July 6: The Fourth Sunday after Pentecost
Within the reality TV series world, there is this subset of reality shows that are all about survival. Of course there is the classic Survivor series, but there are more shows nowadays that are getting more and more intense and obsessed with this phenomenon of being pushed to your physical limits, on worldwide TV, to the point of near death. One of the more popular ones is called Alone. Alone is a competition series on the History Channel and is self-documented by the participants. Individuals are sent out into the wilderness with a very limited amount of equipment to simply survive as long as possible in extreme conditions. They are isolated from other humans the entire time and, when the time comes, they either tap out of the competition themselves or get medically pulled out. There is also the show Naked and Afraid on Discovery Channel. Do you all know this one? It follows people who are stripped down, dropped in the middle of nowhere, and must survive with literally nothing but a machete.
Part of me understands this draw to playing with survival, this rugged individualism and pushing oneself to the body’s limits. I can appreciate that sense of accomplishment that comes with completing a difficult and somewhat absurd physical task, like when I did my first triathlon in the middle of July in South Carolina, or when a Boy Scout does their treacherous time at Philmont Camp, or when a hiker completes the Appalachian Trail, or a spiritual seeker walks El Camino de Santiago. There is a sense of pride, accomplishment, that comes with seeing how much you can mentally and physically achieve.
However, part of me will never understand the draw to being completely alone, completely vulnerable to the elements, risking your actual life, while being filmed on national television. Being naked and afraid, alone, and susceptible to death in the wilderness was literally what happened to Adam and Eve when they were tricked by Satan; this was the actual consequence of the greatest cosmic sin to occur. So why are we going back there to those conditions when God got us out of that mess in the first place?
When God’s first gift to his people, other than their very creation, was giving them clothes and giving them the chance to have a family and live in community and giving them continued relationship with Himself.
With the reality of death now present for humanity, God offered his grace by offering them a way to still make a life. No need to be naked and afraid and alone, God said. It’s your independence that got you into this, and you definitely can’t get yourself out of it, so, give up the rugged individualism and give in to being dependent on me and lean into living with one another.
Our gospel passage today starts off somewhat like one of these survival shows. Jesus sends 70 of his followers out ahead of him into towns he hasn’t been, with no purse, no bag, no sandals, out like lambs into the midst of wolves. He hasn’t found an Airbnb for them or even given them a tent or made dinner arrangements at best local spots or even given them a camping stove.
But, but, unlike these reality shows, Jesus isn’t just sending them out into the unknown to figure it out themselves, to use their best rugged individualist efforts and survival skills; he is sending them out with a partner, two by two. He is sending them out with the spirit of God, their greatest tool and guide, who is already at work in the people and the places they are headed. He is sending them out, not to figure out how to make it with nothing, but to figure out how to make it with nothing but God and the hospitality of a stranger. This is no heroic effort of independence for the disciples, it’s the exact opposite; it’s Christ’s call to lean into the transformative gift of dependence of God and one another for the sake of the spreading of the good news of the kingdom.
This past Friday, we celebrated the 249th birthday of the United States of America. As happens every July 4th, we remember when the Second Continental Congress unanimously adopted the Declaration of Independence, thereby establishing this country and its complete separation from England, an autonomous state independent from the monarchy. Independence and autonomy in that context denote qualities of resistance and courage, and the annual celebration of Independence Day marks this significant historical event. And, every Independence Day, as I enjoy some watermelon by the pool and hear the fireworks booming off in the distance, I cannot help but reflect on how we as citizens of this country and we as followers of Christ must hold in balance our commemoration of independence and our call to complete dependence on God. How we as Americans are drawn to self-reliance, rugged individualism, and making it on our own strength like in the reality shows…yet we as Christians are part of a bigger story of being created, guided, and held by a force as old as time and strong enough to save the entire world.
As children of God, we have been grafted to God and made members of the corporate body of Christ and this is our baseline reality. Because, since the very first day of creation and that very first act of grace in the garden, God has given us the gift of relationship, the gift of himself, the gift of each other, and I am continually convinced that some of the most powerful words Christ ever said to his disciples were “I will be with you always until the end of time” and that the most powerful reminder we can give each other is that we are never alone.
No matter what the world tells us and what the TV series show us, we cannot survive on independence alone. We need God and we need each other. Sometimes this reality hits us suddenly and harshly. We are struck with an illness or a tragedy. Our income source runs out, a tree falls on our house, our car breaks down. Sometimes it’s a slow burn, a steady aging of our body or a growing burden of childcare. But at some point, something has or will rip the rug out from under us and ways that we thought we were perfectly self-sufficient suddenly become instable and our sense of autonomy is shaken, and we are faced with the reality that we cannot do this by ourselves.
And when reality hits us, we are met with the grace that we don’t have to. Like the 70 disciples sent out empty-handed yet fed, housed, and sustained by the kindness of strangers; given no training or direction but guided by the spirit of God every step of the way; who left with nothing but returned to Jesus with a bucket full of joy. Like the newlywed couple in Shockoe Bottom who lost their housing and all their possessions to a fire but have been supported by hundreds of random neighbors in town; like the family of the local 13-year-old rising basketball star whose sudden death left them crippled with grief yet have been carried by the prayers of thousands of people.
When in times of joy or times of trial, we aren’t alone. God is with us, supporting us, whether we can sense it or not. When in celebration or in sorrow, we don’t have to do it alone, and we definitely don’t have to do it naked and afraid on television. Someone in our community is ready and willing to journey with you. And as our culture still wrestles with the notion that we should declare our independence as some sign of personal strength, we are reminded of Christ’s call to complete dependence on God alone and we are reminded that God’s oldest and greatest grace to us is the gift of needing one another. Amen.
The Rev. Kilpy SInger