Mark 6.8-9

TRAVELLING LIGHT

(Mark 6.8-9)

'He ordered them to take nothing for their journey except a staff; no bread, no bag, no money in their belts; but to wear sandals and not put on two tunics.' (Mark 6.8-9)

In August I have been invited once again to be honorary locum chaplain at Cadenabbia, on the shores of Lake Como in Northern Italy. I think this will be the ninth time I have done this.

Previously, Joyce and I have always driven there, complete with two suitcases and a hundred and one plastic bags containing our luggage.

This year is to be different. For various reasons we have booked to fly. As a consequence, this means we must limit our luggage to 40 kilograms between us.

Already Joyce is laying out on a spare bed what we are to take. 'Do you need a brown pair of shoes and a black pair, or can you make do with just one pair?' 'Do you want three long sleeve shirts and three short sleeve shirts, or can you make do with two of each?' 'And how many underpants and socks do you think you will need?' These are a few of the questions I have been asked.

'l think I will take two short sleeve blouses and two skirts.' says Joyce, "and I think I might be able to get away with one pair of cotton shorts and one pair of long trousers.' 'l think I will take my brown sandals and my black sandals, my cream flat shoes, my black flat shoes, my new slippers and a my beige shoes with a slight heel.' What makes you think my wife has a shoe fetish!

Behind all these questions lies our attempt to reduce the amount of luggage we need to take, to ensure that we are not overweight. In short, we are being challenged to travel light.

And that is exactly what Jesus was suggesting to his disciples in the above Gospel reading, when they set off on the missionary journey around Galilee.

'He ordered them to take nothing for their journey except a staff; no bread, no bag, no money in their belts; but to wear sandals and not put on two tunics.'

The disciples were to travel light so that they could give their undivided attention to their mission, which was to call people to repentance, cast out demons and heal the sick. They were to accept the local hospitality offered, and not to waste time looking for more comfortable and generous hospitality elsewhere.

The disciples were to be a pilgrim church; a church always on the move, unhindered by material considerations, able to respond instantly to the needs of their changing situations.

Although St Francis of Assisi took these instructions literally and abandoned his comfortable life style, I would suggest this is not necessarily what is expected of us.

What ls suggested to us is that as a church and as individual members of the church we should strive for simplicity so that we are freed from material considerations as we engage upon our mission.

This was brought home to me by Robert Mortimer, one time Bishop of Exeter, when he wrote to me one of the longest letters of his episcopacy. He had offered me the parish of St Thomas' Keyham in the City of Plymouth and was awaiting a reply.

I replied that I was awaiting an answer concerning the possibility of installing central heating in the Vicarage before accepting the living.

The Bishop replied, 'My dear Ranson, I am not an estate agent trying to sell you a house, but a bishop asking whether you feel called by God to work in a particular parish. Yours sincerely, Robert Exon.'

I felt sufficiently told off. I was putting the material comfort of my young family before the mission of the church.

On the other hand, I know of another priest, who was once a curate with me in Liverpool, who, before accepting any new appointment, would always ensure that there was sufficient space to house his ever-increasing collection of antiques. What is more amazing, he always appeared to succeed, enjoying some of the most magnificent vicarages available, and even once had a moat around his vicarage! However, he never had 'Robert Exon' as his bishop!

There is no doubt that the mission of the church can and has been hindered by material considerations.

Take for instance the Leslie Paul Report on the mission of the church in the early 1960s. He concluded that most of the clergy worked in rural areas, whereas most of the population lived in urban areas. Believe it or not, it has taken almost fifty years to put this situation right, and it still is not completely resolved.

This has involved the amalgamation of parishes, especially in rural areas, with the co-operation of patrons and parishioners. It has also involved the central pooling of local glebe income in order to be able to pay for the relocated clergy. It has also involved the Bishops agreeing to the central allocation of ordinands to the areas of greatest need.

Although the introduction of compulsory retirement of clergy at the age of seventy has enabled some clergy to be moved, which also involved financial provision to facilitate this, the 'parsons freehold', which entitles an incumbent to stay in the same parish until retirement, still waits to be resolved.

In no way can the Church of England claim to 'travel light' in its mission.

And what about parishioners?

The need for detachment from material things, such as parish churches, still needs to be challenged. Parishioners often cling tenaciously to their parish churches, and their patterns of worship, which can also hinder the wider mission of the church.

Whereas Roman Catholics put their attendance at the Eucharist as a priority, Anglicans tend to put attendance at a particular church as their priority

And what about Christian giving? In the two parishes I have served as Vicar we have always put the giving away of 10% of income to the mission of the church, as the first claim upon the parish annual budget. After all, how else can you expect people to give 10%, or even 5% of their net income, as recommended by General Synod of the Church of England, unless the church is seen to practice what it preaches. Incidentally, neither parish ever experienced financial difficulties because of their generosity. You see, I have never believed that the churches have financial problems, but only spiritual problems.

So we come back to where we started, and our Lord's command to 'travel light'. To be a pilgrim church means that we must not be tied down by material considerations, which can so often hinder the mission of the church.

So Jesus ordered his early disciples, 'to take nothing for their journey except a staff; no bread, no bags, no money in the belt; but to wear sandals and not put on two tunics' when he sent them out on his mission.

And so I leave you with the question, 'How free are you of material considerations to be able to respond to the mission of the church today?'