2009.07.12: Dr. George A. Purnell

			Dr. George A. Purnell July 12, 2009 “Shake It Off!” Mark 6:1-13 My son Dustin was married on June 20 at the United Methodist church in Dandridge, Tennessee, a scenic small town on a reservoir, not far from Gatlinburg. It was a multigenerational family affair. My family is spread from Maryland to Mississippi, from New Mexico to New York, and from Virginia to Texas. The last time I remember so many of my family being together was at my mother’s funeral in 1985. I was thrilled that so many were able to be there to share this joyful day with Dustin and his bride. But there was the inevitable tension that comes from such a family get together, to wit: My three siblings were there. I am the youngest of the four, and I always will be. My four children were there. I am their dad and they are my children. Dustin may be 33 and getting married, but he is still my child. Dan may be 35, Dawn 34, and Sarah 24, but they are still my children. And they always will be. Memories and conversations drifted back 50 years and further during the two days we were all together. My sisters and brother regaled in telling their stories about me as a boy, while I reveled in telling stories about my adult children from their younger days. My siblings “know” me. They always have, from the first day. I may masquerade as a clergyman wearing an ornate robe and standing before the gathered people to lead a sacred service, but this is like a costume party. George is not a professional man late in his career. Not now, not today. George is that young boy, that pre-teen who embarrassed his brother and sisters just by being alive in the presence of their friends. And my “children” are, I am quite certain, horrified by me much of the time. They can’t believe I do the things I do and say the things I say. They hope and pray that they will not be like me when they get old… I feel safe in saying that everyone here has had experiences like the one I just described. Our lifelong friends and family members have a history with us, and their view is tainted by memories of how we once were. Part of the magic of going away to college, or joining the military is that nobody knows us in this new setting, and we can reinvent ourselves in ways that conform to our self understanding. But when we go home from college on semester break…or home on furlough from the military…we return to people who want us to remain as we were in an earlier time. I remember returning from college during the late 1960’s with new ideas about war and peace…and about social justice…and about religion...The people back home, however, remembered me as the boy who conformed to conventional thought until he left town, and they ridiculed my new ideas. Jesus has the same experience when he returns to the village of Nazareth in our gospel lesson today. From what we know of Jesus in what we read in the gospels, he was a typical man of his time. He had a trade, lived in his home village, and left it only when he began his itinerant ministry at the age of 30. When we pick up the story today, Jesus has returned home to Nazareth. He has been away, traveling with his disciples in his ministry of teaching and healing. When he comes to Nazareth, I imagine he expected that people would be happy to see him and anxious to hear of his travels. But that is not what happens… Jesus goes to the synagogue on the Sabbath and begins to teach, we read, and almost as soon as he begins speaking the murmurs begin. What’s he talking about? Who does he think he is? Been away for a few months and suddenly he thinks he has more authority than the leaders of our synagogue in interpreting scripture… We know this guy. He was a carpenter before he decided to traipse around the countryside preaching. We know his mom. We know his four brothers – James and Joses and Judas and Simon – and his sisters are still in town too. Somebody ought to bring him down a rung or two. Now this is not the first time Jesus has experienced rejection in Mark’s gospel. Only recently (chapter 2) the Pharisees had castigated Jesus for eating with sinners and tax collectors, for not requiring his disciples to fast, as was tradition, and for saying it was okay for his disciples to pluck heads of grain on the Sabbath; saying in exasperation that “the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath” (2:28). And just before where we pick up today, Jesus’ own family came to take him home, because they are embarrassed by his odd behavior and provocative teaching. When word gets to him that his mother and his brothers are outside the home where he is teaching asking to see him, Jesus replies: “‘who are my mother and my brothers?’ And looking around at those who sat around him, he said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother’” (3:33-35). So, when the hometown folks react as they do to him, Jesus seems to have had it with people. He responds with words that sound angry, even sarcastic, as he says: “Prophets are not without honour, except in their home town and among their own kin, and in their own house.” And, we read that “he could do no deed of power there” except to cure “a few sick people.” That can happen to us too. When we suffer rejection, we can be tempted to surrender to the low expectations others have of us. We can begin questioning our ability and our authority, and our personal power is diminished. In fact, some people become so hurt when their friends and family refuse to approve of their new ideas, and can’t accept the person they have become, that they carry these wounds for years; to the end that their relationships with friends and family are affected all their lives. It is important for us to note that Jesus did not stay stuck in his anger, which reduced his ability to perform the work of his ministry. After observing that his power to act was diminished, and that “he was amazed at their unbelief,” we read that Jesus “then went about among the villages teaching.” Earlier I mentioned that when we go away to college, or to the military, or otherwise to a new place as young adults – and in these new environs escape what people know about us – we are able to accomplish things previously not possible because of the limits placed upon us. This was the reality Jesus faced too. He had to leave the familiar environs of Nazareth behind in order to accomplish the work God had called him to do. When he went to new places, the people there were not bound by their prior knowledge of him as a carpenter, or as Mary’s boy, or as a brother to his siblings. People in the villages he traveled through could hear him fresh, and observe his deeds free from the prejudice born of familiarity. And when Jesus left Nazareth behind to take his ministry to other villages, he did not go alone. He knew that he needed to find helpers, because there was a world waiting to hear good news. So, we read that Jesus “called the twelve and began to send them out two by two.” He gave them authority commensurate with their responsibility, because he knew they could do the work he did if they had the authority. He gave them instructions regarding what to take with them on their journey and about where they were to stay. Jesus also gave them wise advice: “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 testimony against them.” Shake the dust off your shoes. Don’t accept limitations that others want to put on you. Don’t take animosity with you as you go, but shake bad feelings off with the dust, and move forward. There is another place down the road waiting to hear your message. Jesus did not let his experience in Nazareth discourage him. He shook it off and moved to another village… I know of United Methodist pastors who “failed” in a church they were sent to by the bishop and cabinet. The people there would not hear what the pastor had to say. In time, the staff parish committee contacted the DS and asked that a new pastor be sent to their church. This same pastor went to a new location, and in this new town had a powerful ministry. The people listened and responded. The congregation grew in worship attendance and became known for its outreach ministries. A new addition had to be built to accommodate the growing education programs, the increasing numbers of small children and youth attending, and the new worship service. The church leaders began fearing that their pastor would be sent to another church, a bigger one, and now each year the congregation pleads with the DS to leave their pastor another year. What if that pastor would have grown discouraged because of rejection at the previous church – which is easy to do – and decided he or she just could not effectively pastor a congregation? The next town would not have been blessed by the pastor they were to receive, and the pastor would have missed the blessings of continuing ministry among the people of God. This is not only true of pastors. Congregations rely on the people in the pews to be the carriers of good news, just as Jesus called and sent the twelve to go out two by two. The church has good news to spread, but sometimes people will not hear it from you, particularly if they have known you for a long time. Our Bishop Mike Coyner has encouraged pastors and lay leaders to read a book written by Bishop Robert Schnase entitled, Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations. I have read this book, and the church has purchased copies for leaders to read. Members of the church council and other governing committees have been supplied with a copy of this book, because it is our intent to design our fall stewardship campaign around the practice the author calls *“extravagant* *generosity.”* Moreover, we expect that other program and mission emphases of this congregation will be informed by the additional practices discussed in this book (“radical hospitality”, “risk taking mission and service”, “passionate worship”, and “intentional faith development”). As we travel through this year ahead – beginning with the fall kick off in September and going through to the summer vacations from school and work – I pray that we will remain encouraged and strengthened for the work before us by the example of Jesus; who would not be reduced by the expectations of others, but remained focused on the mission God had for him. I pray that we will accept the authority Christ gives us, and that we will shake off those things that have kept us from becoming the people God has called us to be in the year ahead. Amen.