Sermon from Feb. 4, 2024 by the Rev. Dr. Tara W. Bulger

Mark 6:6b-13

Then Jesus went about among the villages teaching. He called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. He ordered them to take nothing for their journey except a staff; no bread, no bag, no money in their belts; but to wear sandals and not to put on two tunics. He said to them, “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.” So they went out and proclaimed that all should repent. They cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.

This is the Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

In my career as a minister, I have provided pastoral care to lots of folks. I have visited people who are grieving and suffering and those whose illness leaves the future unsure. And many times, doubt starts to creep in on my way to see them—how can I help in the face of real trouble? What am I going to say? I get nervous, scared even, at the very real truth that there is nothing I can bring them that will make them better, that often, there isn’t enough money in the world either that can take their pain away. And so I often pray in my car before I go in to see someone. I ask God to give me the words to say, the heart to love, that the Holy Spirit would be here with us in some way. I am keenly aware, in those moments, of how I have nothing to give them—but the words of the Gospel. And I am amazed and awed that the words and truth of the Gospel are more than enough in every case. I grow, too, in those moments. I grow in my trust in God.

In our passage today from Mark’s gospel, Jesus sends the twelve out to call people back to God and to heal the sick. And in the process, the disciples will grow in their faith.

We have learned from the previous chapters in Mark’s gospel that Jesus has power over everything. He has taught and healed and sent demons out of people. And now he extends that same authority to his disciples. They are to go and do the same. But he gives them particular instructions on how to do this.

They are to take nothing with them except a walking stick: no money, no bag, no extra clothes. They are to arrive in each town with nothing and find someone to stay with. And while they are in that town, they are to stay in one house. Jesus tells them that some will not receive them, so to those towns, they are to leave and shake the dust off their feet as a testimony against them.

Jesus is sending the twelve out with nothing, so they will rely totally on God. They have nothing to offer but words of grace and healing. They must rely on the hospitality of strangers rather than on their own resources. They must rely on the power that Jesus has to flow through them. They have nothing except the words and power of grace and healing that Jesus has given them.

There is a sense of urgency in this mission, too. They are sent out quickly—with little to no preparation because the world needs them. The world desperately needs to be called back to the way of God, and the world needs healing from Christ.

And in this urgency is the acknowledgment that some will not want to hear what they have to say. They are to leave, shaking off the dust of their feet, and to move on to the next town. This is not a mission obsessed with “how many” they can evangelize; it is a mission wherein the thing that matters is how faithful they are to Christ’s direction. They are not called to be successful; they are called to be faithful.

The same is true for you and me today. We are not called to be successful; we are called to be faithful. To take with us not the things of the world but a belief that God will provide in every interaction we have—especially as it matters to faith. We don’t like to talk about evangelism, but the truth is that we are people who should always point toward Christ. We rely on Christ to give us what we need to be faithful to Christ’s calling.

This is how the disciples grow. They left with nothing except trust and belief in Jesus. And God provided. They cast out many demons, anointed many who were sick with oil, and cured them.

For all the people in the synagogue who didn’t believe in Jesus, in this story, we see what can actually happen when people deeply believe in the power of Christ.

Today, we celebrate the sacrament of communion, and in communion, we believe that Jesus will meet us in the bread and the cup and that we will be given all that we need to lead lives of faith. Coming to the table is much like the disciples going out on their mission; we bring nothing with us to the communion table. At the table, our wealth doesn’t matter, our status doesn’t matter, and even our sins don’t matter. We bring nothing but ourselves and our identity as believers in Christ to the table. And it is enough. Because Christ provides. We are offered grace and healing for no other reason than the One who has the power over all.