Psalm 85 Mark 6:7-13 Bearing Witness by Patricia E. de Jong July 13, 1997 ----------------------------------------------------------------- I first met him in 1973. I was a first-year student at Pacific School of Religion and very interested in theology and the arts. My professor, Wayne Rood, invited me to a performance by a mime/clown artist by the name of Ken Feit. Ken was an ex-Jesuit priest who was now making his living-or living his making-by performing as a storyteller and mime. I attended the evening performance and was profoundly affected by this man's ability to tell stories and connect us to the sacred nature of life in the midst of common experience. After that evening, I became a friend. I knew Ken was a storytelling genius, but what really knocked me out about him was his commitment to being an itinerant fool. Ken was traveling the world, looking for stories and telling his own stories. He made a simple rule for himself-he would never touch his head to the same pillow for more than two weeks. After that he would simply shake the dust from his feet and continue down the road. Now in those days, I was looking for home; I was searching for friendship, love, commitment, and a new home base. I couldn't believe a person would actually commit himself to the transient nature of the world. He owned nothing more than a suitcase full of his costumes and tricks, a bag of books he couldn't live without, and a clean change of clothes. He carried no insurance, didn't own a car, and had no legal address, other than the residence of his mother in Chicago. I kept track of him through the '70s. Sometimes he would simply show up in a town and give a performance, pushing off for a new adventure at the end of the week. I asked him, on one of those visits, why he was living as a vagabond, so completely homeless and free. He said he was seeking to understand the life and ministry of Jesus-a life devoid of permanency, a ministry filled with universal love, unattached to family, home, and investments in the future. Ken wasn't crazy or weird; he was truly trying to follow God's bliss . . . and it was a lonely, lovely, passionate, sometimes terrifying journey. I thought about this itinerant fool for Christ as I read this morning's Gospel. Off they go, the disciples, sent only God knows where-up one back road and down another, with nothing going for them but their wits and guts. They took nothing with them as they began their journey. The first walk down the road of discipleship in Jesus' name was put together without much preparation or advance notice. The instructions from Jesus are achingly simple-no food, no baggage, no cell phone, no ATM card, no itinerary, not even a change of underwear! What do you need to be a disciple of the good news? It's simple: a physical body and the enthusiasm of the spirit. Ken Feit's commitment to itinerancy was conscious and calculated, but I imagine the first itinerant ministers were more than a little reluctant to go out to all the world with absolutely nothing except their newfound faith and their experience of love and forgiveness through Jesus. But off they went down the road-touching the sick, preaching repentance, casting out demons; never staying anywhere too long-just long enough to give people a taste of Jesus, a foretaste of the good news, the anticipation of a life and a world filled with healing, justice, peace. Such a missionary plan was actually common in the ancient world, without mass media or CNN or even a Pathfinder. Religious or philosophical news was communicated across the empire by itinerant teachers and vagabond disciples who came into a town to teach and to preach. The disciples of Jesus were following a very old tradition; their itinerant lifestyle was in full accord with the message they carried: "Travel lightly in this world." "Depend upon the hospitality of others." "Your stay will be brief." "Shake off the dust of complacency and get with the truth at the heart of things." This story of the sending of the 12 is appropriate for the day we recognize the ministry of one among us-Bryn-and send her forth in God's name. It's also a good story for a reflection on the ministry of the church. And it's a fair reminder to us, as we journey through the summer and beyond, of what the value of being a person of faith in the midst of this crazy world of ours might mean for us sitting here this morning. I've just returned from a week-long meeting of our denomination's General Synod-the national gathering of our church-where I was, as one friend says, "the mother of all community builders." And I feel totally immersed in the life and ministry of the church. The church gathers in this manner every other year. In 1995, it gathered here in Oakland; this past week, in Columbus, Ohio. The United Church of Christ celebrated its 40th birthday this year. And it felt like 40! The UCC as a denomination has settled into its body and is becoming comfortable with itself in healthy ways. Our commitment to inclusivity, justice, and love have taken a strong hold in this body of Christ. At 40, we know who we are and how to behave with a sense of responsibility and maturity. We are too young to feel brittle but too old to think only of ourselves. At this national meeting, our denomination showed forth a dignity and integrity worthy of our name-the United Church of Christ. At General Synod, The UCC declared itself in full communion with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Reformed Church in America, and the Presbyterian Church (USA). Basically, this means that we recognize that the gospel is fully preached in these churches and that we desire to recognize and uphold the ministries of each other through the power and love of Jesus Christ who unites us. While this may not seem like a big deal to us in the UCC, it is a major step for the Lutherans, who thus far have not recognized or formed partnerships with any other Christian denominations. We also voted in our restructuring plan as a denomination and embraced a new constitution, with an emphasis on the covenant relationship among our 6,100 churches and our national and international ministries. It is likely that we will enter into this new structure of our denominational life in the year 2000, thereby celebrating a newly covenanted church at the beginning of the new century. Both of these votes by General Synod are historical, with vast implications for the future. They move us down the road with unity, a renewed spirit of partnership, and a commitment to the future of the Church universal. But I was most moved by the way our General Synod dealt with issues of justice within our loving relationships. As we walked down the road of our faithfulness to Christ in all walks of life, the General Synod voted overwhelmingly to reaffirm that the standard for sexual and relational behavior for members of the UCC is "fidelity and integrity in marriage and other covenanted relationships, or singleness, and in all relationships in life." As this issue has been a lightning rod for subtle and not-so-subtle pronouncements against gays and lesbians in other denominations, the General Synod 21 of the United Church of Christ stressed the reiteration of existing standards of behavior and a celebration of diverse relationships in which covenant, commitment, fidelity, and integrity are essential and foundational. As God has called the UCC and sends us forth to minister to others on the road, I believe this church struggled to be faithful to Jesus' vision of wholeness, justice, and love this past week. It called upon God's people in the UCC to continue to live in covenant with each other-across denominational lines, within our own denomination, and in our personal and covenant relationships. It was a significant General Synod in that we continued to move down the road into all the world, declaring the abundant grace of God in Christ, and also affirmed with dignity the commitment we have made to be an including and inclusive church. Does Jesus call us as a congregation to be disciples and send us out down the road? We can glean from scripture that it is never alone. Jesus sends the disciples out two by two, signaling to us that the sending forth into the roads of life is not alone. This is one reason why it is so good to be a part of a community-you don't have to do these things by yourself. Here in this church, we get to do ministry with the help and encouragement of each other. We also get to do it being connected through relationship-not only to other churches in northern California, but to churches throughout the country and beyond, through our national church and our international ministry. We also learn from our scripture that we don't have to have anything special to take on this journey, nothing except a stick to help us walk. This means that anyone can get on down the road. You don't have to be particularly smart or gifted or even know what to pack to get on the road. In fact, the preference is to take nothing for the journey. You don't have to be a marathon runner or a great walker; you can even bring your cane or cart. Discipleship in Jesus' name is a come-as-you-are event. All we need to go down the road is a willingness to follow the Gospel call. The text tells us that the disciples went out and preached that people should turn around and begin a new life, as they cast out the demons of selfishness, grandiosity, and self-absorbed pain, anointing with the oil of healing for wholeness and health. The Gospel calls us to a life on the road, even if you've lived in the same town your whole life, like Dorothy Prouty, or the same house for 40 years. The call Jesus gave to the disciples is the same call we receive today as a family of believers, as a church body, as a Christian denomination struggling to be faithful to God's call in Christ. As we go forth wherever we go to the tasks we are called to, we bear witness to God's love for us in this life. Our service to others will blossom as we make the strength, truth, and love of God visible in ourselves so that others may join us on the road. As we come to the completion of Bryn Smallwood-Garcia's ministry at FCCB, I think of Jesus' call to the 12. Jesus' call was intricately simple: "Come as you are. Take nothing for the journey. Shake off the dust from your feet. Teach. Preach. Heal. Pray. Go into the homes and hearts of the people and move them to new life by the power of the Gospel of love. Cast out any demons of hopelessness or hurt and invite new life into the minds and hearts of the people." Bryn, you have been a witness to the power and grace of Jesus Christ in your work with the youth and young adults of this congregation. You have been in ministry with all of us as you have preached and prayed, administered the sacraments, and pastored us in a variety of ways. You responded to the call of the disciple to walk down the road in an itinerant ministry which just happened to be in the same physical place! For as anyone who has worked with youth and young adults knows, each day is a journey into an unknown, constantly changing bunch of needs and experiences. You've had great partners in your ministry-first your husband John, but also the youth and young adult leaders, your boards and committees, and the entire staff. You've traveled the road of this ministry with a flair for the dramatic, with a deep love for children, youth, and young adults, and with a firm conviction for the life of love in Jesus Christ. And we who have met you along the way, in the villages and towns of this congregation, have been blessed by your ministry. And now it's time for you to conclude this particular walk in this place. I remember the ministry of my friend Ken Feit as you prepare to leave. Perhaps the best lesson I know from him is that he understood his whole life to be about following the road of discipleship in God. For him, everywhere he went was home because he chose to make his home in God. Everyone he met was family because he chose to give his whole life over to the finding and the loving of God's people. Everything he did took on a deeper meaning because he decided to live without earthly distraction, in the presence of God. His entire life was dedicated to seeking God wherever and however God is to be found. Perhaps these are the only qualifications for bearing witness to God on life's journey. We claim our home in God. We learn to respect and even cherish everyone we meet because they belong to God. And we live with fresh aliveness because we are God's. As you complete your ministry among us and have a rest before you anticipate new vistas and deeper canyons, we thank you for coming to us and staying in our village, caring for our youth and young adults, and ministering with us all. We thank you for your strong faith commitment, which was communicated to us and our children. We wish you well as you shake the dust from your feet and continue to answer God's ever-present call to new life. Bryn, we are grateful for your witness, even as we celebrate the witness of all God's people in every time and place. Amen. Copyright © 1997, First Congregational Church of Berkeley E-mail:firstberk@aol.com