This sermon was preached at St Matthew's Lutheran Church, Maryborough, 8.15am, and Grace Lutheran Church, Childers, 10.30am.
Grace, mercy and peace be to
you from God our Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ.
And Jesus said to them,
“Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.”
Prayer: May the words of my
mouth, and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord,
our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen.
Our reading today comes from
Mark chapter 6, which we’ve been reading over the last few weeks. At the
beginning of the chapter, Jesus is rejected in his hometown of Nazareth; then
he sends the twelve apostles out on a mission trip; and then we read about the
imprisonment and beheading of John the Baptist.
John the
Baptist is six months older the Jesus, and he is often called the “Forerunner”.
John the Baptist’s death also points forward to Jesus’ death. John throughout
his whole ministry was pointing to Jesus and saying, Behold, the Lamb of God
who takes away the sin of the world. And when he is beheaded, his death
also points forward to Jesus’ coming crucifixion.
But in Mark
chapter 6, in between the rejection of Jesus at Nazareth and the recount of the
history of John the Baptist’s execution, we read about the mission trip of the
twelve apostles. We read about how the apostles went out and preached
repentance, they cast out demons and they healed the sick. All their provisions
were to come from the generosity of the people who welcomed them. And Jesus
gave them specific instructions if people rejected them, to wipe the dust off
their feet at the door. So this was a very intensive time for them, and the
disciples’ activities became very well-known and famous. We read: King Herod
heard of it, for Jesus’ name had become known. King Herod even thought that
maybe John the Baptist had come back from the dead—he recognised that Jesus and
his apostles were all preaching the same message as John. King Herod had a bad
conscience about killing John. We read: Herod feared John, knowing that he
was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe. When he heard him, he was
greatly perplexed, and yet he heard him gladly. And so when Herod’s
step-daughter asked for John the Baptist’s head on a platter, we read: The
king was exceedingly sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests he did not
want to break his word to her. So we read about this event with Herod and
John the Baptist because we read that King Herod had heard about the twelve
apostles, and what they were doing.
So now, we
come to our Gospel reading for today. It must have been a tremendously fruitful
mission trip for the apostles. They would have been received with great joy,
and at the same time, they also would have been received with tension and
opposition.
So we read: The
apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught. This
is a really wonderful verse. Just think what the apostles must have wanted to
tell Jesus! I often think of them here all piling over each other to talk to
Jesus, all excitedly, and all at once, and Jesus tells them to settle down, and
talk one at a time, just like a bunch of children! And this gives a tremendous
example for us too: that at the end of a time of busyness, or at the end of a
day, or at the end of a week, what should we do? We should return to Jesus and
tell him all about it. Sometimes, we need to tell Jesus some things where we
sinned, and he can then speak his forgiveness. Sometimes, we need to tell Jesus
which things were difficult and hard, and that we didn’t feel as though we did
them properly. And we commend ourselves to him to learn from him how to do something
next time. Sometimes, we are happy and encouraged about something, and we go to
Jesus and thank him for it.
Now, this
mission trip of the apostles and the beheading of John the Baptist must have
happened at a similar time. In Matthew’s Gospel, we read about how John the
Baptist’s disciples also came to Jesus at this time and told him about the
John’s beheading. And so there must have been a real coming together of both
the twelve apostles, and John’s disciples to tell Jesus about the events. There
must have been incredibly exciting news from the twelve apostles, but then
incredibly sad news from John the Baptist’s disciples. And John’s execution
would have been very worrying for the disciples as they realised that King
Herod didn’t have their back, and wasn’t batting for their team.
So what does
Jesus do here? He doesn’t send them out again yet. He doesn’t just send them
back into the lion’s den, or to retaliate. He says to them: Come away by
yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while. Jesus has had a debrief
with his disciples, and listened to everything that has happened, and now it is
time for them to rest. He takes them on a retreat. The apostles need to be
refreshed and recuperate, they need to recharge their batteries. It’s a bit
like surfing—the disciples realise that the times are hard and their necks are
on the line. It’s like being caught in a rip, but instead of fighting against
it, and trying to swim in against the rip, Jesus lets them float far out to
sea, so that they can then carefully swim back in for the next stage of their
ministry.
And this also
gives us a wonderful example, and there is incredible wisdom in it. When we
work hard, we also need to take time to rest and to prepare for the next part
of our work, especially when it comes to spiritual work.
A few weeks
ago, we read about the event where Jesus calmed the storm, and where he simply
woke up and with a short, sharp word, he stilled the wind and the sea. And
also, he put at rest the disciples’ hearts, since they feared desperately for
their lives. So here in the reading he takes the disciples, and he says to
them, “You’ve been doing some hard work, and now it’s time for you to refresh
and to rest.”
We read: For
many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. And they went
away in the boat to a desolate place by themselves. Now many saw them going and
recognised them, and they ran there on foot from all the towns and got there
ahead of them.
Now, what
must the disciples have thought when this happened? Here Jesus has taken them
across the lake so that they can all have some time of refreshment and
relaxation. We read that the disciples didn’t even have enough time to eat.
Maybe Peter or some of the other disciples were thinking of going on a nice
sea-side trip, just like going to Tin Can Bay or Woodgate, or somewhere. Maybe
they imagined themselves having a nice siesta on the beach in the sunshine with
a cool drink in hand! And then they get across the other side of the lake,
what’s there? The crowd! They followed them there. So much for their rest, so
much for their refreshment, so much for their sea-side holiday!
In fact, we
read that there were five thousand men there, and that’s not including the
women and the children! There were five thousand families there! And then Jesus
made the disciples to go around with the loaves and fishes and feed them all.
So much for the rest! Is Jesus really a harsh-taskmaster? Is he a slave-driver
to his disciples? Is there really no rest for them?
This is where
the real heart and centre of the reading comes in. We read: When [Jesus]
went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they
were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things.
Here is the
compassion that the crowd needs, and here is the rest and the refreshment that
the disciples need: And [Jesus] began to teach them many things. There
it is. A rest for the disciples did not mean putting their feet up and doing
nothing. The rest and refreshment that Jesus had prepared for his disciples
came through his living and life-giving words, and only through his word.
Now, this
brings us back to the Third Commandment, which says: Remember the Sabbath
day by keeping it holy. The word, “Sabbath”, or in Hebrew, “Shabbat”, means
“rest”. And it connects back to the creation of the world, where we read: Thus
the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the
seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh
day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made
it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in
creation.
Now, when God
gave Moses the Ten Commandments, this day of rest became a special day of
worship for the Jewish people, that on the seventh day of the week, on
Saturday, they were not allowed to work.
Christians don’t observe Saturday as a matter of law anymore, because
after Jesus died and rose, the ceremonies of Jewish worship no longer apply.
But out of freedom, we come together on Sundays to commemorate the day that
Jesus rose from the dead, just as we read about in the book of Acts, where the
disciples gathered together on the first day of the week.
Now,
sometimes people have misunderstood this law, as if it is simply prohibiting
work on one day of the week. Amongst Jewish people even today, for example, in
Israel, elevators in high-rise buildings don’t operate on Saturdays because it
is considered to be work. In the old days, some Christians were very strict
about Sundays too, as if people were required to sit around in a straight
jacket all afternoon.
However, the
reason why this commandment is here is not simply to stop people from working,
but to stop work in order to come and listen to God’s word. Luther says in his
hymn on the 10 commandments: Cease from all the work you do, so that God may
work on you. That’s what happens when Jesus teaches the crowd and his
apostles many things: he is working on them, and that is the real rest and
refreshment.
Now we
Australians love our relaxation time. People like to go for walks, go fishing, have
a beer, go on holidays, put up our feet at the end of the day… From the face of
it, it looks like Australians are the most faithful nation in the world when it
comes to not doing anything on Sundays. But this isn’t what Jesus is talking
about. In our country, leisure and relaxation is one of the greatest idols –
it’s OK to have rest and go on a holiday and chill out, but it becomes a
problem when it’s what we live for. Ultimately, it makes us a selfish people,
who only care about ourselves. St Paul says: [Christ] died for all, that
those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their
sake died and was raised. So if leisure and relaxing is what you live for,
you should repent, and live for Jesus, and for other people. Jesus also gives
us a rest, but he gives us a rest by teaching us his word, and forgiving us our
sins. He says: Come to me, all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will
give you rest.
Also, there
is another kind of rest that people often look for, that has the appearance of
being spiritual, which comes from the “contemplative prayer” movement. Now many
people today—including Christians—are finding that life is so fast-paced, and
there is a great desire to seek rest and stillness in the middle of it all. The
Eastern religions, such as Hinduism and Buddhism, often practised meditation
techniques, where they would recite “mantras”, repeated phrases like the word
“om”, and would actively slow down their breathing. At different times in
history, there were also various Christian mystics who did similar things and
would practice meditation techniques. In recent times, some Christians have
found a similarity between Hindu and Buddhist techniques, and the kinds of
things that some Christian mystics practised. So people would train themselves
to slow down their breathing, and recite a Christian version of a “mantra”,
like the word “Jesus”, or some other word from the bible. People call this kind
of thing, “Christian meditation” or “contemplative prayer”.
However,
there is a problem with this kind of thing. The reality is that Jesus never
taught these kinds of techniques to his disciples. When the Beatles were at the
height of their career, they employed a Hindu guru, by the name of Maharishi
Mahesh Yogi, to be their spiritual adviser, to teach them meditation, yoga, and
other things like that. The Beatles recognised that they needed rest and
refreshment and peace amid all the hype in their lives.
However, when
Jesus took his disciples away for a rest to a quiet place in our reading today,
he didn’t then start teaching them yoga and meditation. In fact, when it comes
to mantras, and reciting things over and over again, Jesus teaches his
disciples about prayer: When you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the
Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. This
expression “empty phrases” can also be translated as “vain repetitions”, or just
speaking things over and over. Hinduism is the most advanced form of paganism
and Gentile religion that we know about because they have so many written
texts. Even though India was a long way away from where Jesus lived, it seems
as though this kind of repetitive prayer was prevalent in Gentile, or pagan,
religions from a long time ago. Jesus actually teaches his disciples to pray by
giving them the Lord’s Prayer, for example, and doesn’t teach techniques. And
if he warns against heaping up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, why do many
Christians then try to imitate other religions and heap up empty phrases?
In our
reading today, we read: Jesus began to teach them many things. The peace
that passes all understanding doesn’t come from our achievements or our
meditations or whatever, it comes from Jesus and his word. There is such a
wonderful picture in our reading of our whole lives, like a see-saw, between
the apostles going to Jesus and telling him everything they did and taught, and
Jesus teaching them many things.
In St Paul’s
letter to the Ephesians, he calls the Word of God, the sword of the Spirit. This
is a very interesting picture of the word of God as a sword. When Jesus teaches
his disciples and the crowd many things, he is speaking to them with his own
sword, cutting to their hearts and revealing their sin, and also protecting
them from the devil and the world and their own flesh. Once when I was a
teenager, I went on a school trip to Japan. When we were leaving the airport, a
few boys got held up in customs and we almost missed our flight, because they
had bought samurai swords. They had no intention of using them, they just
wanted them as a souvenir. But when the Scripture calls the word, the sword
of the Spirit, it means you take the thing out of its sheath and use it.
It’s not a sword for the mantlepiece.
I wonder if
sometimes we Christians just like to have the word of God like a souvenir for
the mantlepiece. We just want to sit back and look at how nice it is, but we
don’t want to learn how to use it. And so we scrimp and scrape and try to
achieve an inner peace which we can’t earn and we can’t achieve by our own
efforts.
At the heart
of our reading, we do not have a spiritual master like a guru teaching us
meditation, or techniques on how to relax and calm our mind or empty our mind.
No, we have the living Son of God himself, who is both true man and true God in
one person. We see him in the last part of our reading today healing all kinds
of sick people, people who were made well simply by touching his clothes. This
fact makes all the difference. He is a true man, and we worship Jesus as our
God, who died on the cross to a make the one true, perfect sacrifice for every
single sin of the whole entire world, and he rose again from the dead and
defeated death. Whoever believes in him will also have eternal life. This is
the message that Jesus sent his apostles out to preach after he rose. He said: All
authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. [Every single last
scrap of authority and power belongs to Jesus]. Go therefore and make
disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the
Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded
you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age. Even today,
we’re going to baptise a child [here] at Childers, and as we hear God’s word
today, Jesus teaches us many things. And he says: I am with you always to
the end of the age. He is here with us as our living God, risen from the
dead, who will baptise this child himself, and also, will feed us himself in
the Lord’s Supper with his body and blood for the forgiveness of our sins, and
also, in his word, he is here to be with us, working on us, teaching us many
things, just as he did to his disciples so many years ago, and
strengthening us in the peace of God which passes all understanding.
And so, rest
for a while. Peace be with you! May the living peace of our living Jesus be
with you. Amen.
Dear Jesus,
you give us work to you, and you also give us rest. Strengthen us in your word
and Holy Spirit, and lead us finally into that rest that will never end. Amen.
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