Dean of Guernsey sermon
Disciples of Christ, 19 July 2009
The Very Revd Paul Mellor
St Peter's Port Guernsey service held at Notre Dame
In the name of the Father…’
‘When the apostles returned from their mission..
They gathered round Jesus and told him
All that they had done and taught..’
Let us remind ourselves what this mission of the apostles was from which they returned so anxious to tell Jesus about and let him know how it had gone. In Mark Chapter 6, we have a record of Jesus’ failure to convince the people of his home town about who he was – it was in the synagogue and he was cried down as the local boy who had no credentials or authority to teach as he did. And then – from the heart of this failure – he sent the disciples out two by two into the towns and villages of Galilee where he himself would go – and he sent them out with a mission and a message of the Kingdom of God, a message of repentance. He gave them authority over unclean spirits and a commission to undertake a mission of reconciliation and healing. They anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.
That was, and still is the mission of the disciples of Jesus.
Now they came back and gathered round Jesus, anxious to tell him how it had all gone – what they had done and what they had said and to whom they had spoken and how it had all gone down. It is a scene of excitement and re-union after being apart from one another, and each pair was eager to tell their stories into the ear of the waiting Lord.. Jesus’ whole attention – even in the midst of the business which was his daily life – even as he was besieged by the crowds – he seeks to take them aside so that they can be on their own and he can listen to their stories of mission and they could prayerfully reflect on everything which had happened because of the mission he had entrusted to them.
Now our circumstances are very, very different from that of the apostles, those disciples Jesus had sent out to encounter failure and success – but the mission is the same.
And I want to suggest this morning that each and every Sunday the Church sets aside, and sets up for us all, a time and space which is just like that moment of return and reporting in which the apostles had in this morning’s Gospel. St Mark doesn’t tell this story – report this incident – as he doesn’t tell any of the stories he selected to include in his account, out of historical interest or for a disinterested motive. No, he tells it, as all the other evangelists tell their stories, to teach us about what it means in every age to be a disciples of Jesus. They all tell the stories to give us patterns and models by which to begin to live in our age the discipleship which links us together across the ages as followers of Christ.
And Christ himself gives us, week in and week out, that moment described in the Gospel of St Mark – here at his Eucharistic table, where he is sacra mentally and really present – here he gives us that moment when, with the returning apostles, we returning from a week of mission opportunities, can 'gather round Jesus and tell him all that we have done and taught…’
So – fellow disciples of the Lord – what have you to tell him this morning? How’s the mission been with you as a disciple this last week? How many demons of mean-ness, misunderstanding and injustice have you cast out this last week? There has been plenty of opportunity – for those demons are not a thing of the quaint past, but the painful realities with which we all live in the present day. How much healing and reconciliation can be put down to you which has led you to this moment when you are anxious to tell the Lord what sort of disciple you have been? What have you to tell him as we gather round Jesus to tell him what we have done and taught? Is your mission trail as big as your carbon footprint this week?
That question is yours to answer, but the weekly challenge of the Eucharist – where we gather round Jesus to tell him what we have done – is constant.
He who said: ‘come away…. And rest a while…’, says it still, and he is all ears and he provides time and space at this celebration for you to give your report or to say sorry and you will try again this coming week with the grace and help he is providing. Being a disciple is more than coming to Church to receive something – to be entertained by the kind of readings and music which appeals to you – its coming to report in as we gather round Jesus to tell him what we have done and taught as agents and sharers in his mission to the world. So if the tale you have to tell is a bit meagre – God is providing another new week to have another go. That’s the nature of grace – it is never spent – it always gives another chance - and our God is the God of all grace and graciousness.
So to him, with the Father and the Holy Spirit be glory for ever and ever. Amen.