Seventh Sunday after Pentecost

Seventh Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 9B)

July 7, 2024

The Holy Baptism of Jacob Thomas Downard

Text: Mark 6:1-13

            The Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head (Matt. 8:20), and pastors are homeless in this world.  As it is with Jesus, so it is with the preacher.  That is why we are faced with the question currently on all our minds.  Pastors are walking paradoxes.  They are to put down roots among their people… deeply, in fact… but be ready to be uprooted at any moment.  They are to love their people profoundly, yet expect that a time may come when that love is tested by separation.  Home?  Yes, in some sense, pastors are to make themselves at home in their congregation, in their community, in the lives of the saints with whom they are united by a bond thicker than blood, or maybe we should say, united by the bond of Jesus’ blood.  Yet, not at home, because there are other saints in other towns, united around the same blood of Jesus Christ, who need a shepherd, and the preaching of the Gospel, who need a man who will tend them and feed them.  And when a pastor least expects it, a call may come.  No, this is not an announcement.  I still don’t have any idea whether I’m staying or going.  But it’s just a statement of the reality.  I’ve come to realize in this process, that one thing I haven’t done very well is prepare you for this eventuality.  Sarah and I have always said, at Epiphany, and now at Augustana, we have to live in this place as though we’re here forever, and we have to live in this place as though we’re leaving tomorrow.  That’s just how it is.  Pastors are homeless in this world.

            They say you can’t go home again, the title of a novel now become a proverb, and it’s true.  Jesus tried it.  Out of love for His family, and friends, and neighbors, He came to His hometown to preach at His home congregation.  At first, it went well.  Seemed to, anyway.  The people were astonished.  “Where did He get such wisdom?  How does He do such mighty works?”  But then they began to wonder, undoubtedly when the sermon got too personal, “Just who does He think He is?  Talking to us like that!  What gives Him such authority?  He’s only a carpenter, you know.  A laborer.  We know Mary and the rest of the family.  There they are, in their usual place.  And we knew this youngster when He was just a kid in the congregation.  And we’ve heard the scandalous whispers about the circumstances of His birth.”  And, before you know it, they took offense at Him.  And they wouldn’t hear, and they wouldn’t believe, so that Jesus marveled at their unbelief.  It’s an important lesson for pastors.  For, as it is with Jesus, so it is with the preacher.  Probably not a good idea for a preacher to go be the pastor of people who changed his diapers.  It works sometimes, but not most of the time.  “A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household” (Mark 6:4; ESV).  Even home cannot be home for the pastor. 

            And then, there are the reactions to Jesus’ preaching.  It’s interesting, the text says “he could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them” (v. 5).  So, not everybody rejected Him.  There were some who received His saving presence.  This, too, is pretty instructive for a preacher.  You know, we preachers bellyache all the time about how few people there are at Church or in Bible Study.  And we say all the right things about “not looking at the numbers,” “you can’t gage success on that basis,” “God counts by ones,” and all that.  And it’s true.  That’s what you should believe.  It is also true that any shepherd who cares for his sheep will count them to make sure they’re all there, and safe, and well provisioned.  But, you know, sinful preachers always have an eye on the grand totals.  Posteriors in the pew.  Pennies in the plate.  As a matter of comfort (“Phew, I can keep my job for another week”).  As a matter of pride (“Look how many people come to listen to me! … Or don’t, in which case, I need to worry”)… It’s sinful.  I repent.  Jesus doesn’t worry about any of that.  He says what needs to be said.  He takes the rejection and hard-heartedness.  I mean, He just takes it.  It hurts Him, yes.  He marvels.  But He doesn’t let it stop Him.  He keeps going.  He keeps preaching.  And there are a few who receive it.  Sometimes more.  Sometimes less.  But there are some (and here, the some are gathered here today).  A preacher can’t really measure the effectiveness of his ministry when he’s in the midst of it.  Just keep preaching.  Just keep on keeping on.  It will bear fruit.  Because, as it goes with Jesus, so it goes with the preacher.  And what Jesus does as Preacher, so the preacher ought to do.

            Persistent preaching.  Real repentance for the real sins of real people.  Contrition and faith.  Preaching Christ.  And then, the fruits.  Works of love.  That is why Jesus sends out the Twelve, two by two.  He is multiplying the preaching.  He sends them (that is the meaning of the word, “Apostle”… one who is sent).  And where they speak, they speak for Him.  Their words are His words.  Those who hear them, hear Him.  It is His power at work in them.  He gives them authority over unclean spirits.  The Apostles will cast out demons with a Word… His Word, and by His Name, under His authority.  And they will heal afflictions by anointing… christening… with oil.  They are applying Christ to the sick and afflicted.  (And, of course, the true anointing is that of water and the Spirit in Holy Baptism, as we saw today.) 

            And they will receive all the reactions Christ Himself received.  Because, as it is with Jesus, so it is with the preacher.  There will be astonishment at the earthshaking good news of forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation in Christ Jesus… at the wisdom of His Word and the mighty works done by His hands.  And there will be rejection… “Who are you to claim authority over my life, to tell me what to do and what to believe?”  Both things are true.  A preacher really ought to marvel at the miracle that is the Christian congregation… that a group of any size comes together to hear what the preacher has to say about Jesus, and do all the countercultural things we do here at Church.  That is no human power at work.  That is God.  That is the Holy Spirit.  And it’s beautiful.  And perhaps the preacher ought not to marvel at rejection when it happens.  They rejected Jesus all the way to His sin-atoning death on the cross.  And so, they will assuredly reject the preacher of that cross. 

            But, regardless, the preacher is to trust, absolutely, in the providence of God, wherever the preacher may find himself.  Houses will be open to him.  That is, not only will the people receive the preacher into their homes, but they’ll make him at home with them.  When that happens, the preacher is to stay there.  Now, we may wish Jesus had said, “stay there forever,” but that’s not what He says.  He says, “stay there until you depart from there” (v. 10).  The preacher is not to look for cushier accommodations or a higher salary.  He is to stay there until it is time to go, which, apparently, will be evident in some way.  It’s easier when the preacher is rejected.  Then he can shake the dust from his feet and move on.  Often, though, things are not that simple.  Sometimes it is time to go when the preacher is not rejected.  But in any case, the preacher is not to worry about money, food, or clothing.  God Himself will provide for him, through His people.  Just a singular focus.  Go preach.  No matter what.  Expect the Word to do its work.  And expect the cross.

            The cross.  As it is with Jesus, so it is with the preacher.  And with every Christian, really.  That means you.  The holy cross manifests itself in every Christian life.  Now, do not be deceived.  The cross has been transformed.  Jesus suffered the cross for the redemption of the world.  By His death, He saved you and me.  And now, He is risen, and what was once a gruesome instrument of death is now the path of life eternal and the resurrection of the body.  But it does still hurt when God lays it upon us.  For the pastor, among other things, it is that he is a man without a home.  For the Christian, too, when you think about it, that is the cross… homelessness in this world… and that means you.  “For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come” (Heb. 13:14).  That is, we have to take the long view.  Christ is coming.  Then, we will see Him as He is.  Then, we will all be together forever.  Then, finally, we will all be at home.

            Now, has this sermon been difficult to hear, or depressing for you?  Let it not be!  Jesus Christ is Lord of the Church.  He is Lord of this congregation, and He is your Lord.  He loves you, and orders all things for your good.  He died for you, for the forgiveness of your sins, and He is risen, and lives for you.  Don’t you dare give up on this congregation.  Don’t you dare give up on each other.  Christ has not given up on you.  This congregation has a glorious future, if only you will receive the gift, and steward it according to God's will.  And I, if I stay, will be honored to be a part of that stewardship for as long as the Lord gives us together.  And if I go, we will weep, but we will only be parted for a time.  We have eternity together.  And, in the meantime, we will meet every Lord’s Day at the altar.  There may be sadness, but there is no losing here.  We belong to Christ.  Baptized into Christ.  Bodied and blooded with Christ.  Hearing and believing His Word.  Beloved, trust Him.  Cling to Him.  Pray.  And rest in Him.  He has us.  No matter what.  Jesus is with us.  Helping us.  Healing us.  Providing for us.  And doing all things well.  In the Name of the Father, and of the Son X, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.