The Mission Journey Through Lent
As you prepare for this journey, the rst step is to read Mark 6:1-13. Dedicate yourself to reading these verses repeatedly while we travel together through this Lenten season. The order of these verses reminds readers of what precedes the travel of those engaged in discipleship. Jesus empowers believers, entrusts them with mission, and with packing instructions, sends them out. Jesus of Nazareth was rejected at Nazareth when he taught in the synagogue on the sabbath. His own neighbors responded to him with skepticism. Amazed at their unbelief, Jesus “could do no deed of power there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and cured them” (6:5). Yet, Jesus did not give up his mission. He called his disciples, paired them, and sent them out on their own mission-driven journeys (6:7-13). Jesus also makes us his disciples, and he entrusts us with his mission. Below you will nd insights based on these verses in Mark’s gospel to ponder and pray throughout your Lenten journey.
Ash Wednesday and First Week (March 5 – March 15):
Going Where Your Audience Is.
Jesus “went about among villages teaching” (6:6b), and his disciples also participated (6:7). To what villages do we go? For Jesus’s ministry, teaching about the kingdom of God and the manifestation of God’s reign through healing actions are one and the same. Jesus’s teaching is about responding as an open-handed servant based in the profound generosity of God that is always present.
Second Week (March 16 – March 22):
Listening to New Voices
Jesus called his disciples and sent them out with “authority over the unclean spirits” (6:7), proclaiming that “all should repent” (6:12). What unclean spirits should we boldly face throughout our journey? What form might they take? The pairing of the disciples means that many of them will be forced to leave Jesus’ presence to continue his ministry. Being sent in pairs underscores the importance of fellowship. Note there is not a lot of preparation before Jesus gave them authority. Perhaps this reflects the reality that God’s already-present kingdom has, indeed already, overcome the forces of evil. In the scriptures, unclean spirits often use voices of fear to speak messages that evoke a need to control, but God’s spirit frees us from the need to control with a sense of God’s already present rule in our lives.
Third Week (March 23 – March 29):
Traveling Light
Jesus ordered them to take nothing for their journey except a staff; no bread, no bag, no money in their belts. He tells them to wear sandals and not to put on two tunics (6:8-9). What should we remove from our packing checklist, and what necessities should we pack? Buddhist monks in countries of Southeast Asia are sent out with begging bowls and eat only what they collect during the day. Similarly, the disciples were forced to receive hospitality, rather than controlling outcomes. Traveling light also allows us to act quickly in the very physical ministry that Jesus initiates.
Fourth Week (March 30 – April 5): Being Present
Jesus says, “Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave the place” (6:10). Where and for what purposes are we currently sojourning until we leave and move again? When we arrive somewhere, do we immediately start thinking of what’s next? When we leave, do we think back and live in the past, worrying about the last place we have been? Jesus reminds us to dwell in the present, grateful for hospitality and attuned to what is truly happening in our current situation.
Fifth Week (April 6 – April 12):
Refusing Negative Energy
Jesus says, “If any place will not welcome you and they refuse to hear you, as you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them” (6:11). How can we understand this “shaking off the dust” verse in the face of rejection and despair? Jesus seems to have good boundaries, not wanting his disciples to endure abuse but rather creatively return the rejecting attitude. What might we spiritually pack or unpack along the way?
Palm Sunday and Holy Week (April 13 – April 19):
Surrendering to God’s Kingdom
The disciples “went out and proclaimed that all should repent” (6:12). What kind of repentance message should be proclaimed to us and to others during Holy Week? The consistent message of the gospel is one of merciful surrender, entrusting one’s life into God’s hands rather than trying to secure ourselves against misfortune. Jesus’ packing list for his disciples clearly reflects this standard. Because God is merciful to those in need, the hallmarks of this surrender include mercy and generosity, which is responsive to the needs of our marginalized neighbors.
Easter Sunday and Eastertide (April 20 – June 8):
Proclaiming What is Already True
The disciples “cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them” (6:13). How will the risen Jesus bring healing and restoration through us and to us in the season of Easter? In this passage, God is depicted as reigning over the powers of death, destruction, and tyranny (the ones that beheaded John the Baptist in a senseless act of violence). These same powers encourage leadership that subjugates people to violence by lording over them. In contrast, in Jesus’ kingdom, the sick and vulnerable will be called by name, blessed, and restored to community (isolation being one of the most devastating aspects of disease). The demons that Jesus casts out have to do with small-minded envy of other disciples, the longing for power, and the need to secure one’s own life. Casting out demons is a symbolic act that suggests God is at work in mysterious ways bringing events toward a conclusion. The anointing itself is not necessarily a cure so much as a blessing, denoting allegiance to a new kingdom that is driven by an entirely different ethic.
Perhaps those of us who travel together this Eastertide can challenge one another to carry forward only neighborly actions of love, truly thriving as people of the resurrection.
The Rev. Dr. Philip Helsel The Rev. Dr. Donghyun Jeong