In this morning’s scripture passage we have yet another one of Mark’s little sandwiches. You may remember that 2 Sundays ago we read that Jesus sent the disciples out in pairs and that he gave them authority to teach and heal. Last week, while the disciples were gone, Mark interrupted his story with the news of the death of John the Baptist.
This morning, our gospel text relates the return of the disciples and yet still gives us two portions of scripture – another Markan sandwich - and again with a whole lot of stuff left out of the middle. In the portion of scripture we won’t be reading this morning is the story of the feeding of the five thousand and the story of Jesus walking of water. Our first impression is that, “Wait a minute! We’ve been robbed! What about those great stories in the middle?” As a matter of fact, we will get to John’s version of them next week, but what about this week?
The disciples have returned from their first missionary journey. They have been obedient to Jesus’ teachings and the journeys have been successful. Now as they return, they are anxious to tell Jesus everything that has happened and for the first time in Mark’s gospel they are called not disciples but apostles. They are referred to not as students or followers, not simply as those who sit and learn, but as messengers (from Greek apostolos) – as those who go and do – and they are exhausted.
Wouldn’t any of us be exhausted after such an experience of healing and teaching and casting out demons? – aren’t we exhausted after a long business trip or a week or two of vacation? We tend to be so busy when we are traveling, wanting to do and see everything while we are away, sleeping not well in strange places, eating strange foods and drinking strange water? When we come home, we want to tell everyone everything about our journey, but first we need a good long nap or a couple of days of R & R.
Jesus senses this about the disciples, “Let’s go away and rest a while” he tells them but so many are coming and going they don’t even have time to eat. They get into a boat to try to make their great escape to some peace and quiet. But it doesn’t work.
At its widest point,
What would we have done? How do we act toward people when we are tired? Would we go ashore and graciously meet this great throng of people? Or would we change course and head for a different shore? Of course, if we changed course, the people might just keep coming. The people would still be needy. The disciples would still be tired.
If we went ashore, would we treat these people kindly, or would we resent their intrusion and tell them to go away because we’re too tired and we need a rest ourselves before we can help anyone?
I’d be resentful – but I am not Jesus.
Scripture tells us, "As he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things."
Sheep without a shepherd. The disciples have just returned from a missionary journey where they had done much and taught many, yet, here is this great crowd of people, sheep without a shepherd – people wandering aimlessly, living without a purpose or a direction. Who were these people anyway? The disciples had just been ministering in this region. Were these perhaps the ones who could not live in the villages where the disciples had been? Where they perhaps the ones less wanted by society and who would not appear publicly when the disciples spoke? Could these people be outcasts who belong nowhere at all?
Sheep without a shepherd. We have them in our own time, in our own society and even in our own town – the people who live on the fringes of society, who may be poor or homeless, who may be foreign or different, who may be emotionally or physiologically scarred, the very ones we still pass by on the other side.
Sheep without a shepherd. Jesus begins to teach them many things – perhaps someday, we will know that those ‘many things’ are – maybe he tells them that God loves them; maybe he shares with them the Good News that God forgives them and welcomes them into the family of faith; maybe he tells them that eternal life is for them too and that there will be no more weeping – even for them.
Sheep without a shepherd. Anyone who lives without saving faith in Jesus, hope for today and the future assurance of heaven is living as a sheep without a shepherd. Jesus has compassion on them also.
Notice here that Jesus does this teaching himself. The disciples have just returned from a journey, their confidence levels are high. They are flushed with the success of their tasks while Jesus mourns the death of his cousin John and all that this signals for his own death – why does Jesus not just point to the crowd and tell the disciples to take care of things so he can sit and watch and rest a bit himself – and critique their technique – offer suggestions for improvements?
The same Jesus who had compassion on the crowd also shows compassion on the disciples. This kind of interruption would be something that they would have to get used to. Jesus knows that after the resurrection and his ascension into Heaven, the disciples will live lives constantly interrupted by those in need. Jesus is fully human and fully God, but the disciples are simply human. Just as Jesus comes ashore and teaches the crowds many things, he also teaches the disciples many things, how to graciously deal with interruptions, how to work through fatigue, how to be fully present with those in need when you are in need yourself.
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At a time when Jesus’ own little flock needed his care and attention, Jesus gave his all for the crowd. I wonder if the disciples were relieved that Jesus was handling the load, and a bit resentful that they were not getting the attention they thought they deserved. Jesus himself said that he came to seek and to save the lost. In another place we are told that there is more joy in heaven over one person who repents than over 99 who never go astray. I wonder if sometimes those Christians who think they never go astray are – just for a moment or two, now and then – resentful of that 100th person – the needy one who knows they are needy, who wanders as a sheep without a shepherd and needs so much of the master’s time?
In our own time there are similar issues. My evangelism professor at the seminary says that if a church is to grow and reach out to the community with the gospel of Jesus Christ, the members and the clergy must interact with the unchurched of the community on a personal level – just like those disciples. Each of us must in our own way, in our own homes, on our own time, reach out to the sheep who are without a shepherd. This same evangelism professor declares that the evangelistic pastor must spend between 20% and 30% of their time with the unchurched – building relationships and bonds of trust that will be remembered when Jesus comes calling on their hearts. Even the most supportive congregation might be resentful of that.
This is a wake up call to congregation and pastor alike. It's so easy to get used to taking care of just our own families, our own church community and to ignore these "unshepherded" sheep in our path. It can force us out of our comfort zone.
The disciples saw all that after they rowed to shore – and they saw something else, too. Jesus was their shepherd as well. Jesus did not kick his fledglings out of the nest and tell them to fly into the fields of ministry. Jesus let them rest and did the work himself.
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Although Jesus calls us, like the disciples, into the mission field that is ripe for harvest, we are not expected to do it all. Rest and worship are as important for us as it was for Jesus and the disciples.
We don’t always take that to heart, though do we? I know I have been known to be over busy a time or two. I think we all can admit to that.
The good news for us this day is three-fold:
The first is that we - you and you and you and even me - are not in charge of saving the whole world by ourselves. We are not responsible for the entire ministry of our community or congregation. Jesus is. And Jesus' work is not done only through us, but through the entire community of believers.
The second is that Jesus had compassion on them. This is not pity. This is not someone looking in from afar and feeling sorry for the less fortunate. This is someone coming along side, of being one with you and sharing your pain.
Jesus healed them and taught them many things. He worked a lot of overtime. The one who knew that power had gone out of him when someone touched the hem of his garment, the one who with his disciples was already tired when that started their journey across the lake, had compassion on the multitudes and taught them. All who touched the hem of his garment were healed.
Jesus still works lots of overtime without complaining, without being resentful, without being too busy for anyone who comes asking for healing, or knowledge or faith. Jesus has time enough for everything and everyone – and he has plenty of time enough for every one of us.
Just as the God of the universe does not leave us comfortless, God sends no one out alone. As hard as it may be our egos, we are not the saviors of the world; we are not the knights in shining armor who ride up and slay the dragon – but Jesus is. Likewise, none of us is the only one who can care for the people of God. Jesus is the shepherd, and can work through all of us, if we will just let him.
And so the third bit of Good News for us this day is that rest and worship are good and necessary. I read recently that the Puritans were really good at worshipping and working while modern society is really good at working and playing. Both lifestyles miss the mark. What we need is to be really good at worshipping and playing. We need the Sabbath rest. Give yourselves permission to take that rest. Jesus gave it to the disciples and scripture tells us that the Sabbath was made for humans, not humans for the Sabbath.
So go home today to rest in the Lord – the disciples did and they certainly had much to be busy about. Jesus may be busy tending all those sheep without shepherds, but rest in the assurance that Jesus always has time enough for them and time enough for you.
Amen.
