Texts: Psalm 23, Mark 6:30-34, 53-56
Prayer of the Day: Shepherding God, you call us into a rhythm of work and rest that our lives may be better for it. So shape our leisure and our labor that the world will recognize us as Jesus disciples and our ministry as what you would have us do. Amen.
Grace and Peace to you from the God who believes in you, and sends you into the world.
On a beautiful fall day in Issaquah, Washington I stood on a Maple leaf with both feet – and to my surprise and delight I could still see the leaf! My feet are size 7 which is not too small, but In that moment, standing on that large leaf in Surrounded by the Olympic mountains I felt really Small and Insignificant in a really Big world.
At 22 years old I wondered IF my life mattered. Maybe its more accurate to say I wondered HOW my little life might matter in this BIG WORLD?
In a biology class I learned about the inter-related and inter-dependent nature of all of life which was like a beautiful spider web of connection which existed within my human Body AND among other species in all kinds of Environments.
On this day, I was Pondering my life path and Wondering where was my Niche in the Web of Life? What should I do for a career? My Lutheran faith weighed in with its own question: What work had God uniquely created me to do that I had not yet discovered or claimed as my vocation?
Sonja, My first roommate in college said that she knew at the age of 5 that she wanted to be a doctor, specifically, a surgeon. I was astonished at the clarity of her conviction. By comparison, my life seemed to unfold in a series of happy and sometimes unhappy events and relationships that seemed kind of random, but somehow flowed from one to another. I sensed a deep goodness in my somewhat random life, even as I envied the direct clarity in career path of my roommate.
Psalm 23 talks about being led by a Shepherd God on paths ~even where there is no visible path, through green pastures and dark valleys, with surprising banquets of nourishment when surrounded by enemies; that life flows as living water, through all life’s twists and turns, full of the goodness and mercy of God.
I wonder if the apostles in today’s gospel reading experienced a kind of shepherding presence and over flowing goodness in life as they traveled in pairs throughout the wilderness without Jesus at their side? I wonder if they discovered in themselves and in their partners, skills and knowledge they had no idea was within them?
When the apostles returned from their travels, they gathered around Jesus to share “all they had done and taught” (Mark 6:30). I imagine them learning from one another and laughing together. I wonder if they discovered in themselves and in each other well springs of living water that refreshed their weary bodies, and a comfort in each other’s presence that restored their souls? I wonder if in their conversation they discovered different ways their simple words and actions had healing effects for the people they encountered~ healing they could not have imagined possible? I wonder if a sort of cosmic web of connection was being spun among them, Each apostle’s story as a connecting thread knitting them together, creating connections of collegiality, friendship, admiration; becoming courageous together.
I wonder if they only told their success stories? Or if they told their stories of failure too? I wonder who might have been the first one to muster up the courage to go first in sharing a struggle or failure from their journey? I believe someone must have dared to share their struggle because we see and experience evidence of that trajectory today: that sharing our struggles, and bearing one another’s burdens is some of the best healing work we do as church for one another and in the world.
Psalm 23 bears witness to the presence of God in times of struggle in this way: “though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death…I will fear no evil, for you are with me” (Ps 23:4). The psalmist proclaims to you and me that we are not alone amid life’s struggles. There is a SHEPHERDing God who cares for you and for me and God has placed us together in a Forgiven and Forgiving Flock. We grow in faith as we TRUST that we are not alone in any moment. As an apostolic church, sent by God we are emboldened to pray:
“O God, you have called your servants to ventures of which we cannot see the ending, by paths as yet untrodden, through perils unknown. Give us faith to go out with good courage, not knowing where we go, but only that your hand is leading us and your love supporting us; through Jesus Christ our Lord”. (ELW Evening Prayer)
I wonder as the apostles shared their successes and struggles if they were becoming fearless in ways they had not known themselves to be fearful before Jesus sent them out? I imagine in the conversation they reflected on what happened as they faced what was unknown and uncertain – like, how did they know which way to go in the sprawling wilderness before them? And Who could they trust would provide food and shelter on their journey? Jesus sent them with no provisions of their own. They were utterly vulnerable. Jesus sent them out to rely on the kindness of strangers. I imagine Jesus believed in the apostles as much or more than the apostles believed in Jesus. Jesus fearlessly sent the apostles into the world, reminding them, do not fear.
I wonder if the apostles felt led and provided for in some divine way, like the Psalmist described – as if somehow Jesus was with them: nudging them in the direction to go, giving them knowledge and skill to meet the overwhelming needs of people surrounding them, and having their own needs met by the kindness of strangers and enemies. I wonder, How has God guided and provided for you in life?
When I was growing up, my family would share about the struggles and successes of the day around the kitchen table at dinner time. Mom and Dad would ask us how was our day – and each of us would tell about our classes in school, music lessons and sports teams, the drama and adventure of our friend groups. Mom and Dad would share about their day, about extended family and current events. We wondered together about paths untrodden too – what would we do when we grew up? Where is the world headed? At the kitchen table we were fed not only by the food we shared but also in the conversation and reflections of each member of our family. The kitchen table was a place of rest and refreshment from the busy-ness of each day.
In the midst of all the going and doing, Jesus invites the apostles to “come away and rest awhile” returning them and us to the divine rhythm of God in creation who also created rest and God rested, reflecting on all that is good in creation.
I wonder if resting in God’s presence with one another can make us fearless to do the work God calls us to do? When I rest, I notice my breathing gets fuller, and my body expands in a sense of gratitude for the goodness of life, even amidst the struggles and challenges. In this place of rest and deep gratitude new ideas come to mind. Ideas about adventures or solutions to problems that had stumped me. It is almost as if these ideas emerge like a green blade rising out of that place of rest of buried grain of worry and struggle.
I wonder if Jesus is training us as the apostolic church, sent into the world, to be fearless: To trust God’s goodness and mercy to follow us – actually PURSUE us even in the fiercest and most fearful moments in life?
I wonder what it would be like to be fearless church? For that seems to be the gospel invitation, in following Christ who equips and sends us (you and me) into the world to discover the ways our skills and abilities our very being contributes to the healing of our neighbors and the world we live in. what if we knew ourselves to be powerful in ways we have not yet imagined or discovered? What could we try, who might we become, fearlessly trusting God to lead and guide us?
In a letter to the early Christian church, the writer of Thessalonians proclaimed:
“The one who calls you is faithful and he will do this.” (1 Thessalonians 5:24).
And may the peace of Christ that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds fearless in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.
- Pastor Gretchen Pierskalla