Sermon on our experience at the 2015 ELCA Youth Gathering in Detroit – Mark 16:1-8
“The Beginning of the Good News of Jesus Christ.” That’s the way the Gospel of Mark begins. He announces to us the Good News he’s about to tell us. Strange, then, that the Gospel ends on such a down note. For that’s what we read as our Gospel lesson today; the very end of the book. Jesus performs miracles and teaches great things, he is betrayed and crucified, and there’s an empty tomb, and— And they said nothing to anybody, because they were afraid.
What exactly is the message Mark wants us to hear from this? Where does this Good News of Jesus Christ take us? Off a cliff, it seems. They said nothing to anybody, because they were afraid.
At least the women are there at the tomb, though. Jesus’ disciples don’t seem to be anywhere around. In fact, for the entirety of Chapter 15, the whole narrative of Jesus’ trial and crucifixion, the disciples are never mentioned. Are these the examples of faith we have to follow? Absent disciples and fearful women?
If I’m honest, when they announced we were headed to Detroit of all places for this year’s ELCA Youth Gathering, I was pretty fearful myself. Oh, I never said so. I put on a nice smile for parents to see, and read aloud the literature about security in the city during the gathering, but secretly, I thought about my family, living in the suburbs of Detroit. About my cousin, who was addicted to everything by age 14, when his parents found him half dead in a crack house downtown. I prayed that God would keep our kids safe. I prayed that the ELCA wasn’t making a mistake. Now, if I were seriously concerned, I wouldn’t have taken our kids to Detroit, so I clearly decided it would be okay. But I did worry.
I want to follow Jesus. But I want to follow Him somewhere safe. And instead, Jesus was taking us to Detroit. And I didn’t really want to go. I’m afraid, for this trip, that the teenagers were leading, and I was following. A weird place for someone working in youth ministry to be in.
But where did they lead? Where did Jesus take us? Let’s hear what they have to say.
Katherine L:
The city of Detroit is much different than Boston, Providence, or Hartford. While Detroit does have beautiful buildings with incredible architecture, there was still something missing: The people. Walking around the city, you do not see nearly as many business professionals as you would if you were in Boston. The streets were fairly quiet, mostly being occupied by the homeless. One day after lunch, our group stopped to talk about what we had done in the morning, and we gathered on a section of sidewalk in the city. For the hour or so we were there, only about three people walked by.
However, while spending time in Detroit, we did see many construction workers and work zones, as they are trying to rebuild their city and make it great again. Some of these workers were in the process of laying tracks for a public transportation system, while others were fixing buildings that were in disrepair.
In spite of Detroit being empty, having high crime levels, and being an overall run-down city, like Boston, when there is a baseball game, people will come. One evening while we were headed to Ford Field for our mass gathering, Tigers fans were pouring into Comerica Park right across the street to support their team. As much as Detroit is a hurting city, it is a city in the process of rebuilding.
Kaylie S and Alyssa P:
Pastor Aaron made reservations at Colors, a restaurant that trains young Detroit residents to pursue a career in hospitality or the food service industry. The restaurant provides jobs to unemployed members of the community and equips them with the life skills and work experience necessary to prepare them for their careers. The trainees have ten weeks of instruction, during which they are taught bartending and waiting tables, and learn the importance of great customer service. When we arrive, the hostess led us to our seats and the waitress began serving our drinks. She checked in with us regularly and made sure we were accommodated at all times. As we sat chatting over our drinks, the cooks were adding the finishing touches to the food before putting the prepared dishes on a buffet table. We were then invited to get up and serve ourselves. The food was delicious, and the service was friendly. As we left, we thanked the chefs and wait staff for such a wonderful experience, and they, in turn, expressed their gratitude for the opportunity to serve us. It was an amazing feeling to know that our lunch was more than just a lunch. Our choice to eat at Colors not only opened our own eyes, but it helped contribute to giving young adults living in Detroit a future to work toward.
Sarah C:
I’m going to start off by saying that Detroit was by far the best experience I’ve had in my entire life. Nothing has impacted my faith in God more than going on this trip. There were so many different things that we got to do, like being able to go to the Cobo Center. The day we spent there was great. The room we went to was huge, filled with all sorts of games and fun. It was a great chance to meet people from different congregations. I even remember a boy walking around there, holding a sign saying, “Hugs from Alaska,” and I remember thinking how peculiar it was, but then realizing later that hugging complete strangers was a normal thing to do there! Throughout all of the trip, I can’t even tell you how many hugs I got or high fives from complete strangers—all of us having at least one thing in common: The God we love. Also in the Cobo Center, we spent part of a day in this ginormous room that has so many things to do, you couldn’t even count them if you tried. I remember most distinctly when Autumn and I carried a huge jug of water throughout a whole obstacle course. This gave us the slightest taste of what it’s like for women in Africa to walk every day in order to have enough water to complete daily tasks. It really showed us just how lucky we are to have running water. We even met a guy who was absolutely determined to do the obstacle course as many times as to equal what the women in Africa do daily. By the end he was huffing and puffing, and sweating, which made me realize how much work the women actually do. Detroit was an experience of a lifetime, something that I’m never going to forget.
Hannah F:
Every night in Detroit, we had a gathering at Ford Field, the stadium where the Detroit Tigers play. All 30,000 people participating in the youth event were there. It was amazing. There were 30,000 people, singing together, praying together, and there was an inexplicable connection everyone in the stadium had with each other. I remember two nights before we left, we were able to sit in the section of the seats on the floor of the stadium, right near the stage. They started playing a slow song, and we joined the many people who were making their way to the back of the stadium. Then, everyone stood in one long line and put their arms around each other’s shoulders. The amazing part of this was the fact that none of us knew each other. These people were strangers, yet we felt comfortable around them. After the song ended, everyone in the line held the hand of the person next to them. Here we were, a bunch of strangers, holding hands. It’s hard to explain the sense of belonging I felt amongst these people that I had never seen before in my life. It was almost as though we were all friends, even though none of us had ever met. Because we shared the same beliefs, we also shared a special connection. Through our faith, we shared a bond like no other.
On our last day, we had a service at Ford Field before everyone left. There was more music and more praying. The sound of 30,000 voices all singing the same song, all praying the same prayer, was unbelievable. I don’t know how to describe that sound. The sound of an entire stadium singing and speaking in unison. I felt that sense of belonging I had felt two nights before. The sense that all of us were connected. The sense that, although I only knew the group of people I was there with, I knew everybody. I don’t think I’m going to have another experience like that for a long time.
Tom L and Joe L:
While we were in Detroit, one of the days was dedicated to service. The physical appearance of Detroit was not very appealing but with the help of the youth and adults from the gathering we were able to clean up 100 blocks of residence there. Our task was to clean a back alley way. When we arrived at the location, we were greeted by red, hot, sweaty Lutherans all with smiles on their faces. The alley we were assigned to clean up was overgrown with weeds and plants, it was covered by trash and soaked with dirty water. It seemed daunting at first but as we got into it and met the other youth we were working with progress seemed to be easy. We had people cutting, raking, sweeping, and hauling debris from the alley way. When we finished we were astounded by the progress we made and thankful for each other’s help. The citizens of Detroit were gracious for our efforts. This service project helped to show the physical work God can enable through the hands of his followers. It was a meaningful experience that was more than yard work.
Jenn R.:
My biggest takeaway from Detroit 2015 was realizing that it’s great to be a Christian teen. It’s okay to practice your faith. When we were in Detroit we saw thousands of Lutherans, specifically teens, who loved to practice their faith. It was inspiring. Also when we were in Detroit, I was able to grow closer to the Immanuel kids and get to know them better.
Pastor Aaron:
Mark’s Gospel isn’t about a really great man who did a lot of wonderful things. It’s about the Son of God Himself. It’s about an active, living faith, lived out courageously in a sometimes-frightening world. It’s about following Jesus, wherever he may lead.
And he led us to Detroit. A city with a homelessness problem. A city with a racism problem. A city with a poverty problem. And a city where, for just a few days, 30,000 Christians showed up to proclaim that the Good News of Jesus Christ has the power to end poverty, to end homelessness, to end racism, to end all of the destructive things that people can do to one another and our world.
The fearful women at the tomb, the absent disciples at the cross, they all treat the crucifixion as if it were the end of everything. But Mark says that this is only “The Beginning of the Good News of Jesus Christ.” And it’s true! The death and resurrection of Jesus is just the beginning. The Good News continues today. It can be seen in the transformation that teenagers—people most of us would discount as “just children”—brought to 100 city blocks of the worst poverty I’ve ever seen. In the way they celebrated and lifted up the gifts of unemployed women and men as they learned to serve a restaurant. In the way they searched out the passions God planted in their hearts in a colossal exhibit hall full of the church’s work across the world. In they way 30,000 of them gathered together in one place at one time to proclaim God’s love for even this abandoned corner of the world.
The Good News did not come to an end with the last words of Mark. Jesus Christ is alive and well today. This summer, He called us to Detroit. Where is He calling you today? Amen.