Another week, another beef with the lectionary. It’s made a hash of our readings from Mark. This week we get “before” and “after” snippets bracketing the stories of feeding the 5000 and Jesus walking on water – which get thrown together in John’s version the following Sunday. It’s like offering a meagre appetizer before a main course with two main dishes! I won't stray far – over the next two weeks we’ll cover all the material we’ll get in church – but I will stick to Mark, and follow it in order rather than chopped up.
Let's think back to our gospel story two weeks ago: Jesus was sending his disciples out in twos to proclaim the Good News and heal the sick. Now they’re back – and they have a lot to tell him! The apostles gathered around Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught. (This week's gospel reading is here.)
When we offer ministry in the name and power of Jesus, we usually have stories to tell. This past Saturday, I went out with two parishioners in downtown Stamford to offer prayer to anyone who wanted it. We decided to go to the farmer’s market and loiter where people emerged from shopping. We held a sign reading, “Want A Prayer?” and at the bottom, “Prayer Changes Things” We were only out for about a hour but in that time had close to 20 blessed encounters with people, from a young man with whom we prayed on our way to our spot, who then prayed for us, to a vendor at the market who ran over saying, “I want a prayer!,” to a little boy who came running back to us after we’d prayed with him and his mother, with a look of wonder on his face, saying, “That was good!” It seemed like he wanted more.
Last night I met a woman I’d known years ago when I was doing ministry at Stamford’s women’s shelter, who’d wandered off, lost in mental illness. She told me she’s now enrolled in a mental health program, working and a member of a church in town. That’s a years-later praise report! And at church today someone who can be painfully insecure felt compelled by the Spirit to offer to read a lesson – and did it beautifully. (Coincidentally – or not – she was also on our prayer team Saturday…).
See? I can’t stop with the stories! Because God is so good – and we experience God’s goodness so much more when we’re out and active in apostolic stuff like proclaiming the Good News and healing the sick.
But Jesus isn't the only one who likes to hear our stories of seeing God at work through our efforts. They also build up the faith of the people around us to be bolder in their own prayers and ministries. And they remind us when we need to remember – for me that can be 30 minutes after the last time I saw God’s power at work. I’m not sure of the science here, but I imagine that a memory that is written down and/ or articulated verbally gets wired into our synapses more sturdily than one we merely note and allow to drift away.
When was the last time you felt God at work through or around you? Have you told someone the story? Start by writing it down so you don’t lose it. Tell God about it. And tell someone else.
If the apostles hadn’t shared their stories with Jesus, they wouldn’t have been told and retold and finally preserved to encourage us. We have tales to tell - let's tell them!
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