THE NEXT TOWN

February 8, 2015

Pentecost 5

1 Corinthians 9:16-23

Mark 1:35-39

(prayer)

For Jesus (and later for the Apostle Paul), there was always another pulpit from which to preach  - another town to visit and share goodnews.

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Paul - some 20-25 years after the end of Jesus’ life, was a travelling teacher of the Christian Gospel - a storyteller of goodnews.  Paul’s mission was to share what he had come to understand about who Jesus was (for the people of the regions of and near Galilee and Judea) and who Christ had become for the whole world.

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As we heard from the book of Mark today, Jesus was an ‘itinerant teacher’ - he took his message from place-to-place.  I have to thank composer John Bell for that phrase - as part of the Iona Community in Scotland he wrote (#110MV):

Firstborn of Mary,

provocative preacher,

itinerant teacher,

outsider’s choice.

Jesus inspires and

disarms and confuses

whoever he chooses

to hear his voice.

Jesus was an itinerant teacher.
He was the original creator of the 'flash mob' - he would show up and amazing things would just happen, spontaneously.

He took his show on the road.

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There is a strong hint in our bibles about why that may be.  You may recall that all four biblical gospels begin with Jesus being with John the Baptist.  There is very little back story to this - we don’t get to hear how long Jesus and John had known each other (although Luke’s gospel says they were cousins, it never talks about them knowing each other before Jesus is thirty years old).

John the Baptist was the opposite of an itinerant teacher.  Instead of going to the people, he set up shop by the Jordan River and people came to him.

Matthew’s gospel (in particular) seems to imply that Jesus was one of those people who sought John out - Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized... 
John the Baptist was a teacher/preacher; he had disciples - learners. 

We don’t know how long Jesus spent with John listening to his messages.

What we do know (from Mark’s gospel - just a few verses ahead of what we heard this morning) that it was after John was arrested that Jesus began to teach and preach himself: Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God.

John was a static teacher - and he got arrested: easy for authorities to find him.

Maybe Jesus intentionally chose a different path from John, hoping to avoid John’s fate.

Jesus took his goodnews on the road.  

Both Matthew and Luke quote Jesus as saying: ‘Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.’

Itinerant Teacher. 

Always on the way to the next town.

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Jesus’ context was constantly changing.  Although, Capernaum was likely his homebase,  Jesus willingly traveled new roads after he felt the call to ministry and proclaimed (like John the Baptist had before him): The kingdom of God has come near.

As our text this morning said, Jesus went around to other towns ‘proclaiming the message’ in the local synagogues (believe in the good news that the Kingdom of God has come near - cf. Mark 1:15) and performing healings (‘casting out demons’).

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Perhaps Jesus could have had a busy ministry if he stayed in one place - it might take time for word to spread, but it might eventually impact several highly motivated people, willing to journey to Jesus.

What a wonderful image it is for us to realize that Jesus reached out in order to welcome in.

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There are some things in life that we will not be able to experience if we only wait for ‘it’ to come to us.  I do believe that there is much that we can learn and do in the world right around us - but I also believe that there is even more beyond our home bases.

I think that this is a basic truth in many practical, everyday respects, but it is also true as far as our spirituality goes.

I’m not saying that we should all be going on mission trips or pilgrimages, but there is value in having an active and diverse interaction with God.
Just sitting back and expecting God to be made known to us is selling our faith short.

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So, how do we spark engagement with Holy Mystery - from our end?

Rather than only waiting for God to engage with us, what can we do to find God?

This brings us to the topic of what is sometimes called ‘Spiritual Disciplines’.  Basically, these are things we teach ourselves to do that allow us to be open to the Spirit.

There are many - some make more sense for some people than others.  Some may be unique to a particular person.  If we are at a point on our own faith journey when we want a deeper connection to our God, we will want to find two or three spiritual disciplines that work well for us.  I would suggest that all of us need more than one - because within ourselves, we have different needs for Spirit in different times.

What works for me, may not work for you.  And... what once worked very well for me, might become less effective as I move through my life.

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I want to offer two basic examples for us to build on, which (ironically) call for opposite postures.

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One can seek to engage the Spirit within a community of faith.  We call church’s congregations for a reason - as the old Sunday School song taught me:

a church is not a building;

a church is not a steeple;

a church is not a resting place;

a church is people.

It is the gathering (congregating) of people into community that creates ‘church’.

A basic (and readily available) spiritual discipline is to be among those who congregate as church - creating a community of faith.

Every culture, in every age, has come to know that there is something special about the public sharing of stories: tales that teach, epics that inspire, songs that encourage, writings that endure.

When we are able, we can open ourselves up to knowing God through coming to church.

So, one spiritual discipline is to seek holiness in community with others. To some people, this is the be all and end of ‘religion’.  You are religious, if you go to church.

But, I am sure that - many of you have already had experiences - where you have caught a glimpse of God - in the midst of a community, that was not a Sunday Church gathering.

ÿ    The spirituality of the coffee shop;

ÿ    Holy encounters through service among others;

ÿ    Other people are with you in times of extreme emotions - great joy and deep sorrow - and you realize that God is among you as well.

God can be known in community. 

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The ironic second discipline is to seek God in quiet solitude.

This is a very common way that people look to deepen their spirituality.  Whether one follows
a formal meditative practice or if on simply allows the mind to wander in on the midst of the sound of sheer silence, mystics throughout the ages have appreciated solitude’s ability to create a thin place between us and God.

I suspect that many of us have had that ‘I am part of something greater than myself’ experience while appreciating a wonderful natural setting - time in the mountains, walking through a wood, being mesmerized by the sound and sight of water (streams, rivers, lakes, oceans), etc.  
There does seem to be a greater possibility of enlightenment, when we get away from human-created surroundings - back to nature.

And yet, a spiritual discipline can be to practice having those kinds of experiences wherever we are - on a busy city street, in a store, at school or work, in the bleachers of a sporting event...
anywhere.  Can we discipline ourselves enough to filter out the distractions and find God in that moment?

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I would suggest that we, each, need to find a balance between the disciplines of God in community and God in solitude. 

I hope that we are all encouraged to tinker with the variety that these two disciplines can bring to life.

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This past Friday, I began the discipline meeting with half a dozen other as an intentional spiritual community.  For the next year or so, we have committed to gather regularly (about every five or six weeks) along with a outside person we have asked to be our Spiritual Director.

It is a new discipline for me.  I am looking forward to discovering how open I will be to the Spirit in these times.

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Jesus didn’t wait for people to come to him so that the Spirit could move in this world - he went and found those places and people that were hungering and thirsting for God.

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Part of this Good News can be that - as we are seeking Holy Mystery - it is also seeking us.

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Where we are now in our life is not necessarily where we will be. Life is a voyage – a path we travel. Often we make choices about the direction of our life and other times, we end up on a road that we did not expect. Yet, every place that we are in a given moment is a space that will
nurture who we are – the good news (which Jesus preached) is that we are never alone – the kingdom of God is in our midst.

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Thanks be to God.

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(prayer)

Let us pray:

God, our maker, as we come to recognize meaning in the unfolding story of our lives, may we be grateful for all you provide for us along The Way.  Amen.

#510VU “We Have This Ministry”