Is.50:4-9
Ps.116
James 3:1-12
Mark 8:27-38

Pentecost 15
Proper 19B RCL HE 2A 10:00

THE JOURNEY

Credit: Pulp. Resource 9/17/00 adapted
Previous: Medford 00, Charlestown 03

A few reflections now that I've been with you for a year.

Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. (Mark 8: 27).

Have you ever noticed that the primary way of telling the story of Jesus is as a journey? We can see this in all of the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, but especially in Mark. Jesus is always on the way to somewhere else.

Mark tells the story of Jesus with a breathless tempo: Jesus does this or that and then immediately goes on to somewhere else. Immediately is one of Mark's favorite words.

The image we get of Jesus's followers, His disciples, in the Gospel of Mark is a group of people who are always breathlessly trying to catch up, always just one step behind Jesus as He moves on to somewhere else. Perhaps you at St. Mark's feel this way. You had a rector for a few years; but now he has moved on; and the Church at large is still all agog in the aftermath of the election of the Bishop of New Hampshire. Jesus has moved on; your journey and my journey still go on.

I. Let us pursue this image of a journey a little further.

A. Mark begins his Gospel with the calling of the disciples of Jesus. A couple of the disciples were at work one day, bent over their fishing nets, working on them. They saw this figure on the road above them, calling to them: "Follow me, and I will make you fishers for people."

Mark says that they stopped everything that they were doing, and left their father, and went away trudging right after Jesus. One would think that they might have asked, "Well, who are you?" Or one ,wuld at least think they would say, "Fine, but where are you going?"

They asked none of that. They just stumbled after Jesus. Maybe that's exactly the way it happened. In fact, in Mark's Gospel, that is the image you get of discipleship. Discipleship is following Jesus on a journey without ever knowing exactly who He is or precisely where He is going. Often just stumbling on.

Does that suggest something about where you are in your life as a parish? Or in your own life? Sort of feeling your way along?

B. Or again, another time, the disciples are not mending their nets but are in a boat on the sea. One of those sudden storms comes in and the sea gets ugly. And it appears that the boat is going to be swamped and everyone will drown.

Lo and behold, whom should they see out on the water at that point but Jesus? Mark says that He was out walking past the disciples. He isn't corning out there to pull them out of the storm. He's just out for a stroll. Walking past them. Jesus is always on the move.

C. Or again, at the very end of Mark, the Gospel says that the women came to the tomb on Easter morning. But by the time they got there, they w"ere greeted by "a young man in white" who tells them, "You are looking for Jesus? Sorry. You just missed Him. By this time in the morning, He is already gone before you into Galilee. Get going!"

Isn't that typical of Jesus? Just about the time we are about to get the point, almost ready to catch up with Him, He is on the way to somewhere else! Like here after a Rector's departure, and the Church at large is all agog about something else!

II. It is a journey that is an adventure, that's for sure. In fact, one of the things that makes a journey an adventure is when we don't know the destination. And if any of you have traveled, even a little, you know that on a trip you make your most surprising discoveries when you are on your way to somewhere else. And if you have been traveling very long with Jesus, you know that it is quite typical to keep on making surprising discoveries with Jesus, even when you are on your way somewhere else.

A. That is probably the reason why Mark's Gospel ends the way it does. Mark ends his Gospel with the women at the tomb, shocked that Jesus is not there. He is going, has gone, before them into Galilee. That sums up the entire experience with Jesus. Just when they get there, Jesus has already moved on to somewhere else. The Gospel just ends, with the women standing there, stupefied and amazed - and Jesus has moved on to somewhere else.

This is Mark's way of saying that because of Jesus, the journey is not over. In fact, it's never over till God says that it is over. We certainly thought that Good Friday and the Cross led to the end of the story, that death had had the final word. But no: we get to the cemetery, the tomb, and find out that Jesus is not there. He has moved on. The journey continues.

B. So, if you are thinking about faithful discipleship, don't think about getting your heads straight on a list of fundamental beliefs. Don't think about discipleship as memorizing, as memorizing even a whole string of Bible verses. And don't think about discipleship even as completing your search for your next rector, whenever that search takes place. Think about discipleship as a journey, a journey with Jesus.

This is a story that each of us is finishing for ourselves, and a story that this parish is finishing for itself.

Each of us, each parish, is busy tagging along behind Jesus, being surprised by Jesus, trying to figure out what He said at the last step. And being amazed at the paths He leads us on, during this adventure. It's an adventure for me too, of course. I have been surprised, and still am surprised, at the variety of parishes where I have been asked to fill in, during, now, twelve interims since I retired as Rector in Chelsea in 1995.

IV. Finally, a few things about this journey.

A. First, this journey with Jesus is not only an adventure, but also it is a relationship. We are not following a set of laws or beliefs. We are walking with Jesus.

And you don't always know what turns that relationship will take. Like marriage. If you are married, did you know what you were getting into? or where life would lead you? or how people, including yourself, would change? Of course not. But you commit yourself to be on a journey with another human being, come what may. So with the relationship with Jesus.

B. Secondly: A journey suggests movement from here to there. If discipleship is a journey, it is a long process. Get ready for growth and get ready for surprises. Jesus may accept us "just as I am", as we sometimes sing. But He will not leave us just as we are. We are on the move.

C. Thirdly, as with any journey, there are times when we wonder if the journey is working. We have setbacks, long stretches of boredom where the scenery is not that interesting. Because th Church is a journey, you will not always enjoy being on a journey with others who are traveling with you. Don't feel guilty. On this journey there will be peaks and there will be valleys. Keep walking.

And lastly: The call to discipleship requires certain disciplines for keeping at it. The journey is not always easy. Perhaps some of your journeys began with flashes of light and enthusiasm. But now enthusiasm wanes, and the church becomes dull and routine. But it is important to keep walking.

Any long trip requires discipline. So does the journey of discipleship. Regular Bible study and meditation to keep one focused. Regular Sunday worship puts you and me in the place where God promises to be, where two or three are gathered together in His Name.

If your journey is going well now, fine. But there will be valleys, and times when you wonder whether you can make it. .At those times, the resources you gain through Bible study and Sunday worship can be life-giving.

The Book of Acts tells us that the first name given to the disciples was "The Way". That's a good name. To be a disciple means to be someone who is following Jesus along The Way.

Pray that God will give us the grace to walk that way well.