“Mission: Neither Our Cause nor Our Achievement”

Luke 10:1-12

Jesus chose seventy of his followers (or seventy-two, if some older Greek manuscripts are followed) to go out two by two and heal the sick wherever they found them and then tell folks that the Kingdom of God was at hand. Display the power of the Gospel first, and then talk about it. Recruit some help along the way because there aren’t nearly enough of you to bring in the harvest of lost souls in the world. Accept whatever hospitality is offered you after pronouncing a blessing of peace on whatever house you’re in. Eat what is set before you even if you believe it to be unclean. Where you’re not welcomed simply walk away. The Gospel cannot be forced upon anyone.

As you go on your way, or more appropriately as you follow in The Way of the cross, don’t take any money or possessions. Travel light. Don’t allow yourself to be slowed down by stuff. Trust God to meet your needs. And by the way, the roads you will be walking will be dangerous. You’re going to be like lambs walking in and among packs of wolves. Don’t be afraid; your travels and tasks are fully authorized by the Lord God himself.

I can’t help wondering how our newly ordained and installed elders and deacons would feel if they had been commissioned this morning to go out two by two, with no money or luggage, into a hostile world to heal the sick and proclaim the Gospel. Maybe this church leadership business wouldn’t look so attractive.

Well have I got news for those new elders and deacons; that is exactly what you have been commissioned to do. Not because you’ve been elected, ordained, and installed to positions of leadership in the church, but because once upon a time you decided to follow Jesus. And you’re in good company. Each and every professing Christian gathered here today has accepted our Lord’s urgent call to discipleship. Sometimes answering that call involves going places we’d rather not go, facing hostility we’d rather not face, enduring poverty we’d rather not endure, and never having enough help.

The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Millions are quite literally dying to hear the Gospel: from us. Millions are in need of the healing touch of Jesus: from us. Millions are frantically seeking that peace beyond understanding that can only be found in Jesus: from us.

Today as we affirmed our faith we affirmed the following: “We believe that God sends us to tell all nations that Christ calls everyone to repentance, faith, and obedience.” That’s our commission: to tell all nations and call upon everyone. “We are to proclaim by word and deed that Christ gave himself to set people free from sin and self-hatred, from ignorance and disease, from all forms of oppression, and even from death. We are to offer them in Christ’s name fullness of life now and forever.” In the name of Jesus we are to offer everyone around us an abundant life that can be found only in Christ. Not in our name. Not in the church’s name. In the name of Jesus. It is his cause to which we have been called. It is his power and authority that enable us to answer that call. If there is anything achieved along the way, it is the Lord’s achievement not ours.

“We must not distort the gospel by weakening its promises or demands, by identifying it with oppressive structures, by pointing to ourselves instead of Christ.” The Gospel promises much. It also demands much: self-sacrifice, holiness, and righteousness; a willingness to forgive and be forgiven; turning the other cheek, going the extra mile, loving the unlovable, and welcoming those deemed by society to be unacceptable; the promotion of liberty and justice for all. On this anniversary of our nation’s Declaration of Independence we must truly pray for a right patriotism that seeks this – and every – nation’s good. As ambassadors of Christ we must never pray for God to bless America and America only.

“We must not restrict our proclamation to persons just like ourselves. We invite people everywhere to believe in Christ and become his followers.” The number of seventy, or seventy-two, in today’s text is symbolic. The Hebrews of that time believed that there were seventy, or seventy-two, nations on earth. Jesus was sending his disciples out to all nations, including those that were home to Gentiles. His Gospel was universal: for all people everywhere. Some have dubbed this passage the Book of Acts in miniature. That’s not a coincidence. Luke was the author of the Gospel in which this text is found and the Book of Acts which describes the spreading of the Gospel to the world. When Jesus told his disciples to eat what was set before them he was giving a preview of Peter’s dream in Acts 10 about eating whatever God declared to be clean. What a blessing that is to those of us who love shrimp, crab, lobster, bacon, and pork chops!

The issue, of course, goes much deeper than what’s on the menu of a particular family or culture. Those Jewish disciples of Jesus had been raised to believe that many things and many people were unclean – no good – despicable – hell-bound. Jesus made it very clear that being clean or unclean had nothing to do with the external realities of race, tribe, culture, or diet. Cleanliness – or holiness- is a matter of the heart, soul, and mind, a matter of behavior and attitude. Cleanliness – or holiness – is about loving God with the very best of who we are and what we have and loving our neighbors as ourselves. It’s about our willingness to seek the lost sheep and welcome home the prodigal. Ultimately it’s about faithfully following Jesus into whatever places and situations he leads us even if those places are unfamiliar, discomforting, or dangerous, even if those situations involve a cross.

“The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few… I am sending you out like lambs in the midst of wolves… cure the sick who are there, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you’.” “We believe that God sends us to tell all nations that Christ calls everyone to repentance, faith, and obedience.” Amen.