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How many of you have ever gone camping? What did you take with you when you went?

There are two kinds of camping. There's survival camping. That's when you go out with just a minimum of gear and use your wits and skills to survive in nature. You hike around using your compass and stars to find your way. You eat whatever you catch, build a fire from sticks, sleep on the ground. And then there's what my dad used to call "roughing it". We would pack up our pots and pans, enough food and clothes to last a week, lawn chairs, camp tables, air mattresses, bicycles, barbecue grills, flash lights. We'd drive a few miles up the road to a campsite with running water in a giant camper trailer. We'd cook on gas stoves and watch a little TV. (It's kind of like "extended tailgating" before a Carolina or Clemson game.)

Now the interesting thing is that we knew we're taking too much stuff. We knew that we really didn't need all the stuff we were taking just to spend a few nights up on Billy Dreher Island. But we didn't know any other way of living – we are addicted to our stuff. So when we thought about what it must be like to go camping, we just kind of imagined something similar to what we had, only less convenient – like listening to the radio instead of watching TV. And so our stuff came between us the relationship we wanted with nature.

In today's readings, we hear two stories about stuff. The first is the story of Naaman, a general from the nation of Aram, or what we call Syria today. Now I have to confess that I have a special place in my heart for Naaman for two reasons. One is that he is a kinsman – my grandparents immigrated to this country from Syria. The second is that he has a skin disease. It's called leprosy in the Bible, but that could mean anything, even the severe form of acne that I had when I was a boy. And it is because of this skin disease that Naaman learns of Elisha, a prophet who lives in Israel who might be able to heal him. So Naaman goes to Israel to find Elisha. Now Naaman didn't believe in traveling light. He is a proud general, who leads a mighty army. So he takes all his stuff – his horses, chariots, soldiers and servants, silver, gold and fine clothing. He takes with him all of the symbols of authority that he has as a great general, and he travels to see Elisha, a simple prophet, who lives in a hut near the Jordan river. Can you imagine that scene? The difference in status and authority had to be incredible. But in spite of the difference in their status, Elisha doesn't even meet Naaman in person. Instead he sends his messenger out to tell him to just go wash in the river seven times, and he will be healed. Naaman is outraged. Doesn't he know who he is? Just look at all the stuff he brought with him! Surely, he deserved to be treated with more respect than this. At the very least, Elisha should come out and "do something holy" – maybe wave his arms and pray a long prayer to God to heal him. But after a while, he goes to the Jordan river, and he washed just as Elisha told him to, and he was healed.

The second story is about Jesus sending out 70 messengers ahead of him to the towns he planned to visit. He instructs these messengers not to take their stuff with them – just go into the town, stay where you are welcomed, eat whatever they put in front of you, and heal whoever you can. Don't take your bag, your pack, your purse, your sandals. You don't need your stuff. Just go out, in pairs, and heal and make a simple proclamation that the kingdom of God is near.

Talk about roughing it! Talk about pressure! No bible, no bicycle, no fancy robes or altar or giant cross. No symbols of authority, like this stole or collar. Just go out and tell people about the kingdom of God. Now THAT'S scary.

All of us use stuff to send messages about who we are. We look at stuff as symbols of power and authority. Maybe we buy a big house that says, "I'm rich," or a fancy car that says, "I'm hot" or "I'm cool," depending on how old you are. Maybe we wear a robe, like a judge, or a uniform, like a policeman, to symbolize our authority. Maybe we have a diploma on our wall or a medal on our chest that says "I have authority, listen to me."

But Elisha healed Naaman not because he had lots of stuff, and not because he had a diploma hanging on his wall. His authority to heal came from God. And the authority of the 70 to heal came not from the stuff they carried with them. It only came because they preached in Christ's name. Real authority, true authority, doesn't come from the symbols of office or trapping of power. True authority comes from relationship. It comes first from our relationship with God. True authority is co-authorship with God. And it comes from our relationship with other people.

So what does that mean to us?

A teacher will tell you that the most important thing to remember about teaching is to be authentic. Kids have an amazing ability to spot someone who's trying to impress them. At the same time, they will sit and listen for hours to someone who's earned their trust and respect. Authority comes from relationship.

One of the most challenging things to do in life is to stand up and simply say what you believe. And yet that is exactly what the 70 were called to do; they were called to go out and witness. And that is what we are called to do. We are the 70. We are called to set aside all of the stuff that gets in the way of our relationship with God and with other people. We are called to speak simply and honestly about what we believe.

Churches grow when members reach out and invite their family, friends and neighbors to join them in church. They grow out of of our relationship with God, which we in turn share with others. Churches grow, not because of their stuff – their organ and choir, the design of their buildings, or the cleverness of their preacher. They grow because people simply invite other people to come with them.

That's very intimidating. After all, if we ask people to come to church with us, what might they say? They might say No. Or worse, they might think we're religious kooks. But the fact of the matter is that most people will respect us when we speak simply about what we believe, and invite them to participate with us.

Over the coming week, I'd like us to consider setting aside our stuff, and having a conversation with someone we know. It can be a family member or a coworker or a friend. Be confident that we speak with the authority that comes from Christ living inside of us, and God's desire to live inside each and every one of us.

In honor of Independence Day, I'd like to leave you with another thought. This week, there was a news story about the Declaration of Independence. It seems that new technology has revealed that Thomas Jefferson originally used the word "subjects" before he reconsidered and changed it to "citizens." But it turns out that that was not the only change he made. 234 years ago, he also wrote that our citizens possessed the God-given rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Now the interesting thing is that he took this idea from John Locke, a philosopher who write about life, liberty and the pursuit of property. Jefferson changed "the pursuit of property", of stuff, to the pursuit of happiness. Since that time we have become a very rich and powerful nation indeed. May we always remember that the power and authority of our nation comes from God. And may we always use that power and authority not to pursue more property, more stuff, but to serve all those who seek these same basic human rights, both here and around the world.

Thanks be to God.

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