Two by Two

​The first part of our Gospel reading contains one of the most shocking lines in all of Mark.
 
Jesus has returned to his hometown, where he teaches in the synagogue with astonishing wisdom and power. The local people don’t know what to make of this. They remember Jesus as a child. They know Jesus’ family. They can’t understand how Jesus has become so impressive. And, Mark tells us, they took offense at him.
 
Then comes the line. Because of their unbelief, “Jesus could do no deed of power there.”
 
I assume that Mark does NOT literally mean Jesus was powerless to heal in Nazareth. Jesus was God incarnate. Jesus could do absolutely anything, including heal people whether or not they had any faith. We see Jesus’ divine power at work in many Gospel stories.
 
But here, Mark uses intentionally shocking language to get our attention, to push us to reflect on how and why Jesus does what he does. In this case, Jesus did no deeds of power because, in the normal course of events, Jesus works with us to do what he does. If, instead of cooperating, people take offense at Jesus, if, that is to say, we refuse to do our part, Jesus’ work doesn’t happen in the same way. 
 
There is a lot to ponder here. But for my purposes this morning, the point is clear enough. In the normal course of events, Jesus does not work alone. Jesus works with us. Jesus wants us to do our part, to have faith, to pray, to do whatever we can in service to God’s mission. And Jesus takes it from there.
 
Christianity is a team sport. Christianity is something we do with others.
 
We see the same thing in the Apostle Paul.
 
If anybody could have followed Jesus on his own, it would surely be Paul. Jesus himself appeared to Paul to commission him as the Apostle to the Gentiles. Paul then worked as hard, and suffered as much, as any of the apostles, and did more than anyone else to spread the gospel.
 
And, as we just heard, Paul had amazing mystical experiences. In our passage, Paul speaks in the third person, but he is describing what happened to himself. Paul was caught up to the third heaven, into Paradise, where he heard things that cannot be told.
 
But even Paul could not walk the Christian way on his own.
 
As Paul says in our passage, he suffered from a mysterious thorn in the flesh. We’re not told exactly what the thorn is. In one way, it doesn’t matter. Any physical ailment would be a big problem for someone who walked as much as Paul did every year. But most people think the thorn was eye trouble.
 
I can identify with that particular thorn. My eyes aren’t any good either. Fortunately, in the twenty-first century, bad eyes are mostly not a big problem. I can see fine as long as I have my glasses. But glasses were not an option for Paul. And without glasses, life is challenging for people with bad eyes.
 
Once I was in Paul’s situation. I was hiking by myself, and I accidentally broke my glasses in half. I faced the prospect of hiking a couple of days without being able to see more than a few feet in front of me. Without glasses, I couldn’t see my own feet clearly, making uneven ground perilous. I couldn’t see blazes marking the trail, so I was likely to get lost. Walking any distance without being able to see clearly was a daunting prospect.
 
Thankfully, I had duct tape, which I used to tape my glasses back together. I looked stupid. And my field of vision was partly blocked by the tape. But I could see my feet and blazes along the trail, so I could make do until I got a new pair of glasses. 
 
But poor, glasses-less Paul had to walk hundreds of miles every year, mostly on unfamiliar roads. I pity him.
 
Paul’s alternative to glasses was companions. Paul travelled with disciples like Timothy and Titus. His disciples helped Paul get where he needed to go.
 
Paul found this dependence on others frustrating. As he says in our passage, three times he prayed that God would remove the thorn, that God would fix his eyes. But no such luck.
 
Finally, Paul got the message. God was not going to heal Paul. The danger, as Paul himself recognized, was that Paul would become “too elated,” too full of himself. It was important for Paul to remember always that he needed help. Above all, Paul had to depend on God’s grace. But Paul also had to depend on the loving support of his own disciples.
 
As was true of Jesus, so with Paul, companions were a necessary part of the Christian way. We, too. All of us are weak at least some of the time. And so all of us need help, from God first, but also from each other.
 
And that is why, when Christ sends his disciples out on the first-ever Christian mission trip, he sends them two by two. Christians don’t walk the journey alone. Christ is with us. And we need other disciples to be with us, too. 
 
Church looks different today than it did in the first century. These days, not many of us are itinerant evangelists, walking from city to city proclaiming the gospel. But it remains true that we need spiritual companions.
 
By spiritual companion, I don’t mean family or good friends, although family and good friends are certainly a treasure and a blessing. I mean people who contribute directly to our spiritual journey, people who strengthen our relationship to God and help us to live lives of love.
 
Finding true spiritual friends is not easy. I’ve had plenty of friends over the years, some of them quite close. But, outside of Church, I have not had many spiritual companions, people I could ask to pray for me or, even harder, to pray with me. Friends to whom I could confess my struggles, and who would hold me accountable. Friends who could help me to grow in the knowledge and love of God.
 
Our need for spiritual companionship is one of the reasons we come together as a Church. As we worship together, we become spiritual companions for each other.
 
But, for most people, worshipping together is only part of true spiritual companionship. We also need to come together in more intimate groups as well. That’s the power of the twelve-step programs. Here at Saint David’s, I think about our fellowship events, or the men’s Bible study, or the Tuesday discussion group, or the women’s book group, or our contemplative prayer group, or a host of other things we do. Those are places where we can be spiritual companions with each other, where we can both give and receive support on our spiritual journeys.
 
As it happens, we’re starting a new small group this week, a Wednesday Prayer Group. It will be another opportunity for people to find the companionship we all need.
 
I invite you to take some time this week to think about who your spiritual companions are, and to give thanks to God for them. Think also about whether your need for spiritual companionship is being met. If it isn’t, ask God to show you a way forward. My closest spiritual friendship outside of Church was literally an answer to prayer.
 
I end by giving thanks to God for the remarkable spiritual companionship I have had in my life, and I ask God to bless us all with the companions we need. In Christ’s name. Amen.