders the 12 to take no food, no money, and no extra clothing. They were told to visit strange villages and households, and to ask local families to take them in and feed them. If this sounds daunting, that’s because it is hard to imagine ourselves doing something like that today. Wandering about in strange neighborhoods, knocking on strangers’ doors, is not something most people are willing and able to do.
In fact, I can think of only one group of people that still does kind of evangelism that we find in these passages. You sometimes see them in Hong Kong, riding around on the MTR. Like the 12, they travel in pairs, usually two young men or—less commonly—two young women. They are smartly, but conservatively dressed, and they will always be wearing a name badge. And next to their name on that badge will be “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.” I am, of course, speaking of Mormon missionaries.
As some of you probably know, young Mormons are encouraged to delay their college and careers, and to go on two-year missions to a strange city or foreign country. While they do take money with them, their work is entirely self-financed; they must raise the money for the trip themselves. Some even start saving money for it while they are in high school. Most of their mission work involves going door-to-door or talking with strangers in the street. This is something that I would find very hard to do. Even though I certainly don’t share Mormon beliefs, I have to admire these young people’s commitment to their faith, and to their evangelistic mission.
Mormons do something that most other Christians simply won’t do—or can’t do. And this failing isn’t entirely our own fault—knocking on stranger’s doors is not something that socially acceptable; you’re more likely to get the police called on you than to be invited into someone’s home. And I think most people today have a negative impression of this kind of evangelism. They believe that becoming or being Christian should be a personal choice, and that religion should be something private, not public. To put it simply, they believe Christians should keep their beliefs to themselves. Mormons and other groups, like Jehovah’s Witnesses, are really the exception to the rule. And they must bravely face suspicion and mockery that comes from breaking social norms.
But many of the reasons why we cannot do what these disciples did are practical. The world, the Church, and evangelism have all changed. We have different responsibilities and interests than the 12 did. Our society (including our churches) does not give us the space freedom for that kind of evangelism anymore. Most of us cannot even spare two weeks to go wandering around strange countries, let alone two years. The lifestyle of ancient Christian pilgrims is simply not practical for the vast majority of Christians today.
So how can we perform mission in the modern Church? What lessons can we take from Mark 6, verses 7 through 11? I think there are quite a few, actually.
The first, most obvious point, is that evangelism is something directed outside of a particular religious community. The 12 were sent out by Jesus. They had no permanent home or church. In those early days, the church was wherever they were, in whichever household they were being hosted. In contrast, Christians living in modern, developed societies—live ourselves—have the privilege of preaching the Gospel in air-conditioned churches and even livestreaming on the internet. But is what we do here, every Sunday, really evangelism? I don’t think so. With the exception of an occasional “mission moment”, most of what we do here, in worship, is for our own spiritual and moral health. Sunday worship and our fellowships together strengthen the bonds of our particular church community, reminding us what it means to be Christian. That is certainly important for spreading the Gospel, but it is not the same as spreading the Gospel. It is not the same as extending our community outward, growing the Church as a whole.
Evangelism must go beyond the walls of our churches, and sometimes that will shake the very foundations of these churches themselves. God’s call to mission challenges our old ways of being in a community, and following this call can strain our social relationships. Mission separates us from our friends, family, and community, sometimes painfully. Evangelists are often rejected by their home church, just as Jesus Christ was rejected by his community in Nazareth. They may receive no financial or moral support for their calling. And, as we also see with Jesus, an evangelist may receive little to no support from their family. But on this point the Gospel is quite clear: the Christian community will not grow unless we are willing to leave our places of comfort behind. It will not grow unless we are willing take risks, to work even without the support of our families and communities. And yes, sometimes to make the big “C” Church grow, we have to work without the help of the little “c” churches we come from.
But when Christians do leave the security of their churches, they should remember a 2nd point made clear in Mark 6: Evangelism is a job, it is not a vacation. I remember growing up that many churches in my community, including my own, would often take “mission trips.” People would pay to join a group that would travel to somewhere in Africa, South America, or Southeast Asia, spending a week or two helping to build something in some small village.
Now, one problem with that kind of evangelism is that most of these trips are just that—they are trips, that is, they are really vacations where you do a little bit of actual work, and the rest of the time is for sightseeing and R and R. If fact, there were—and maybe still are—companies that would market these trips as vacation packages to churches, promising both faith and adventure.
Another big problem with vacation missions is that they do not help people all that much. One or two weeks is not enough time to perform an adequate service. You cannot build a good well or church sanctuary in a just a few days. And even if the expectation is that other church groups would come and help finish a project, there is usually very little coordination between different teams. And so many of these poor communities are left with shoddy or unfinished work. In many cases, it would have been better if churches just paid professionals to do the job.
One last problem with this kind of evangelism is that it is often disconnected from the Word of God. Frequently a mission trip fails to clearly establish the moral and spiritual significance of the work that is done. Ironically, many evangelical church communities will go on mission trips where they don’t actually do much preaching of the Gospel.
For Jesus’ disciples, and for early Christians, mission was not a vacation. They had stay in first household that accepted them. They could not upgrade to a better place if it became available. It could not even be a personal spiritual journey. While I am sure what they did certainly enriched them spiritually, their primary mission was one of service. It was about the salvation and well-being of others. And it was a full-time job.
It was also a risky, dangerous job. And this brings me to a third point. Why did the disciples have to be so poorly provisioned? Why could they not take food or extra clothing? Shouldn’t they have taken at least some snacks for the road, or a spare pair of sandals? In Matthew and Luke’s version of the rules, they are not even allowed to take a staff with which fend off wild animals or bandits.
It is tempting to interpret these passages as a call for modesty and poverty, as if Jesus is saying that his disciples should live simply, like beggars. But I don’t think that’s it at all. What I think is that these rules are about faith. Mark Chapters 5 and 6, which we have been reading these past few weeks, are all about faith. The miracles that we witness in Capernaum were only possible because of faith. Through faith the hemorrhaging women was healed. Through faith the daughter of Jairus was brought back to life. But in Nazareth there is a lack of faith. Jesus is doubted and rejected by his own people. Because of this, he can do no great works of power.
And, in the same way, the success of the 12’s mission rests on their faith. They are to take no bag, no food, no water, no money, nor extra clothing, because they are to trust that God will provide for their needs. Going against these rules, and taking with them more than they absolutely needed, would have shown a lack of faith. And without faith, they had no power.
But even knowing about faith, the mission of the 12 still sounds dangerous. And sure, faith can be risky, but that does not mean it is irrational. The 12 disciples are not left helpless. God does provide. God provides in the form of those households that do take people in. The ancient Near East had strong tradition of hospitality, so the disciples and other early Christian pilgrims could have been fairly confident that they would find a place to stay, at least for few nights.
And this brings me to the fourth, final point that we can draw from Mark’s description of evangelism. And that is that Christian mission is a partnership. Mission is not just about the missionaries. For evangelism to be successful, their must be a receptive party. There must be a person, a household, or community that hosts an evangelist, and responds to what they have to say.
And the partnership must be mutual. The rules that Jesus sets for his disciples are to make them humble and vulnerable. They have to need food and shelter from others, so that their hosts would have something to provide to them. The households needed something to provide in return for the gift of the Holy Spirit that came with the disciples. Without this sense of reciprocity, this ethic of exchange, the relationship between evangelists and the evangelized would be unfair. The evangelists would have had all the power.
This pattern of evangelism that we find in Mark continued in first and second centuries, when humble pilgrims traveled from household to household. This is how the Early Church was built by wandering Christians and the ones that received them.
But today I think we have lost this idea that evangelism is a partnership. One reason for this is because the evangelism relationship has flipped. In the ancient Near East and Mediterranean, households had to invite Christians into their homes. Today, Christian churches are the households, and this creates an unequal relationship which makes Christians feel superior, and the sense of relationship is lost. Too many Christian churches and charities just give, give, and give without actually trying to build a relationship with those who receive their charity. To me, that is condescending, because it is basically saying that those who receive our love have nothing of their own to contribute.
Christian love is built on the idea that we must be prepared to give without receiving anything in return. But love is also built on community, and all must be given a chance to contribute to the community. There is nothing wrong with expecting something from others. The Didache, one of the earliest Christian texts, provides rules for hosting Christian pilgrims. In accordance with ancient Near Eastern and Roman rules of hospitality, pilgrims were able to stay in a community, free of charge and without expectation, for two or three days. But if they chose remain longer? Well, that meant they were now part of that community, and that they needed to contribute to it through their own labor.
Like ancient Christian pilgrims, Christians today have to be humble and discard our sense of independence and self-sufficiency. As a community, we have to need something from the people we serve. Without this sense of partnership, our relationships and our community are unbalanced.
The twelve disciples, like all other new, first century Christians, lived in a very different world than we do. Despite the fact that most of us are much richer, much better fed, and live much longer, on average, than an ancient Judean, these disciples seem to have been much freer than us in many ways. They could take risks we could not. But in spite of these differences, they still have something to teach us about sharing the good news of God’s love with others.
They teach us that we must share the Gospel outward, beyond the walls of the church. They also teach us that evangelism is a job, and a hard one at that. It is a job not for our own personal benefit, but for the well-being of others. Sharing the Gospel is also an act of faith. We trust that despite it’s evangelisms and risks, God will provide for us. And lastly, evangelism is about relationships. It is only through the partnership of the evangelizer with the evangelized, that the church can be built.
And to bring this all to some kind of conclusion, what these four points reveal is that Christian mission, is not really up to just one individual. It isn’t up to just whether a person is persuasive enough to convince someone to get baptized, how good a person is at building a well, or how much money they can give to a refugee family. Ultimately, the success of evangelism comes from God, and we know that God does provide. God provides when we trust in the power of God’s love, which works through the power of faith. Our faith in God’s love comes through our faith in the power of partnership, in the power of community. It is through trust in ourselves, and in others, that our missions as Christians can be successful.
Amen.
# posted by Kowloon Union Church : Sunday, July 04, 2021
