A Sermon for the Opening of the Spring Semester

The Rev. Charlie Bauer

Chaplain, Episcopal Church at William & Mary

January 26, 2021

Psalms 47 & 48; Galatians 1:18-2:10; Mark 6:1-13

I must admit I have a strange relationship with the disciples. So often, one or more disciple seems to stand in for what I suppose is best described as “humanity” – just plain old getting things wrong. We all know of Jesus’ rebukes – calling Peter “Satan” and telling him to get behind him, this just a few verses after Peter seemingly figures everything out. So yes, the disciples, particularly here in this, the Gospel of Mark, just seem so oblivious much of the time. I can relate to that.

And I also feel a bit of jealousy toward the disciples. We spend our Christian lives striving for a nearer relationship to our God, nurturing our prayer life so that we just might, once in a while, hear what God is saying to us – and here, these disciples, these ordinary individuals, they had the ability just to reach right out and touch Jesus. They walked alongside Jesus, watched him teach, witnessed miracles of healing, saw the holy word of God opened up in front of them in living flesh. I wonder what it must have been like to be one of those disciples, walking the dusty roads from village to village, pressing through the crowds of people who just wanted a glimpse of this holy man who they heard just might be the Messiah, drifting in a boat, even amidst the occasional stormy sea. My faith would be amplified if I’d just been there, wouldn’t it?

And then we hear today’s story. We’re still relatively early in Mark’s Gospel. Jesus has called the disciples, he’s healed some people, drove a few demons into some unsuspecting pigs, and here we are. In other words, the disciples are still very new at this whole life-changing journey alongside our living God.

And then Jesus just… sends them out to do the work of Christians.

This, then, is our directive for the semester. We might not be ready, but Jesus is sending us nevertheless. But thankfully, Jesus does not just shove us out into the world ill equipped, even if that’s exactly how we feel. God gives us many gifts – you each have many wonderous and holy gifts – but here, we’re told about two: the disciples receive “authority over the unclean spirits,” the ability to heal those who are in need. Though we might look at our own callings in life in different ways, everything we do ought to be in the name of healing those things that have been broken by sin and neglect in the world, the restoration of God’s people to one another and to God Almighty.

So that’s the first gift, the ability to walk in the world and heal what is broken. But Jesus knows something else about humanity, that not everyone is ready to hear what is the true Good News. And so, Jesus gives us the second gift of forgiveness, and the ability to walk away. See, we do as much work of preparation as we think we need, but even that might not be enough, in our humanity for our humanity. We will be rejected, scorned, ignored – and that’s not the same as suggesting we will be persecuted – that’s not all that likely here in Virginia. But we will fail to share the Word of God with all those we encounter – and Jesus gives us the second gift to simply “shake off the dust that is on your feet.” Walk away, and find more fruitful ground – because perhaps, some day, that failure will bear fruit, too.

Jesus gives us one more instruction for this day – another gift, I suppose, but it’s really more of a reminder. He sends his disciples out two by two, and we, also, ought to remember the importance of community. Jesus does not expect us to do this alone, very few of us have the sort of gift that is best expressed in isolation. Look around at the squares in this Zoom chat this afternoon, look around at this community of faith, and remember, we are not to do this alone.

So that’s our charge, as we stand here at the cusp of another semester. We are to go into the world, together, knowing both that God has granted us the authority to share the Good News of Christ Crucified, and also that we will inevitably fall short.

That’s the love of God, given for us, the knowledge that we aren’t quite prepared, we aren’t quite certain of what we will do, but God equips us anyway. Even though we are not counted among those first disciples, walking alongside Jesus, we are just as much called and equipped to do the holy work of God.

Yes, even though we’ve now navigated a semester in which much of our ministry has been virtual amid this pandemic, we face uncertainty about how we ought to live out our calling in the months ahead. Believe me, I wish I could tell you what this semester will hold for us all. But Jesus is not asking for perfection, but rather faith. Faith in God’s call to us, faith in God’s presence in our lives, faith in the Good News that is begging to be shared to all those we encounter.

I wish you all every blessing this semester, as you learn, as you grow – and especially as you enter into the world, once again, to engage in God’s work. Now – go with God. Amen.