Two by Two

Jesus left there and went to his hometown, accompanied by his disciples. 2 When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed.
“Where did this man get these things?” they asked. “What’s this wisdom that has been given him? What are these remarkable miracles he is performing? 3 Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph,[a] Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him.
4 Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town, among his relatives and in his own home.” 5 He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them.6 He was amazed at their lack of faith.
Then Jesus went around teaching from village to village. 7 Calling the Twelve to him, he began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over impure spirits.
8 These were his instructions: “Take nothing for the journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in your belts. 9 Wear sandals but not an extra shirt. 10 Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that town.11 And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, leave that place and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.”
12 They went out and preached that people should repent. 13 They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.

Two by Two
Congregational Church of Easton — July 7, 2024
There was a popular book some years back with the catchy title, “All I Really Need to Know I learned in Kindergarten.” Remember that one? It was popular, I think, because it offered life lessons that were not only true, but were simple, and ultimately hopeful. They reminded us that sometimes we adults can get in the way of ourselves by making things too complicated. So Robert Fulghum reminded us of some simple rules, like:
Share everything. Play fair. Put things back where you found them. Take a nap every afternoon. When you go out into the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands, and stick together.
Today, I’d like to take inspiration from this book to offer some simple lessons from our gospel reading, on how Jesus wants us to live as his followers.
As Jesus got ready to send his apostles out on their first mission trip, he gave them some clear instructions, found in Mark 6:7-13. And from these instructions, we can identify five simple rules.

I’ll list them and then go back and fill in the details. Here are five lessons that Jesus teaches us on how to live as his followers:
1. Don’t Be a Christian Alone
2. Remember that Jesus Is the Boss
3. Travel Light
4. Don’t Get Discouraged When You Fail
5. Don’t Be Afraid to Tell the Truth

In this morning’s reading Jesus e is getting ready to send his apostles out on a mission. The first thing he does is pair them up. Kind of like in Kindergarten, or on a school field trip, right? Or like Robert Fulghum’s rule, “Hold hands and stick together.” Jesus teaches us something similar. Stick together. Don’t try to be a Christian alone.
Throughout Jesus’ ministry, when he calls disciples, the first thing he does is make us part of a community called the church. He calls us into this community because he knows that it is too hard to be a Christian alone. We need each other.
I don’t know about you, but for me the pandemic was a powerful reminder of the gift and blessing of a church community. We truly need each other, and we are better, together. Jesus gathered his disciples together, and he gathers us together, too. And when he sends us back out into the world, he pairs us up first.
For Jesus, there is no such thing as a lone-ranger Christian, because life is too hard to go it alone. Being a follower of Jesus is too hard to go it alone. We need his help and presence. And we need each other’s help, too.

In the next verse of our reading this morning, we find our second lesson. It says, “Jesus gave [the apostles] authority over the unclean spirits.” That means when we go out into the world, we go because Jesus has given us the authority to do so. Jesus is the boss.

As he says in the Great Commission in Matthew’s Gospel:
“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations …”
We go in confidence because Jesus has given us authority. He’s the boss, but he’s put us in charge. So now we have the authority to go in his name. Jesus is the boss. And he is in charge of our world. But he has entrusted us with his work. That is the mission of the church: To do what he has commanded, in his name, with the trust and confidence that we are doing what the boss wants.
Those of you who are older siblings, maybe you remember back when your mom and dad would go out and leave you in charge. I am the oldest of three, and I remember that well. When I was left in charge, I always reminded my sisters of it. I’m in charge! – Mom and Dad said so!
As Christians, we are something like the older children of the world. We have been put in charge. Jesus has given us authority over the unclean spirits of this world. We should embrace that, but we should also remember that we aren’t the parents. We are in charge until Jesus returns.
The third lesson Jesus gives us is this one: “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.”

In other words, we’re supposed to travel light when we go on the mission that Jesus sends us on. Why? Because traveling light means we are trusting in Jesus. Traveling light means that we don’t need a back-up plan. We only need to follow instructions and trust our boss.
Traveling light means we already have everything we need to serve our Lord. We don’t need to read another book, make more money, have more time, solve whatever problems we face in our life right now, or do anything else before we go to serve the Lord. We already have enough right now. We have everything we need to do what Jesus is asking. So, we can and should travel light.

The fourth lesson Jesus offers is found in verses 10 and 11. He said to the twelve, “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.”

In other words, we go on this mission with a caution: Not everyone will accept us or our message, with open arms. There will be some that will refuse to hear us. All we can do with them is entrust them to God and move on.
It is not our responsibility to bring God’s kingdom to our world successfully. As if we could! It is our task to join a community, do as Jesus asks, and if we are not welcomed, to shake the dust off our feet and move on.
So, what’s the simple lesson here? Don’t get discouraged when we fail. If the twelve apostles were told that they would sometimes fail, then we should expect to fail, too. You could think of the word “fail” as an acronym which stands for “Faith Active In Love.” When our faith is active in love, then we are serving our Lord. And when we seem to be failing, we shouldn’t get discouraged. Failure in the eyes of the world just might be success in the eyes of God.
So, don’t get discouraged when you fail. Travel light. Remember that Jesus is the boss. Don’t be a Christian alone. And, finally, don’t be afraid to tell the truth.
When the apostles were sent out, it was to cast out demons and heal the sick but it was also to proclaim “that all should repent.” Repent. Turn from your sin. Turn from your false hopes and your false gods. And turn, or re-turn, to the Lord. Our only God, and our only hope.

Mark 6: 1-13
Our world is quick to offer false gods and false hopes. It always has, and it always will. As followers of Jesus, part of our task is to point this out, and to remind the world that there is only one God, and only one source of hope.
On Thursday we celebrated “Independence Day,” but the truth is that we are not really independent. We might be independent from England. But we are very dependent on God: on our Creator, on our Savior, and on the Holy Spirit, who was given to us to help us with the mission to which we are called.
We, as Christians, should know more than anyone how very dependent we are on our amazing God. And we should not be afraid to express it and to invite the world to depend on God, too.

It’s not always easy to live as followers of Jesus in this world. That’s why we are well advised to remember these basic lessons:
Don’t try to be a Christian alone.
Remember that Jesus is the boss.
Travel light, trusting that Jesus has given us everything we need to accomplish his mission.
Don’t get discouraged when we fail.
And don’t be afraid to speak the truth.
Five simple lessons we can learn from today’s gospel reading. Five things we can do to get back to the basics. And my prayer is that we live these lessons faithfully, until the boss, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, returns and invites us to rest.

Let us pray. Dear God, Holy Unity, thank you for sending us out into the world to proclaim your healing love. May we not get discouraged. Instead, let us trust that Jesus has given us everything we need to accomplish his mission. Amen.