Outside the City Gate – July 24
Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 55; PM Psalm 138, 139:1-17(18-23); 2 Samuel 1:1-16; Acts 15:22-35; Mark 6:1-13
I am in a Bible study at Saint Stephen’s. This year, we began reading Hebrews in January, and this week, we wrapped up that magnificent letter in the Bible. It has been a joyous journey, delving into the words written as a rousing sermon to ministers in the early days of the Christian church. The crescendo of Hebrews – to me – is found here:
We have an altar from which those who officiate in the tent have no right to eat. For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest as a sacrifice for sin are burned outside the camp. Therefore Jesus also suffered outside the city gate in order to sanctify the people by his own blood. Let us then go to him outside the camp and bear the abuse he endured. For here we have no lasting city, but we are looking for the city that is to come. (Hebrews 13:10-14)
In this pep talk to ministers of this new worshiping body – many of whom used to be Jewish priests – they are being prepared in an odd way. Here’s what I mean: they are being told not just to make sacrifices at the altar and keep laws of the great and living God. There is more: they are called to take those gifts that are offered at the altar and carry them out into the hinterlands, outside of the safety of the walls of the city...away from routines and comfortable spaces. They are to do ministry in places that are foreign and uncertain and perhaps likely to reject the messages imparted.
The early Christian priests are called to go outside the city gate because that is what Jesus did. Jesus ministered inside the walls of the camp, inside the social structures of temples and communities, sharing meals and healing those in need. And then, he went into the far-flung places, where he was less welcome. Where he was seen as a disturbance. Where he was judged as a wing-nut prophet and blasphemer.
Jesus went outside the city gate and was crucified upon a hill. His death was an offering to reconcile us to God. Hebrews 13 states this doctrine of atonement: people are reconciled to God through the sacrificial death of Jesus. Said another way, the Son of God removed the obstacles between us and God. Either way, I feel conflicted by the benevolence and the brutality.
Jesus’ giving of his own blood to the point of death to save others sounds so brutal, doesn’t it? And friends, we can be brutal to one another, too. In our judgements against those who differ from us in creed, culture, or credit line. In our insistence upon our own concept of liberty, love, or livelihood. This insensitivity to one another is not new. It may be increasing in intensity or vigor, yet it is not a new thing. The letter to the Hebrews calls those in ministry to go to Jesus “outside the camp and bear the abuse he endured.” And why? Because as we are God’s, our eyes are to be set upon the city that is to come…and not to place our faith in the city we have right now.
Jesus prepared his friends for ministry in a similar way. He gave them directions as he sent them out in pairs. He told them how to equip themselves and gave them marching orders for when they faced refusal and rejection: “Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave the place. 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.” (Mark 6:10-11)
The act of shaking off the dust is a symbolic action and a cultural statement of removing all association with someone. Not even a speck of dirt will weigh down the disciples as they move along, proclaiming repentance, casting out demons, and anointing the sick with oil.
I will continue to proclaim God’s love – and I hope you will join me in this effort, as all are invited into the proclamation of the Good News. I hope you will also join me in encouraging all people to show compassion and love for their neighbors in all manners of ways. In getting vaccinated against COVID-19. In wearing a mask in places where large numbers of people gather indoors. In being kind and welcoming to listen to all voices. In caring for those who are ill and ailing. Sometimes we will face refusal and rejection. That will not stop us from sharing the mutual love of God.
Katherine+
Questions for Reflection
Which of your views to which you hold tightly feel like you are going outside of the city gate? Upon what are those views founded? How does that wilderness experience affect those convictions – either diminishing your will or reinforcing it? Where is Jesus for you in this moment?
Daily Challenge
Take a few minutes to read about atonement theology – and do your own research, too! What are you intrigued to learn about? What challenges you? Take a moment to write down some insights, then sit in prayer, meditating about what atonement means for you.