This week, we're continuing on our journey with Luke, and we've got
this wonderful story of the disciples going out two by two that we
get to play with.
you
may remember last week we talked about freedom and allegiance, in the
context of Jesus' call to let the dead bury their own dead, and claim
that the son of man has no place to lay his head. These radical
claims invited people to look to a new value system, beyond the
ordinary, everyday dynamics of life, and to become a new creation in
the kingdom of God.
As
a consequence
This
week, Luke tells us what happened when people made this kind of
radical commitment, and said yes when Jesus called “Follow Me”.
After collecting his disciples, those who were willing to make a deep
commitment, Jesus sent them out in the highways and byways to
proclaim that the Kingdom of God had come near. We talk most about
the 12 disciples, the inner core that Jesus used to organize things,
in intentional parallel to the 12 tribes of Israel, but the hierarchy
wasn't that strict-James and John and Peter seem to have been an
inner core beyond the 12, and here we see Jesus with a larger
group-35 teams of two, traveling from place to place proclaiming the
good news.
These
faithful 70 were the advanced guard, the ground team, preparing these
places for Jesus to come through, so that his ministry might have the
most impact in the short time that he had remaining.
What
caught me: the details
As
I thought about this text, and envisioned these disciples going out
two by two into the world, I found myself getting caught up in the
details of the text. It's interesting, in Galatians we have sort of
the most generic big picture instructions-be good to one another,
particularly your brothers and sisters in the church. Which is good
advice, but it's always nice to be able to dive into the particulars,
which is what we have in Luke. Now, I know it's easy to over read
details of Biblical texts, drawing meaning where there was none
intended. But this story of the disciples is just filled with
interesting asides-
Cosmic
Significance
as
a first example, I notice that
this ministry is bathed in cosmic significance-this ministry matters
not just to Galilee, or the kingdom of Israel, but to the whole of
creation.
I
saw Satan fall from heaven, like a flash of lightening.
You
may know of the ancient tradition that Satan, or Lucifer, or the
Devil, the evil antagonist in the battle between good and evil was
once an angel, one of the good guys, and lost in a climactic battle
to the Archangel Michael in spectacular fashion, sometime before the
beginning of human history
You see this motif in
Isaiah 14, which reads “How
you have fallen from heaven, morning star, son of the dawn! You
said in your heart, “I
will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above
the stars of God; I will make myself like the Most High.” But you
are brought down to the realm of the dead, to the depths of
the pit.”
and in Revelation 12:7-9 “Then
war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against
the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But
he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. The
great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the
devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray.”
Now, I don't want to get into the theology of the devil this morning,
but what I do want to highlight is that Jesus is playing with the
tradition here-he is suggesting that in the ministry of these
disciples, the climactic battle against Satan was taking place, and
that the war in heaven was parallel with the ministry on Earth. In
the same way that Jesus talked about the Kingdom of God coming near,
Jesus saw the world as infused with the sacred, with the holy, and
promised that the actions of the disciples, for good and for ill had
resonance far beyond Israel, beyond the huge Roman Empire, beyond the
cosmos itself. In a similar way, the closing image, that our names
are written in the book of life is a promise that our actions on
earth have heavenly implications-that the faithful choices that we
make resonate through this world and the next. As Paul says, in our
text from Galatians, in Christ there is a new Creation. The path that
we walk as disciples is not boring, not normal, not prosaic, but
filled with the spirit of the divine every step of the way, and at
our best, we infuse the world around us with the presence of the God.
Technique
The
other detail that caught me was the dynamics of this ministry to the
villages, the techniques in which Jesus instructed his disciples. It
is always tricky to impose the technical methods used in the New
Testament on our current reality, but I think there is something to
be learned from this model of sending out people, two by two, for a
specific period of time, in a way that is completely vulnerable,
invites new relationship, and makes room for failure.
In
Pairs
It
starts with the two by two model. The disciples, while they didn't
have supplies like bag or coat, and while they were being sent out
like sheep among wolves, did not have to go alone. They had a
companion on the road. And in a world where the singular superstar
has so often become the core model for church, for business, for
entertainment, I think it's worth remembering that the first model of
ministry required collegiality. And it is a model that has stood the
test of time-Paul usually traveled with a companion, and modern day
groups like the Mormons or the Jehovah's Witnesses continue to use
it. Going out as a pair has a lot of advantages-there is
accountability-you have someone to tell you when you're being an
idiot. And its a chance to practice being Christian-a chance to
forgive 70 times 7 the flaws and foibles of another human being. And
it keeps us humble-a reminder of our interdependence-we cannot claim
credit on our own for any of our accomplishments, if we are working
together. And so I honor in a world that often insists on
individualism, Christ gently suggested teamwork.
Temporary
But
these are not lifelong partnerships-this is a temporary ministry. Its
always a temptation to think of ministry as lifelong-Jesus was a
homeless carpenter, doesn't that mean that we should be homeless as
well? The disciples went out without bag or sandals, should we as
well? The disciples went out 2 by 2 with nothing to rely on, and
think about how much junk we have to pack up just to take a weekend
camping trip! I notice that these disciples went out, then they came
back, in the same paragraph. It's unclear how long this preparatory
journey lasted, but we're not talking about forever. Weeks, probably,
at the most a couple of months. That's a very different thing-short
term ministry, instead of a long term commitment. A Voluntary Service
Term, or a summer spent with Mennonite Disaster Service, or a short
term assignment with Mennonite Central Committee. Not that our
Christian calling lasts only a short time, but that the radical level
of “go out with nothing” was a temporary calling.
Radical
community
That
temporary calling, I think allowed both radical vulnerability and
intense work in a community. I notice that the disciples go out with
none of the necessities, completely free from roots, wandering
strangers in the country side. But then, when they get to their
destination, they were supposed to go to one house in the village,
enter it, and stay there until their time was done. Their very
radical separation from their previous world pushed them into radical
connection with new community. To settle in one house with one family
is a vision of centeredness, of deep relationship, of hospitality
from strangers, who become neighbors, and finally family, hopefully
the first family in the new community forming in that place.
And
I wonder if the ways in which we try to be fully self reliant, with
personal automobiles, personal insurance, fast food with it's
convenience and impersonal nature make it harder for us to become
family with one another, to really be part of one another's lives,
and more to be reliant on the hospitality of strangers and neighbors,
since so many of our challenges and life tasks can be achieved
without relationship. It sometimes requires breaking free from old
patterns and comfortable places to break free from old addictions and
broken habits.
Failure
But
this kind of desire for intense community is quite fraught-it
shouldn't be surprising that not every village has a family willing
to take in homeless wanders completely unprepared for their work in
the world.
So
Jesus also expects failure, and does not condemn it.
Think
about this image of shaking the dust off of one's feet when you are
not welcomed into a community. So often we can get caught up in
impossible projects, fixated on something that much be accomplished.
Here, instead, there is this sense that you don't dwell on the
failures, or on rejection, you don't stick around where you aren't
wanted, banging your head against a brick wall, you don't force your
way into people's homes, you don't call down fire from heaven to
punish people for their misdeeds, you just let them know one more
time that the Kingdom of God has come near, and you go on your way.
Jesus
doesn't suggest that salvation is dependent on bringing people to
Christ, or that our success can be measured by the number of people
we convince to get on board, but rather that people who choose not to
join up are agents, making their own decisions, that we are not
responsible for. And I wonder, do we have places where we have been
sticking around a little to long, and it might be best just to shake
the dust off of our feet and find another spot to help out? Not that
you should just head out whenever there is opposition, but we don't
have to win every battle.
Galatians
In
Galatians, Paul challenges us not to weary of doing good, and I'm all
for keeping up energy, but I appreciate that Jesus seems to accept
that particularly vulnerable and particularly intense ministry needs
to be done as a team, for a short period of time, and sometimes it
isn't going to work.
We
work for the good of all, but we also learn and grow and rest in
proper measure.
Conclusion
Discipleship-the
journey with Christ, the journey for Christ, the path that we claim
in the waters of Baptism, and at the communion table, this is a
challenging journey, and the journey of the 70 into the world, these
first Jesus followers, stirred by the strange words of this wandering
holy man, struck by the sense of the divine within him, should
challenge us and inspire us in our journeys, wherever they make take
us.
So
as we go out in the world, following in the footsteps of those who
were willing to give up the lives they had led before, and follow
this son of man wherever he might lead them, we remember these
truths. We go as a community, never alone on the road. We go seeking
radical new connections, but we know that failure happens, and it is
OK to get knocked down, take a rest, and get back up. We go,
walking
in faith, blessed with the promise, Peace and mercy be upon them that
follow this rule.
No comments:
Post a Comment