The Ascension and You

As Jesus approached the cross, he prayed, “So now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had in your presence before the world existed.” (John 17:5 NRSV)

The ascension of Jesus signaled the successful end of his earthly ministry, the return of his heavenly glory, his exaltation by the Father, the beginning of his new work as high priest and mediator of the new covenant, and it allowed him to prepare a place for us.

The Ascension was not a retirement, it was the beginning of a new job and glorified job description. He had finished his task of dying for the salvation of the world (John 19:30) and began living for believers as our intercessor and advocate. When he ascended to the throne of God and sat at the right hand of the Father, his kingly ministry for us began.

According to T.F. Torrance, four verbs are employed in the New Testament that speak of the ascension of Christ. All four of these words speak of the role of Jesus being the king, priest, and prophet.

anabainein, to go up or ascend.
kathizein, to sit down.
analambanein, to take up.
hupsoun, to exalt.

Anabaino – to go up, to ascend – is used in the Old Testament and speaks of the ascent of Moses of Mount Sinai, when he ascends to speak to the Lord. It was also used when referring to the high priest going into the holy of holies. Additionally, it was used when referring to the offering of sacrifices. When used to describe Christ’s ascension, it speaks to the ascent of the king to his enthronement as the king of glory; to the ascent to the temple or the presence of God for priestly service, and of the ascent of God as the whole burnt offering – or prayer.

In these ways the term ascension is essentially concerned with the royal priesthood of the crucified, risen, and ascended Christ, a priesthood exercised from the right hand of divine power. (Atonement, p. 267)

Kathizo – to sit – reminds us of the mercy seat in the heart of the holy of holies. The priests were not to sit, but our great high priest sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:2) Here he rules as the messianic king who dispenses divine mercy and peace.

Analambano – to take up – refers to the lifting up of our hearts in prayer. It’s only use in the New Testament is in Luke 9:51, where it is often translated “receiving up,” and refers to the death of our Lord. Torrance says the indication here is that the ascension of Christ began with his being lifted up on the cross.

Hupsoo – to lift up – refers to Jesus’ exaltation from humiliation to glory. Again, this points to a connection between the crucifixion, the resurrection, and the ascension. The exalted one is no longer bound by human restraints and self-limitations, but is clothed with power from on high (Luke 24:49). Note, that Jesus tells the disciples that we will be clothed in the same way.

Questions for reflection:

How does the idea of Jesus being the “whole burnt offering” change your view of your relationship to God?
What does it mean that Jesus is the perfect sacrifice? (Hebrews 9:23-10:18)
What does it mean for you and me that Jesus is sitting on the seat of mercy?
In what ways do you see a connection between the ascension and the crucifixion and resurrection of our Lord?

Torrance sums it up like this:

The ascension of Christ in this sense is his exaltation to glory and power but through the cross, certainly an exaltation from humiliation to royal majesty, but through crucifixion and sacrifice. For the power and glory of the royal priest is bound up with his self-sacrifice in death and resurrection. (Atonement, p. 270)

David prophesied about the exaltation of Christ in his messianic psalm, saying, “The Lord says to my Lord, ‘Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool.” (Psalm 110:1)

The ascension was the beginning of a new ministry for our Lord. He finished the task of dying for the world and offered salvation to all who believe. He now lives as our intercessor and advocate – our high priest. The ascension has a powerful impact on the life of all believers. Here are just a few things the ascension brought for us.

The blessing of a mediator, advocate, Savior, and friend who sits at the right hand of the Father – (1 Timothy 2, Hebrews 4, 1 John 2, John 15).
The sending of the Holy Spirit – we will celebrate this at Pentecost and live in this reality year-round – (Acts 2, John 14-17, 1 Corinthians 6).
The giving of spiritual gifts – as he sits on the mercy seat, he imparts gifts to us through the Holy Spirit – (Ephesians 4, Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12).
The indwelling of the Holy Spirit and imparting us with spiritual power – (Luke 24, Ephesians 1, Romans 12)
The preparation of our heavenly home – he reminded us that the Father has many rooms – (John 14:3).
The promise of salvation, justification, sanctification – (Ephesians 2, Romans 8).

As we look forward to Pentecost, I encourage you to reflect on these blessings of the Ascension. They give us cause for praise, and they point to our participating with Jesus in his work of bringing many sons and daughters to glory. Focusing on the Ascension enables us to better celebrate Pentecost and look forward to the season of Ordinary Time.

Rick Shallenberger
Editor

“Homeless No More”

Pentecost reminds us of our true identity as the children of God and brought us into a new community as the body of Christ.

By Bill Hall, National Director, Canada

Recently, I had the opportunity to attend the Saskatchewan Homelessness Conference. For two days I listened to presenters talking about the causes of homelessness and what is being done to address the plague of homelessness.

I was again reminded that homelessness is the symptom of many issues. That any one of us could find ourselves in the same situation given our life circumstance. Or as one speaker said, “When life life’s us.” Many times, addictions cause homelessness. Yet, there is always something behind those addictions. People don’t just wake up some morning and say, “Hey, I want to be addicted to drugs or alcohol.” Their addictions are a way of coping with the times when “Life life’s us.”

But what are some of the solutions? Time, and time again, I heard the mantra of reclaiming one’s “identity” and the importance of “community.” In a first nation’s context, this means trying to keep people in their smaller isolated communities, instead of having them become lost in a larger urban centre, away from their family support systems.

During that conference I heard the terms of “identity” and “community” in relation to those who find themselves homeless, but these are things all humans deal with.

For those of us who are versed in God’s written word, the theme of identity and community fill the pages of the Old Testament, starting with the story of our first parents, Adam and Eve. Before “the fall,” Adam and Eve had a firm identity as the children of God, and community referred to humankind in relationship with the God who created them.

When they rejected that community or relationship, they also lost sight of their identity. Instead, they sought a different identity and community of their own making.

As God interacted with different individuals, such as Abraham and his descendants – ultimately the nation of Israel – we see time and time again that it was God’s desire to introduce them to a restored identity and community: “I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians” (Exodus 6:7 ESV).

As they say, the rest is history. Each time when “life life’d” these descendants of Abraham, they lost their bearings and connection with God. As a result, they fell out of the identity and community that God had intended for them (1 Kings 17).

Fast forward to the birth of that baby in the little town of Bethlehem, in the Roman occupied country of Judea. Although those living by then had reclaimed a semblance of their identity and community, there was still something lacking, ‘“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing’” (Matthew 23:37 NIV).

The religious leaders rejected Jesus’ message that a new kingdom had arrived and through his reconciling life, death and resurrection, a new identity and community was being offered. It was a fulfillment of prophecies such as those found in Jeremiah, “For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people” (Jeremiah 31:33 NSV).

While some thought the death of this troublemaking prophet or rabbi, who claimed to be God’s Son was the end—believing that “life life’d” even Jesus—something quite the opposite happened. Jesus conquered the grave and began to appear to his followers.

He then told them to gather in Jerusalem to wait for the Holy Spirit which would give them power to tell people about him everywhere (Acts 1:8).

It was on that momentous day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit entered the lives of those believers in that upper room, that something miraculous happened. Those initial believers and those who followed afterward, became part of a new community—the Church, the ekklesia. Their identity now was in Jesus.

As Paul mentions, “So, in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:26-28 NIV).

In other words, we are homeless no more.

Symbols of Pentecost

The Holy Spirit came as wind and fire, symbols that help us focus on God. Included in this article is a spiritual practice using one of these symbols.

By Justine Paolo G. Parcasio, Associate Pastor, Philippines

Pentecost is part of the Christian Worship (Liturgical) Calendar. This year, it is celebrated on May 28, 2023, and is a celebration that commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and other followers of Jesus Christ. It is celebrated on the seventh Sunday after Easter, which is 50 days after Easter Sunday. The name “Pentecost” comes from the Greek word pentekoste, which means “fiftieth.”

The celebration of Pentecost can also commemorate the birth of the church, as it was the day when the disciples followed Jesus’ instruction and gathered in the upper room in Jerusalem to await the coming of the Holy Spirit. Luke tells us of this remarkable event in Acts 2.

When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. Acts 2:1-4 ESV)

From this great outpouring, the believers were empowered to go out of the upper room and be witnesses of Jesus. It is interesting that churches find different liturgical ways to commemorate Pentecost, including the use of symbols. In the early days of the church and today, symbols play a big part in helping Christians to teach, preach, and to create a more meaningful celebration. God often uses symbols like those we read about in the above passage, to bring our attention back to him. The symbols give us new ways to think about God. There are several objects from the day of Pentecost that often symbolize the Holy Spirit.

Mighty rushing wind

In a conversation with Nicodemus, Jesus said, “The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit” (John 3:8 ESV). Jesus referred to the Holy Spirit as like a wind. The symbol of wind can remind us of the movement and the power of the Holy Spirit, we may not see him, but we know that he is working and that we can experience him.

When we speak about the Holy Spirit, we also speak about the breath of God, breathing in us. Jesus breathed on the disciples and told them to receive the Holy Spirit. The Greek word for “spirit” is pneuma, which means “breath.”

Tongues of fire

Fire is another symbol that remind us of the Holy Spirit. Not only that God made himself evident through “tongues of fire” on the day of Pentecost, but we are also reminded of God as the “consuming fire” (Hebrews 12:29 ESV). The fire that appeared and rested on each of the believers symbolized the Holy Spirit that empowers many. The Holy Spirit spreads like a fire, covering all believers.

Dove

Though a dove is not specifically mentioned in Acts, all four gospel writers refer to the Holy Spirit coming as a dove. Doves remind us of new beginnings – recall Noah sent a dove from the ark to find new life. Doves also represent peace, reconciliation, and unity. Many churches will include an image of a dove in their worship service.

As we celebrate Pentecost, let us take this opportunity to teach, preach, and make the celebration meaningful by thinking of creative practices our local churches can use in our worship services. One of which is the use of liturgical symbolisms. Some churches would use these symbols to decorate their worship halls. Some churches would have their team use red as a theme color. Red symbolizes the Holy Spirit’s fire.

The spiritual practice of breath prayer

There is an ancient spiritual practice called “Breath Prayer.” This spiritual practice can be used to position ourselves to focus on the wind/breath of the Holy Spirit in us. Here is a simple prayer guide that we can use:

Find your comfortable position, sit back, and relax.
Close your eyes.
Start breathing in (inhale) and breathing out (exhale) for a few times.
As you are in the rhythm of breathing, you might integrate these phrases:
- “Breathe on me, Holy Spirit” (Inhale)
- “Holy Spirit, Breathe on Me” (exhale)
Continue for as long as feels comfortable and meaningful for you.
End your breath prayer with thanksgiving to the Lord.

You may want to choose other phrases that feel prayerful to you. Most breath prayers are six to eight syllables and fit easily into one inhale and exhale.

This spiritual practice is just one of many forms of prayer that we can do that reminds us of the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, the breath of life.

Have a Spirit-filled celebration of Pentecost.

The Gift of “Gotchas”

The importance of debriefing after a Love Avenue event.

By Ceeja Malmkar, Love Avenue Champion, Grace Communion Surrey Hills, OK

I’ve enjoyed event planning for as long as I can remember. As Jesus drew me back into church and ministry, that passion never changed. In fact, it opened a whole new world of ministry for all of us in a little church in Oklahoma.

As a Pioneer/Connecter, I love to bring people together, and I love to think outside the box. I have been blessed with an amazing Love Avenue team who are diverse, unique, and full of passion. What started as a neighborhood camp and a water balloon battle has flourished into six big events we plan throughout the year (one every other month). I cannot begin to explain how wonderful it has been to have found a healthy rhythm of events/outreaches that work in our target neighborhood. Once we found the events that worked, we were able to continue to build on them and make them better each year. We do this through our tradition of debriefing after each event.

There’s a common understanding that once you do something, it’s always easier the next time you do it. While this may be true as we become more comfortable and confident in our ability to actually execute a repeat event, it does not mean the event will automatically grow in quality or attendance.

Chances are, you have heard some form of the saying “Those who cannot remember the past, are doomed to repeat it.” This is why debriefing after any outreach, mission, or event is vital. I’m 38 years old, and my husband likes to say that I have a “steel trap” when it comes to memory. While his confidence in my brain power is flattering, I can’t remember what I did last week most of the time. I have learned that this is true for most people, regardless of age. I live my life always utilizing a planner and lots of notes.

I’m currently knee-deep in planning our neighborhood camp. This is our 4th in person neighborhood camp, and we still have much to learn. Every year, we make major changes based on the experience of campers, staff, and leadership the year before. Debriefing after any outreach is key to opening ourselves up to hear all the things that God did during the event, and how we can more effectively participate with him in loving others well. Debriefing allows us to hear all the voices on our teams. I’ve come to see that diversity is the most beautiful thing about unity, and every voice on our teams is important. Debriefing allows those voices to be heard and helps us flourish in our planning. We are truly better together.

It was a few years ago when my friend, Nikki Payne, helped me understand that “debriefing” is celebrating all the positives, and then working together to find the “gotchas.” I absolutely fell in love with that term because it makes everything less personal and more positive. When we are debriefing (finding the gotchas), it’s important that we create space for everyone to be open and honest without the leadership feeling personally attacked.

I believe we should always start with recognizing and celebrating all the heart and work that goes into planning and executing an event. After celebrating all the wonderful things, it’s just as important to come together and ask the team, “What were the gotchas?” There is no such thing as a “perfect” event or neighborhood engagement. We are always learning and growing. After years of doing some of the same events, we find new “gotchas” each and every time, and it is exciting to be able to find creative solutions together.

The gift of “gotchas” is simply that—a gift. It’s a gift to be able to work together alongside our amazingly loving and relational God. It’s a gift to be able to celebrate our participation with him while also relishing in relationship with one another. That’s the beauty of being team-based. As a team, we all want to reach out to love and serve our neighbors the best way we can. We are always better together.

I highly encourage everyone to utilize the gift of “gotchas” by always debriefing after an event or outreach. Every volunteer has unique experiences that we need to hear about, enabling our future events to have an even bigger and better impact for both the people we serve as well as those of us serving. If done with respect, honesty, and love, debriefing gives us the opportunity to reflect on our ministry engagements together and provides clarity on how we move forward.

There will be debriefs where discoveries are made that changes our course of ministry events. Sometimes we are led to make changes, and sometimes we may need to rethink an entire event. Regardless of what details and revelations your debrief brings, it will certainly always bring a sense of clarity in the direction we are moving.

Lastly, it’s important to know when to debrief. You want to bring your team together as soon as possible after an engagement event. Much of the time, this may be the same day, or the weekend following the event. In my experience, I have found that it is often during an event that people will come to me with suggestions or “gotchas.” I have learned that in those instances, to always respond with a “please write that down and bring it to our debrief meeting?” I cannot tell you how many times I thought I would do something different next time but forgot to write it down and ended up duplicating my flaws over again.

Debriefing allows for so many things to happen in our ministry teams. It allows us to examine and analyze through the lens of loving others well. It allows us to support one another, and it brings our teams together. It allows us to take a step back and reevaluate the “how” and the “why” we do things as a church family. It is indeed the final step to any event or outreach, and it is just as important as planning the event itself. We are better together. Let’s relish in that while we embrace the “gift of gotchas” known as debriefing. 😊

Church Hack: Planning & Budgeting

This month’s Church Hack demonstrates the importance of developing an annual church calendar and budget to ensure that the congregation’s resources, time, and money are being invested in alignment with the church’s mission and values.

Follow this link to read the full Church Hack:

2023-CH4-Planning-Budgeting.pdf (gci.org)

Process of Development: Engage

By Cara Garrity, Development Coordinator

As previously mentioned, the 4 Es – engage, equip, empower, encourage – provide an intentional process to guide the development of the priesthood of all believers for participation in Jesus’ ministry.

So where do we start? Engage is the first of the 4 Es for a reason. The process of development begins where all good things begin – in relationship. Engage is all about relationship. Through purposeful engagement with one another, we grow in Christ-centered relationships and community. It is within such relationships that we begin to recognize what God is doing in the life of another. We see that God has given one person a gift of teaching, another with hospitality, and another still with a missional mindset. We see that the Spirit is urging one person to volunteer with the youth ministry, another to pass the baton to facilitate the connect group they started, and another still to build friendships with their neighbors.

When we first recognize in relationship what God is up to in the life of another, we can recruit for ministry participation in a more meaningful way. We are more likely to recruit team members, volunteers, mentees, and new leaders who are gifted for an area of ministry rather than recruiting simply out of need. This honors the body of Christ that is made up of many parts.

The Spheres of Participation tool is designed to provoke thought about who we engage in the church community and how. If we believe in a priesthood of all believers, then development for ministry participation is meant for the whole community. It is not reserved only for those who aspire to leadership, have ministry experience, have served for years, or have been long-time members.

Church leaders, I encourage you and your leadership team to use the Spheres of Participation tool to discern what engagement can look like in your church. Consider questions such as:

What would it look like for everyone in the local church community to be engaged?
How can we foster recruitment in the context of recognition in relationship?
What impact would this have?
What shifts would current leaders have to make to achieve this?
How can you discern with your volunteers and leaders whether their current area of ministry participation is a “good fit”?
How will new members of the church community be engaged and invited into meaningful ministry participation?

They ARE the Church

The “church” includes all – Jew and Gentile, slave and free, male and female, children, teens, and adults.

At the end of this month, we will celebrate Pentecost, the day the church was born. Luke describes the event in Acts 2:

When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. (Acts 21-6 NIV)

Amazing! What a miraculous way for the church to begin! What a vivid image! For a moment, I want you to try to imagine the scene. As you replay this miraculous event in your mind, are children and youth part of your mental movie? If you are anything like me, for most of my life, the answer was no. When I thought about the church, I had adults in mind. Maybe children could grow up to be members of the church someday.

Sadly, I had this flawed view throughout the 10 or so years I served as a youth minister. It was not until I was a new pastor that the Spirit led me to repent. I was shepherding the GCI congregation in Waltham, MA, and we were overhauling the children and youth ministry. We had ministers, parents, and young people gathered together to talk about the best way for us to disciple our youth. The young people were doing most of the talking, and the adults were listening and asking questions. One of the things that struck me was the extent to which the young people wanted us to create spaces where they could invite their friends. In other words, the youth wanted the adults to help them evangelize their friends in a relational way. Amazing! Many adult Christians struggle to understand mission, yet those young people intuitively understood it. It was then that I began to understand that our young people are not becoming the church; they ARE the church.

I believe “the church” is the collective term for those who, by the Spirit, know and worship Christ, bear witness to the present reality of the kingdom in words and demonstrations, and participate in Christ’s work to reconcile all relationships to the glory of the Father. I ask you to read this definition slowly — phrase by phrase. Now, think about the extent to which you are equipping your young people to be active members of the church now. Teaching about God and the stories of the Bible are good things for us to do, however, knowledge is only useful if it can be used to fulfill the purpose of the church. And it is never too early to start helping children be the church.

In Waltham, I learned that we had to restructure the way we approached discipleship if we wanted to treat children and youth as valuable members of the church. This article may cause you to reach the same conclusion. Unfortunately, I cannot give you three easy steps to get started. Every situation is unique. However, I can tell you a couple of things that helped me.

First, I used the definition of the church to guide a prayerful study of how Jesus equipped his disciples and how the emerging church “lived out” Christ’s teaching. Second, I talked to my young people and asked them how they wanted to be spiritually formed. What came next was not perfect, just like what we did to disciple adults was not perfect. Yet, it was a big step forward because our young people saw that they were valued.

As we celebrate Pentecost, let us change our mental movie to include the younger members of the church. They, too, are included.

Dishon Mills
Generations Ministry Coordinator

Gospel Reverb – The Way of the Triune God w/ Myk Habets

Worship Calendar w/ Michelle Fleming

Sermon for June 4, 2023 – Trinity Sunday

Psalm 8:1-9 • Genesis 1:1-2:4a • 2 Corinthians 13:11-13 • Matthew 28:16-20

This week’s theme is beginning and ending with the Trinity. The call to worship Psalm points to the majesty of the Triune God’s glory declared in creation along with the exalted status of humans within it. The Old Testament reading revisits the classic creation account where God speaks into existence a cosmos of orderly and fruitful relationships. The epistolary text from 2 Corinthians is Paul’s farewell pronouncement in the Triune name of God. The Gospel reading from Matthew is also the conclusion of the book where Jesus commissions his disciples to make disciples in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

In The Name of The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit

Matthew 28:16-20 (ESV)

Today is Trinity Sunday and for our text we have the classic conclusion to Matthew’s Gospel where we are given the Great Commission by Jesus. So, we may want to ask ourselves today, what does the doctrine of the Trinity have to do with mission? To be sure, it’s not really the doctrine of the Trinity that we are concerned with. It is the very being of God who has revealed himself as Father, Son, Spirit, that is of upmost importance, not only for our understanding of mission, but to everything else in our lives. The text for today may be a great opportunity to explore the significance that comes with worshiping a God who has revealed himself to be triune.

Our entire text makes up the conclusion to Matthew’s Gospel. Let’s begin with verse 16.

Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. (Matthew 28:16 ESV)

Before we get started, it may be good to note that each writer of the Gospels chose a different way to end their account. Mark chose to focus on the empty tomb along with the fearful first witnesses. Luke concludes with the account of Jesus’ ascension, serving as a transition to his part-two book of Acts. John chooses to focus primarily on Jesus’ appearances to his disciples. And Matthew chooses to conclude his account with Jesus commissioning his disciples to make disciples. Matthew’s ending does draw on many of the themes and claims he has been using in his book, so it is a fitting end to all that has gone before. But, his ending also signals a new beginning, namely by noting the disciples return to Galilee, the very place that Jesus’ ministry began. Jesus’ ministry is not coming to an end, rather, he will set out again from Galilee, by sending his disciples into all nations.

Also note that these disciples were directed by Jesus to meet him on a mountain. The mountain is not named but a good Jewish reader would not miss the implications of Jesus calling his disciples to meet him up on a mountain. Mountains were a place of divine revelation (e.g. the Transfiguration in Matthew 17). We should not miss the importance of first knowing who God is as he has revealed himself to us before we launch out on any kind of mission or ministry in his name. Jesus is still directing his disciples today, you and me, to meet him on “the mountain.” We must come to know who he is, and who we are as his followers. And that is one great benefit of having the Great Commission text for the celebration of Trinity Sunday. We must never separate the revelation of God as triune from our efforts and engagement of mission. If we pursue missions apart from knowing who God is as revealed in Jesus Christ, our missional efforts will risk being reduced to some humanitarian project or social change program. We also run the risk of doing mission on our own power, apart from the God who calls us to himself to be on mission with him. Mission must always move down from the mountain of God’s revelation.

If you were reading the entire book of Matthew, there is one detail included in the conclusion that is a bit unnerving. Does it not leap off the page for us? There are only eleven disciples. Up to this point every part of Matthew’s story includes twelve disciples. Matthew doesn’t give us any indication that this deficiency will be rectified before the disciples set out on their mission. Matthew’s conclusion does not resolve the tension. Imagine concluding the story of Snow White with only six dwarves. Wouldn’t that need to be resolved before moving on? Not only that but having only eleven disciples painfully reminds us of the troubling and heartbreaking story of betrayal and desertion that must still be fresh in the minds of the remaining eleven. But now they are being called to go on mission. Perhaps we can make a couple observations regarding mission given the unavoidable and awkward number eleven stubbornly sitting in the passage.

First, Jesus does not send us on mission when everything is perfect. We don’t have to have a certain number of people before we can respond to his call. Life is never that tidy. Let’s face it, we all have deficiencies in our lives that we may believe disqualify us from ministry and mission. Surely, we need to get our act together, tie up some loose ends, and fill in some gaps before we can be considered qualified or legitimate as God’s representatives to the nations. But Matthew chose to begin his conclusion with the uncomfortable detail of the disciples’ diminished roster. Perhaps he wants us to see what he has learned. Jesus does not call us to himself once we are qualified. Remember, Jesus called Matthew while he was a tax collector. If any disciple felt illegitimate, it would have been Matthew. Jesus can handle all our deficiencies. After all, as we will see, it is Jesus’ mission, and he goes with us. He is not sending us out on our own or on our own merits and power. We may need to see the number eleven, as uncomfortable as it may be, to remind us that Jesus’ mission does not rest on our shoulders. We are always a person short.

Second, Jesus takes our baggage. The eleven disciples have barely processed their hurt and dismay that came from Judas’ betrayal. Yet, Jesus is calling them to go on mission together. They may not have a problem going on mission with Jesus, but their experience may make them a bit timid to trust their fellow brothers again. Can we relate? How often are we hesitant to engage in mission or ministry after we have been betrayed or hurt? That’s to be expected. But Jesus is our reconciliation, and he is the mediator of all our relationships, even the ones we cannot revisit or set right in this life. These eleven disciples will have to trust Jesus with their baggage involving their brother Judas. We will need to hand over our baggage as well.

Matthew has another deficiency he draws our attention to in the next verse:

And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. (Matthew 28:17 ESV)

It seems Matthew recalls that doubts do not disqualify us from being on mission. One man is missing, and some are doubting. But Jesus still calls them up the mountain and commissions them as his representatives. We should focus on the one thing they all have in common – they all saw Jesus and they responded in worship. This seems to be the fuel of mission. Seeing Jesus. From there, worship and witness go together. And this worship and witness is initiated by Jesus himself. The disciples did not work up their worship by some self-generated effort. They were simply responding to seeing Jesus. It is in seeing Jesus and the revelation he gives us of the Father, that worship is called out of us. Like seeing a beautiful mountain overlook that draws out our praises, Jesus is the catalyst for worship and witness. When we see how beautiful he is, we will not be able to contain our worship of him, and we will want to share what we have seen with others. So, Jesus has set the stage for commissioning the disciples by revealing himself to them on the mountain. However, this does not mean all doubt is removed this side of heaven. But Jesus is coming to us from the other side of heaven. He has passed from death to resurrection life, and he has no doubt of who his Father is. Our doubts do not cancel his faith in the Father. It’s his mission, and it is his faithfulness that will see us through.

And Matthew will make that abundantly clear in the next verse.

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. (Matthew 28:18 ESV)

Notice that Jesus takes the initiative and comes to his disciples. He does not stand far off and tell them to come to him. We should take note of how he deals with us when we go on mission to others. Not only does Jesus come to the disciples, but he comes with something to say. And what he says is exactly what the disciples need to hear in light of their noted deficiencies and doubt. Jesus makes it clear who will be in charge of the mission they are to go on. He has been given all authority. And Jesus was sure to say this first before he gave them the commission. He knows that we will need to be reminded of whose mission it is and by whose authority it will be carried out before we receive our marching orders.

Also note that his authority is an authority given. Just as he receives his authority from the Father, we receive our commission from the Son. God is a God of grace. He is a giver. And we can trust that his gifts are good, for us and for others. Jesus’ authority is not like the tyrants in Matthew’s age or like the ones in ours. Jesus uses the authority given him for our good, and not to dominate and coerce us into obedience. The more we walk with the Lord, the more we come to celebrate and rejoice in the fact that it is Jesus who has all authority. Thank you, God! The world, and our own hearts, has proven time and time again that too much authority and power in our hands often ends with disastrous results.

Now Matthew records the mission Jesus gives his disciples, the eleven on the mountain, and all those that will follow, like you and me.

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age. (Matthew 28:19-20 ESV)

This passage begins with “Go therefore.” The word “therefore” is a reference to what Jesus just said about being given all authority on heaven and earth. It is on the basis of Jesus having all authority that we can go on mission. Our deficiencies and doubts do not disqualify us or determine the outcome. Because of that truth, we can boldly proclaim the gospel to the nations, even when that proclamation gets resisted. We are assured that Jesus gets the final say.

And if that wasn’t enough, Jesus sandwiches the commission between the truth of his authority and the promise that he will be with the disciples to the end. We must not see mission as something we do apart from Jesus. That will be claiming an illegitimate authority and attempting to achieve something for ourselves, apart from the will of the Father.

Before we close, we must make mention of the obvious reason this text has been chosen for Trinity Sunday. The commission to make disciples of all nations has everything to do with being “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” This phrase implies belonging. And this is a new belonging, not to the father of this world but to Jesus’ Father. And this belonging is in the Spirit, not the spirit of this age, but of the Holy Spirit. To become a disciple of Jesus is to belong to his Father in the Spirit. Jesus is giving us a real part in sharing this extraordinarily good news of who God is and what he has done in Jesus Christ. He didn’t have to commission us, but that would undermine what it means to be a disciple. Disciples are those who are in union with Christ. Disciples are those who share in all the Father, Son, Spirit share in their life together. To be in union with Christ, sharing in his life with the Father in the Spirit, means we are not left out of the triune God’s mission in the world. The doctrine of the Trinity teaches us that God is a sharing God. And the Great Commission is the Lord giving us a share in the triune life of sharing. And that is some good news to share.

Small Group Discussion Questions

From Speaking of Life

What special days or seasons can you name that fall on the Christian calendar?
According to the video, how would you describe the difference in focus between the first half of the Christian calendar and the second half called Ordinary Time?
Can you think of reasons why the Trinity would be an appropriate focus to transition from the first half to the second half of the Christian calendar?

From the Sermon

When it comes to mission, do you ever feel like the eleven disciples, deficient for the job with too much baggage to carry?
Have you ever thought that your doubts hinder God’s mission?
The sermon referenced the “mountain” as being a place of divine revelation. In what way does mission flow from revelation, seeing who God is in Jesus Christ?
Jesus sandwiches the commission to the disciples with a truth and a promise. What was the truth or reality he stated? What was the promise?
What difference does it make to go into mission remembering Jesus words of truth and promise?
Reflect on the sermon’s reference to the statement “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” as essentially meaning belonging and sharing in the relationship of the Triune God. How does this inform mission?

Sermon for June 11, 2023 – Proper 5

Psalm 33:1-12 • Genesis 12:1-9 • Romans 4:13-25 • Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26

We are in the early weeks of Ordinary Time, where our focus is on our being, behavior, and actions as disciples of Jesus Christ. As followers of Jesus, we live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord, so it is important that we trust what God says. The theme for this week is the word of God is a promise. The call to worship Psalm speaks about the fidelity and rightness of God’s word. In the Genesis passage, we read how Abram acted upon the promises God made to him. In asserting the superiority of faith over legalism in our Romans passage, Paul argued that Abram received the promises of God through faith in a promise-keeping God. Finally, in Matthew, we read four times when we see Jesus administer different types of healing. We see the lengths Christ is willing to go to fulfill his promise to heal the spiritually sick and call the sinner.

Jesus Heals Completely

Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26 (NIV)

How should followers of Christ approach healing? What should be our posture? On one hand the Bible promises that by the wounds of Jesus we are healed (1 Peter 2:24). At the same time, in this present evil age, Christians get sick all the time and do not always receive physical healing. We have all likely prayed for someone with a physical ailment and seen them make a miraculous recovery. Likewise, we have all prayed fervently for someone who eventually succumbed to their sickness. Is it a matter of chance? Do our prayers even matter? How can we stand on God’s promise to heal us when it seems like people get sick and recover at random?

Trying to make sense of the relationship between God and human sickness has rocked the faith of many believers. Dealing with sickness either personally or in someone we love can cause us to question God’s goodness. As a result, many of us struggle with how to pray when someone we care about becomes ill. This discussion is especially relevant as we are in the early weeks of Ordinary Time on the Christian calendar. In this season, we give our attention to how the church participates in the life and work of Jesus Christ, especially Christ’s mission in the world. As we engage our neighbors, we will encounter sickness. We may also encounter people who want to know why God allows human suffering. It is important for those who bear witness to the reality of the kingdom to have a sufficient response.

Before we continue, I would like to make two things clear. First, no one has all the answers to the question, “Why do we suffer?” In this life, we will never know all the reasons why one person gets sick and another one does not; why one person recovers, and another person does not. There is no single answer that speaks to every situation. So, this sermon is not setting out to give a comprehensive response to the complex issues surrounding human sickness. Second, there are those who are reading (hearing) this message and the topic of sickness is personal. You or someone you love may be suffering with sickness or loss at this moment and this sermon may be reminding you about a hurtful situation. The intent of this sermon is not to harm, but to comfort. Despite the pain we experience in this life, God is a good God. We are the children of a God who cares deeply about our suffering and is continually working to make us well.

If God is continually working to make us well, why don’t we always experience wellness? Why does it sometimes seem like we cannot trust in the promise of God’s healing? Part of the reason is that we may not be looking in the right place for healing. When it comes to sickness, human beings are hyper-focused on the physical self. It seems logical – if a person has a physical ailment, we seek after physical healing. However, humans are not simply physical beings. We are spiritual, social, emotional, and intellectual as well. And, as a result of The Fall, all of these aspects of the self are diseased to some degree. I believe our eternal God prioritizes the sicknesses that most get in the way of us enjoying communion with him and other people, which is not always our physical ailments. So, God is always working to heal each of us. However, we may not experience him working on every form of sickness we carry at the same time.

God obviously has the power and the inclination to heal us at every level. And one day he will banish sickness, and we will enjoy perfect health for all eternity. Until then, we can be assured that he is continually working to heal us completely. In the ninth chapter of Matthew, we see Jesus healing people who are carrying different forms of sickness. By looking at the willingness of Jesus to make people well, we can be encouraged that we serve a God who proactively heals. In Matthew 9 we read:

As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him. While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Matthew 9:9-13 NIV)

Jesus chose to call Matthew, a tax collector, to be a disciple. Tax collectors were reviled by most Jewish people at the time because they collected taxes on behalf of the Roman occupiers. Tax collectors were seen as collaborators with Rome who turned against their own people for money and personal security. Not only does Jesus call Matthew as a disciple, but he had dinner at Matthew’s home with other tax collectors and marginalized people. In the ancient world, table fellowship was an intimate act. A person was strongly associated with those with whom they ate. Most Jewish people, especially young rabbis like Jesus, would not eat with tax collectors. Yet, Jesus makes public his close association with the outcasts. In this way, Jesus was working to heal the socially sick because he values the tax collectors and those called “sinners.” He does not put upon us the labels we put on each other. When he looks at us, he sees children of the Most-High God. In Matthew’s case, at least, he began to see himself through Christ’s eyes, and the work Jesus did to heal the socially sick was transformative.

Jesus’ association with outcasts led to criticism from certain Pharisees. Those in this Jewish sect were held in high regard by most Jewish people. Yet, Jesus had to routinely call up their hypocrisy and false piety. These Pharisees dehumanized the tax collectors and “sinners,” and viewed them as unclean. They believed that God condoned their superior attitude, which implied that God, as they understood him, valued some of his children more than others. In this way, the Pharisees revealed their spiritual sickness because they believed something about God that was not true. Jesus patiently corrected their perspective, encouraging the Pharisees to grow in mercy.

In these few verses, we see Jesus proactively trying to heal two forms of human sickness. Later in Matthew 9, Jesus healed two other forms of sickness. In verses 18-26, we read:

While he was saying this, a synagogue leader came and knelt before him and said, “My daughter has just died. But come and put your hand on her, and she will live.” Jesus got up and went with him, and so did his disciples. Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak. She said to herself, “If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed.” Jesus turned and saw her. “Take heart, daughter,” he said, “your faith has healed you.” And the woman was healed at that moment. When Jesus entered the synagogue leader’s house and saw the noisy crowd and people playing pipes, he said, “Go away. The girl is not dead but asleep.” But they laughed at him. After the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took the girl by the hand, and she got up. News of this spread through all that region. (Matthew 9:18-26 NIV)

The synagogue leader – in Mark and Luke we learn his name was Jairus – had to be emotionally distraught when he found Jesus. There are few tragedies as heartbreaking as the death of a child, and I pray for the Lord to comfort those who have experienced this kind of loss. I imagine Jairus could not see a way forward in his life without his only daughter, and begged for mercy from the one person who could change his circumstances. The miracle Jesus performed was not for Jairus’ daughter. She had been freed from pain, suffering, or sickness. However, I would argue that Jesus raised her for the sake of those she left behind – for their emotional well-being. In this way, Jesus brought healing to the emotional sickness of Jairus and all others who mourned his daughter.

Finally, Jesus healed a woman afflicted with bleeding for twelve years. The beauty and power of this miracle is undeniable. Obviously, Jesus healed the woman’s ailment, making this story an example of God’s ability to heal our physical sickness. Given the woman’s circumstances, one could argue that Jesus healed her emotionally, socially, and spiritually as well. Most of us cannot imagine the emotional strain of dealing with a humiliating and debilitating malady that sapped our strength. Not only that, but the book of Mark tells us that she suffered under doctors who could not help her, spending all of her money on treatments that did not work. This went on for twelve years! The emotional strain of her condition and financial ruin must have been unbearable. Additionally, she was socially isolated and cut off from community because of her sickness. Under Jewish law, touching blood would leave one ritually unclean. Since anyone who came in contact with her would be unclean, she could be severely punished for being in close proximity with anyone. Her desperate faith caused her to risk her life to get to Jesus. Lastly, Jesus took a moment to compassionately affirm her faith, which likely brought spiritual healing. The woman had not been able to enter a synagogue for twelve years, and likely felt cut off from most faith practices. For the Messiah to be kind and recognize her faith must have been a like a balm on her spirit.

These stories that illustrate four types of healing are not templates for how to get relief from the things that ail us. We have to resist the temptation to seek a transactional relationship with God, where we say, “If I do this, God will give me that.” As much as I would like it to be otherwise, there is no formula that guarantees healing in this life. Therefore, we must learn to de-center our suffering and not judge God’s love based on whether or not he heals us in our desired timeframe. It is not for us decide for ourselves what is “good” – which is exactly what we do when we say things like, “If God were good, he would heal my friend.” That implies if he does not heal your friend, he must not be good. Instead, we must start with assuming the truth of God’s goodness, and try to make sense of our circumstances through that lens. It is hard, but this is what faith is all about: believing God to be good even in the midst of our misery.

While the stories in Matthew 9 do not show us healing formulas, they do show us the proactive mercy and love of God, revealed by Jesus Christ. These words reveal the deep desire of our God to see us made well in every way. He does not need to be convinced to be good. Rather, he proactively and persistently seeks our well-being. From our perspective, it may appear that God says “no” to our prayers for physical healing. However, the truth is that any suffering we endure in this life must be weighed against the guaranteed eternal sickness-free, pain-free life we have been freely given by Jesus. God has already been good. God has already healed. He has already said “yes” to our healing. Soon and very soon we will take off the corruptible. We will put on the incorruptible. This is good news for us and for those who do not yet know Christ. As we think about how we engage our neighbors in this season of Ordinary Time, we do have an answer for those who ask why God allows human suffering. Jesus has made, is making, and will make all things well.

In the meantime, we can still seek God for the healing of our illnesses. How do we ask God for healing in a way that is not transactional? First, we need to approach God assuming his goodness and his proactive efforts to make us well. We ask God for healing not because he needs to be convinced or he is unaware of our suffering. We ask God for healing because he cares about what we care about, and because he is the source of every good thing. He invites us to boldly make our requests known because he desires for us to participate in the story he is unfolding. Within every request we make of God, we should embed a “yet not as I will, but as you will” (Matthew 26:39) frame of mind. In this way, we state our desire, but we leave our hearts open to willingly accept whatever God wants to do, trusting that whatever he decides to do is best.

Next, we need to pray for our physical healing while looking for the other ways God is working to make us well. We need to assume God is working at all times to heal us because this is our reality. As we pray for healing, if possible, we should shift our focus to our social, emotional, and spiritual selves. Pain and discomfort can often consume our thoughts and emotions so this might not always be possible. However, if we are able, we should try to find ways that God is making us well. Doing so will show us that God has not abandoned us in our sickness and is always working to heal us.

I thank God that one day sermons on healing will no longer be necessary. Until that time it is good to know that Jesus, indeed, is our healer. And, he is working, even now, to heal us completely.

Small Group Discussion Questions

From Speaking of Life

Why do you think it is tempting to doubt God’s promises?
Can you think of a time when you thought “it’s over” when God had other (better) plans?

From the sermon

Thinking back to your early years, how were you taught to think about God and human healing? How did that impact you?
Why do you think it may be hard to believe that God is actively working for our healing?
Can you think of ways that God has healed you physically, socially, emotionally, and spiritually?

Sermon for June 18, 2023 – Proper 6

Psalm 116:1-2, 12-19 • Genesis 18:1-15, (21:1-7) • Romans 5:1-8 • Matthew 9:35-10:8, (9-23)

This week’s theme is God’s response to human need. The call to worship Psalm is a prayer of thanksgiving for God’s response to human need. The Old Testament reading from Genesis recounts Abraham’s and Sarah’s responses to God fulfilling his promise of a son. The epistolary text in Romans expresses confidence and trust in the God who provides justification, peace, and grace through Jesus Christ. In the Gospel reading from Matthew, Jesus is proclaiming the gospel while healing out of his compassion for the crowd, and he commissions the disciples to do the same.

Like Master, Like Disciple

Matthew 9:35-10:8 (ESV)

Today we continue our early steps into the season of Ordinary Time. You may recall this season was kicked off with Trinity Sunday where we looked at the end of Matthew’s Gospel where he commissions the disciples to “make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19). Last week the lectionary track for the Gospels continued in Matthew with a selection from chapter 9 that begins with Jesus calling a tax collector to be a disciple, who, according to early church tradition, also happens to be the author of the Gospel that we are following. That calling is met with some scorn by the Pharisees, which prompts Jesus to say, “For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners” (Matthew 9:13). That is followed by a beautiful story of Jesus healing a woman who had been suffering for twelve years as well as raising a little girl back to life who had died at only twelve years of age.

Today, as we continue in Matthew, we will see a theme emerging – discipleship. And more precisely, what it means to follow Jesus. This is an appropriate theme to begin our season of Ordinary Time. This season is a time where we unpack all that we have learned about Jesus during the first half of the Christian calendar, to live it out in our lives. Or in other words, we look to live in alignment with who Jesus is, and who we are as those who belong to him. The passage we have today will help us further along that journey, as we see once again a little more of who Jesus is, and what that means for those who are his disciples.

Let’s see how Matthew chooses to begin this section:

And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. (Matthew 9:35 ESV)

Matthew begins with Jesus and what he did in his ministry. We must remember who Jesus is as the second person of the Trinity if we are going to gain the significance of what Matthew tells us about Jesus’ activity. In short, when we grasp that Jesus is God’s Son, we come to see that Jesus is God on earth, or as the name Emmanuel means, “God with us.” That means that when we read the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ activity on earth, we are not just reading stories about a man with a mission. We are being given a revelation of who God is in his very being.

When it comes to God, who is pure without any misalignment between his actions and his being, we can know that what God does flows out of who God is. We can’t say this of any other human being. We are sinful creatures, meaning that there is much distortion and brokenness between what we think, say, and do. Not so with God. He never says or does anything that is out of line with his being. Therefore, James can refer to God as “the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change” (James 1:17). We can trust that all we see in Jesus, in his words and actions, are perfectly consistent with the character and heart of God. In light of that truth, when we have a written account of Jesus’ activity, we are given a great gift from above that reveals to us who God is. And that is exactly what Matthew gives us before he records Jesus’ instructions to his disciples.

This one verse gives us three things worth considering as revelations of who God is toward us.

First, we see that Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages. We can see in this description that God is a God on the go. He is not a static God carved in stone sitting on a throne. He is active and takes the initiative to bring us into relationship with himself. This is good news seen in the work of Christ. God takes the initiative to come to us. We do not have to find him, he finds us. This echoes the words of the Apostle Paul in Romans 5:8: “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Jesus did not first conduct a survey of the surrounding cities to see which ones were worthy of a visit. He went to “all the cities and villages.” God’s love is greater than our sin.

Also, this sound very similar to Jesus’ Great Commission to “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations…” Jesus does not commission us as disciples to do something he is not doing. As disciples, we can follow him into “all the cities and villages” and participate in what he is doing in them, without any limiting requirements of those we are sent to. We are not left to go out on our own.

Second, Jesus was teaching and preaching the gospel of the kingdom. This shows us that God comes to us with good news. And that good news is of his kingdom that he shares with us. The God revealed in Jesus Christ is a God who shares. He is not stingy, holding back the best for himself. Rather, he aims to give all things to us, his very best. And we see that God is a speaking God. He comes to us, not to smite us into submission, but to teach and proclaim. He speaks to us personally. And his words are not words of condemnation, but words of healing and restoration. We could rightly say that God’s words aim to woo us back to him.

Third, Jesus backs up his words of teaching and proclamation with acts of healing. We are told that he heals “every disease and every affliction.” This reveals a God who does not settle for a little improvement in our afflicted state. He aims to cure all that afflicts us. The God revealed in Jesus Christ is not a part-time healer. He aims for a complete restoration.

Also, it is important to note the order of Jesus’ ministry being carried out. He begins with words. This is his primary ministry as he is the Word of God. The actions of healing only confirm the words that he speaks. The proclamation of the kingdom entails the good news of the complete healing and restoration that comes by way of God’s redemption of his lost children. When Jesus heals, he is giving a physical witness, although partial, to what can be expected in full in the kingdom of God. The order of Jesus’ ministry is important for disciples to understand if they are going to go and do likewise. The words of teaching and proclamation are primary. The deeds are secondary and serve to confirm the words. The words and deeds must be aligned if they are to serve as a faithful witness to God’s kingdom.

That’s a lot of revelation about God in one little verse. Jesus’ actions are packed with significance. Let’s see what more may be revealed in the next verse:

When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. (Matthew 9:36 ESV)

The first thing that we see about God is that he sees us. Do you ever feel like you are lost in a crowd, and no one sees you? I think we all feel this way often. We may feel overlooked and misunderstood. But we are told here that Jesus “saw the crowds.” And he didn’t just see a mass of indistinguishable people. He saw beyond the numbers and into the depth of their sorrow and suffering. As Matthew describes it, “they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” The crowd did not become a hindrance to Jesus seeing their need and situation. Often crowds become hindrances to knowing. We can group people into “crowds,” or aggregates, in an attempt to gain some kind of understanding of them. But this approach only gives us a depersonalized understanding. It does not, and cannot, grasp the individual need or specific situation of the one in the crowd. This is not the kind of God revealed in Jesus seeing the crowds. In fact, we are told explicitly that Jesus was seeing through the eyes of his “compassion for them.” If you ever feel alone in a crowd, this story tells us that God sees you, and he has compassion for your very need.

Matthew begins this section by telling us what Jesus is doing, and in doing that he has shown us first who God is. It is only after this that he moves to tell us the implications of what this means for those who are called to follow him. The primary impulse of ministry is God’s activity first, which we then participate in.

Now Matthew records what Jesus says directly to the disciples, which is also intended for us as his disciples today:

Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” (Matthew 9:37-38 ESV)

Again, let’s take note of the order of what Jesus says to the disciples. This is the first thing he wants to convey to them, and he sets up what should serve as our primary ministry. Jesus starts by letting them know the situation. Basically, those who are in need are ripe to hear the gospel. But there is a labor shortage. If we were to guess what Jesus was going to say to them as a solution to this problem, I suspect we would come up with something very different than what Jesus tells us. I would imagine we would guess that Jesus would tell us we need more laborers. Perhaps we would imagine Jesus giving a call-to-action speech, full of emotional appeal and affirmative “you can do its.” Maybe he would follow that up with some strategic program amounting to an all-out blitz of recruitment. That is, after all, how we so often react to dire predicaments. Pull up our bootstraps and get busy. However, did you notice what Jesus says to do? His solution is “therefore pray…” I hope we don’t overlook that and dismiss it with a “Well yeah, we pray but what we really need is to address the situation.”

Jesus begins here. Pray. That is the primary emphasis of how we are to address the mission of the church. Prayer. And not just a passive, obligatory nod to prayer, but earnest prayer to the Lord of the harvest. In other words, we live in complete trust of the one who oversees the mission in the world. It is not our mission; it belongs to the Lord. On that basis, we pray knowing that that is the most powerful and effective thing we can do in light of who God is.

Prayer is not just a pious thing we do to appear righteous. It is a real participation in what God is already doing. And did you notice what it is that we pray for? It seems like the prayer should be for more laborers. But that is not what Jesus is concerned with; he wants us to pray that the laborers be sent out. That’s an interesting detail is it not? Why wouldn’t we just pray for more laborers? For Jesus, what is more important than the number of laborers, is that those laborers are followers of Christ. Just as Jesus “went throughout all the cities and villages,” disciples are to grow to be more and more like Christ, imitating him by going out into all the world. In other words, Jesus is more concerned about growing the faith of those who are present disciples. More disciples will be added in God’s good time, but what is the point of having more disciples if the ones you have are not following the Lord.

The emphasis Jesus has placed in this prayer is on the laborers, not the results of the labor. Our God is not looking for workers to get a job done that he is not willing to do. God is far more interested in us growing up to be more like his Son Jesus. And that is exactly what we see in this passage, is it not? The disciples are being called to look just like Jesus. Their mission will look just like Jesus’ mission in the way Matthew records it. This starts emerging in the next verse.

And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction. (Matthew 10:1 ESV)

Do you see the parallel to what Jesus has empowered his twelve disciples to do? It sounds very much like what Jesus was doing at the beginning of this section. In fact, “heal every disease and every affliction” is the exact wording describing Jesus’ mission. To be a disciple is to participate in the very ministry and mission that Jesus is doing.

Now, here is a trick question. When you read this verse, what would you say the disciples are primarily called to? We may miss the obvious and think their primary calling is to cast out that which afflicts and heal people from those afflictions. But that is not what the text says. They are given authority to do these things, but their calling is to Jesus: “And he called to him his twelve disciples.” That is our primary calling. We are called to the Lord. We follow him wherever he leads, receiving the authority he gives and exercising that authority for his good purposes. But disciples, by definition, are those who follow the one who has called them to himself. Again, we see that Jesus is more concerned about our relationship with him as we participate with him in his ministry and mission. He is aiming to grow our faith in him and grow us up to be more like himself in his relationship with Father.

The next verse perfectly follows this personal focus Jesus has for his disciples:

The names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him. (Matthew 10:2-4 ESV)

If Jesus was more interested in the task at hand, why would Matthew include in this section the personal name of each of the twelve disciples – not only their names, but some distinguishing attributes of their identity? Matthew, who walked with Jesus, did not see this addition as out of place or out of step in a section dealing with Jesus’ mission. For Matthew, this is the exact place to list and identify the twelve disciples. In this section, it serves as the connecting hinge between Jesus’ mission and the sending of the disciples into that mission. God is more concerned about you and I growing up into the Lord, than he is about the results of our missional involvement.

One final thought on the listing of the disciples. Matthew included a few details that would further emphasize that the mission does not depend on us. He begins the list with Peter who denied Jesus and ends it with Judas “who betrayed him.” That is a bookend that does not present a polished resume for the group. Not only that but he includes himself with the title “the tax collector” and Simon with the title “the Zealot.” One worked for the Romans, the other fought against them. Why would these two be chosen to work together? Perhaps Matthew’s structure of naming the twelve disciples in pairs gives us the answer. As we are called to the Lord as his disciples, we are also called to one another as brothers and sisters. Reconciliation and fellowship is implied in discipleship.

From here Matthew is now ready to shift this section from Jesus’ ministry to his instructions to the disciples.

These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, “Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And proclaim as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay. (Matthew 10:5-8 ESV)

Jesus is now going to instruct the disciples on exactly how they are to go about the ministry he is sending them on. Verses 5-8 contain the beginning of those instructions that entail a description of the apostle’s work. You can also read further to hear Jesus’ instructions regarding other matters that they will need to contend with in ministry – economic concerns and matters of hospitality as well as how to handle the opposition that will come from proclaiming the gospel. We will not explore those issues today. Rather, the main point to see in this section is the dynamic of Jesus being the one who is instructing them. To be a disciple is to follow the Lord’s instructions. Notice that the first thing they are told is the boundaries of their ministry. They are only to go “to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” If you remember, this boundary changes and is expanded to “all nations” by the end of Matthew’s Gospel. Following Jesus in ministry means we must listen to him as we go. His instructions to us may change. What he has us doing one day may have to change on another. This fits the nature of being a disciple of a living Lord. He is present with us, and we are in a real, dynamic and personal relationship with him. We should not expect any static, predictable, or cookie-cutter approach to ministry. The Lord may have a few surprises along the journey. After all, he is more interested in us coming to know him than he is in the task we may be asked to do along the way.

But we can also expect some consistency in the ministry he shares with us. The disciples are instructed to continue to do what Jesus himself had been doing. Namely, proclaiming that “the kingdom of heaven is at hand” while doing deeds that point to that proclamation. Jesus lists several such deeds – “Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons.” We are not to read these too literally, but rather we see in them all in the context of healing the kingdom reign of Christ brings. In ways big and small we can witness to this kingdom primarily with our words that proclaim Jesus’ words to us, along with deeds, great and small, that confirm the words.

Our section today ends with “You received without paying; give without pay.” This final instruction can point us to how all ministry must be carried out: by God’s grace. The ministry and mission Jesus gives us is a gift. We receive it freely, meaning we do not earn it on our own merits. It is a gift to be received. Likewise, the proclamation to others must not be twisted into a message that turns the gospel of grace from a gift to be received into a task to be achieved. Ministry is not a means of exacting some kind of “payment” for the gospel. It is grace all the way through. As we participate in Jesus’ ministry, coming to him daily, listening to his instructions, and receiving his grace, we will grow to know him and his Father better by the Spirit. In so doing, we grow more and more to look like Jesus.

Small Group Discussion Questions

From Speaking of Life

Has anyone ever had to call 9-1-1? What was your experience?
In what ways can you think or remember from the video that calling 9-1-1 is like calling on the Lord? In what ways is it different?

From the Sermon

Discuss the significance of knowing Jesus is God’s Son when reading stories of Jesus’ ministry and actions on earth. What do Jesus’ actions tell us about his Father?
Discuss any revelations given about the Father seen in Matthew’s telling of Jesus’ ministry. Did anything in the sermon stand out to you? Do you see additional points that could be made?
What observations from the sermon were made about the listing and description of the twelve disciples? Do you have other observations from these descriptions?
The sermon mentioned how Jesus’ instructions for ministry may change at times. Can you think of examples where his instructions to you for ministry have changed at different times?
The sermon also mentioned some things that do not change in ministry. Can you recall what these were?
What examples can you think of where deeds of ministry confirm the words of ministry? Or, in other words, in what ways may our proclamation of the kingdom be confirmed by specific deeds that point to the kingdom?

Sermon for June 25, 2023 – Proper 7

Psalm 86:1-10, 16-17 • Genesis 21:8-21 • Romans 6:1b-11 • Matthew 10:24-39

The theme for this week is the revolutionary responsibilities of discipleship, and it’s our opportunity to consider that real discipleship requires us to let go of closely held opinions and worldviews to love and advocate for others the way Jesus did, trusting that God will be with us. Our call to worship in Psalm 86 helps us understand God’s revolutionary willingness to be small, to bow down just to reach us, and we can be challenged to do the same for others in humility. Genesis 21 tells the story of Abraham’s family conflict between Sarah and Hagar, and how God resolved the problem outside the typical cultural constraints. In Romans 6, Paul discusses the way baptism can mirror Jesus’s death and resurrection, and he encourages us to think about what we are “dead to” and “alive for” in light of Christ’s loving example. Our sermon text is Matthew 10:24-39, which offers Jesus’ perspective about the challenges of radically loving others, the anti-empire arc of the gospel, and the implications of love’s inclusive nature.

Radical Love

Matthew 10:24-39 (NRSVUE)

If you live in the US, you probably have heard of the non-profit organization Habitat for Humanity. This organization, founded by Clarence Jordan, and later joined by Millard and Linda Fuller, began as an interracial community farm called Koinonia Farm outside Americus, Georgia. Its mission was to ensure that everyone was treated equally, resources were shared, and the land and natural resources were stewarded wisely.

As part of the community farm, the Fullers came up with the idea of “partnership housing,” where people who needed a home worked with other volunteers to build a home at no profit. By starting “The Fund for Humanity,” using money from supporters and fundraising efforts, no interest loans were provided to the new homeowners. Their house payments, in turn, would be used to continue “The Fund for Humanity” and build more houses.

What you need to know, though, is that Koinonia Farm was started in 1942 and the partnership housing effort got off the ground in 1965, during the era of segregation and before the Civil Rights movement had made any progress. Their good works got them into trouble with those who disagreed with their views about racial equality and how a Christian should live.

For example, Clarence Jordan was accused of befriending a communist named Myles Horton. Jordan told his accusers, “I really have trouble with your logic. I don’t think my talking to Myles Horton makes me a Communist any more than talking to you right now makes me a jackass.”

Koinonia Farm ran into conflict with the Ku Klux Klan, and the group blew up the farm’s roadside peanut stand, one of its fundraising efforts. When Jordan put up another roadside peanut stand, the Klan blew that one up, too. Jordan refused to quit but changed his business plan. Instead, Koinonia Farm began selling peanuts by mail order with this advertisement: “Help us ship the nuts out of Georgia.”

Though some progress has been made toward equality for all people, regardless of race, gender, economics, and lifestyle choices, inequities have been built into the fibers of the governmental systems in place, not only in the US but other countries, too. As Clarence Jordan and the Fullers found out, bucking the system and advocating for the poor and marginalized is often not well received. This should not be a surprise, though. As we look at our scripture passage for today, we’ll read that Jesus warned his disciples that they would face suffering and conflict because living the way of love toward all people is difficult but worth it.

Read Matthew 10: 24-39

Baylor University assistant professor of religion Jonathan Tran summarizes Matthew 10: 24-29 this way:

I, Jesus, do things that will get one in trouble. Inasmuch as you, disciples, do what I do, you’ll get in trouble, too. But don’t worry too much about that as you’ll be taken care of. If you find yourself overly worried about getting into trouble, that means you are confused in one of four ways: that the things I do are not so significant that they should cause trouble; that who I am is not so significant that what I do should matter very much; that the significance of what I do and who I am do not bear on your long-term welfare; or, all the above.

Let’s look more closely at each paraphrased section of the passage.

I, Jesus, do things that will get one in trouble. Inasmuch as you, disciples, do what I do, you’ll get in trouble, too. (v. 24-25)

Jesus makes the point that if the disciples (including us) lived as he lived, caring for people in ways that often broke cultural norms, the guardians of the existing system supporting those cultural narratives would not be happy. They might even be vindictive as we can see from the way the Jewish leaders influenced Pilate to sentence Jesus to death. Jesus invites his followers to participate in the suffering that comes from loving others in a radical way.

In v. 24, Jesus makes the point that “A disciple is not above the teacher, nor a slave above the master.” The word translated “slave” is doulos, and it suggests “involuntary servitude.” In other scripture passages (such as Romans 1:1; Galatians 1:10; Philippians 1:1; James 1:1; 2 Peter 1:1), the disciples refer to themselves as douloi of Christ. The passage goes on to state that “it is enough for the disciple to be like the teacher and the slave like the master” to provoke persecution. Jesus reminds the disciples how people accused him of doing good works by the power of Beelzebub (see Matthew 9:34 and 12:22-27), and if they thought Jesus’ works were produced by demonic power, any works the disciples did would also be thought to be demonically influenced. In short, if Jesus suffered, even died, for the way he moved through the world and interacted with its systems, it should not surprise his followers when they suffer by living out love in ways that conflict with deeply held cultural narratives and systems of empire.

But don’t worry too much about that as you’ll be taken care of. (v. 26-31)

Jesus encourages the disciples and us not to be afraid when we face conflict from caring for people in ways that conflict with societal norms. Jesus reminds us that any evil secrets will be brought into the light (v. 26), and we should speak on behalf of those who are marginalized and oppressed, listening for God to whisper in our ears what we should say (v. 27).

Another reason we should not be afraid is that the power held by others over us is limited. Verse 28 says, “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.” The last half of verse 28 helps us keep the right perspective about who is most powerful: “rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” The wording of v. 28 is contrasting the limited control human beings have over one another with the power of our Creator who desires nothing more than to give us life.

Verses 29-31 offer “proof” that our loving God cares for us despite any difficulties we might face from following Jesus’ example of loving others. “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. And even the hairs of your head are all counted. So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows” (v. 29-31).

The phrase “apart from your Father” could be interpreted “without your Father’s knowledge,” and the phrase “even the hairs of your head are all counted” conveys the fine detail that God loves in each one of us. God loves and values sparrows and people, but loving someone or something deeply does not mean that the loved one will not suffer. Suffering and pain are the shadow side of beauty and joy – we could not know or appreciate either side without the other.

If you find yourself overly worried about getting into trouble, that means you are confused in one of four ways: that the things I do are not so significant that they should cause trouble; that who I am is not so significant that what I do should matter very much; that the significance of what I do and who I am do not bear on your long-term welfare; or, all the above. (v. 32-39)

Verses 32-39 sound harsh, but Jesus is clear that cultural and governmental systems of oppression are not aligned with the kingdom of God. As translated by The Message, Jesus did not “come to make life cozy” (Matthew 10:34). His use of the literary technique of hyperbole (i.e., exaggeration) helps us understand that we are not being asked to start a family fight (i.e., “set a man against his father and a daughter against her mother,” found in v. 35). Instead, Jesus wants to prepare his disciples for the conflict that comes up when we choose to love others in radical ways, especially those people different from us and our families.

Because of Christianity’s affiliation with empires, beginning with Constantine in 312 CE (Common Era) and his later Christianization of the Roman Empire, many Christians have been reluctant to point out the inconsistencies between governmental policies and the way Jesus lived.

One example of this is found in the US government’s treatment of Native Americans. In Steven Charleston’s book, The Four Vision Quests of Jesus, he recounts the popular myths perpetuated by American history books that only focus on the last-ditch, desperate efforts of Native Americans to fight back during the last decade of the 1800s. While those accounts are accurate, they don’t include what was the experience of the majority of Native Americans, which was much less dramatic but just as destructive. It involved treaties with the US government that Native Americans were forced to sign under duress, which gave large sections of land to the federal government. These same treaties were broken, more land was taken than was included in the treaties, and Native Americans were forced to leave their land. Native communities were devastated by disease introduced by pioneering settlers, defrauded of their land, and deported to reservations or the Oklahoma territory (pp. 116-117). Charleston writes:

The majority of these people, the Native American survivors of ethnic cleansing, were Christians. Among the first buildings to be erected in the refugee centers of Oklahoma were churches. My great-grandfather was a Presbyterian pastor who was responsible for building several of these churches in Oklahoma…, [and] Christians cheating and oppressing Christians is the historic subtext of most of the story between Native Americans and white people during the nineteenth century.” (p. 117)

Jesus lived with and loved people, even those outside his culture and those often called “sinners,” and he ultimately was put to death for it. Jesus pointed out the inconsistencies between the Pharisees’ laws and what God’s intention was, along with the hypocrisy in the cultural system. Jesus was not interested in “power over,” saying in John,

I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing, but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father. (John 15:15 NRSVUE).

Jesus was interested in “power with.” He opened his relationship with the Father and Holy Spirit to us, including all people.

What Jesus did was significant, and it upset those in power. Who Jesus was and the love he showed the poor and oppressed offended those in power. Anybody who professes to love Jesus and desires to follow him will also upset those who are intent on maintaining power structures, and governments that continue to promote policies destructive to the well-being of all people. Unfortunately, our tendency is to focus on ourselves and self-improvement rather than identifying social justice issues occurring around us.

American Episcopal priest Robert Farrar Capon writes about the church’s tendency to focus on personal morality at the expense of social justice:

The sad fact is that the church, both now and at far too many times in its history, has found it easier to act as if it were selling the sugar of moral and spiritual achievement rather than the salt of Jesus’s passion and death. It will preach salvation for the successfully well-behaved, redemption for the triumphantly correct in doctrine, and pie in the sky for all the winners who think they can walk into the final judgment and flash their passing report cards at Jesus (183).

Consider again the example of Clarence Jordan and Millard and Linda Fuller. Think of the courage and conviction it took to build an interracial community farm in 1942. Think of the perseverance it required to rebuild a roadside peanut stand and then come up with another fundraising plan when that rebuilt stand was dynamited. Jordan and the Fullers were following Jesus’ call to love and care for all people, and it wasn’t an easy road. If we are radically loving others, targeting the marginalized, oppressed, and poor, we will also encounter pushback and conflict. That doesn’t mean we are doing anything wrong. Losing our lives is another way to talk about kenosis or the self-emptying love that Jesus exhibited by dying on the cross. In fact, Jesus promises we will actually “find” our lives when we follow his way of radical, kenotic love for all (v. 39).

Application:

Recognize our tendency to focus on “moral and spiritual achievement rather than the salt of Jesus’ passion and death.” While it’s true that Divine love transforms us, our personal transformation is secondary to our call to live in our true identity as the beloved of God. This means we will participate with Jesus in radically loving others and working to ensure the well-being of all people, especially those who are marginalized by the cultural and governmental systems.
Consider our fear of conflict with those who are intent on maintaining systems of power that oppress people of color, women, and other marginalized groups. Think about how we often focus on the cross as forgiveness of personal sins rather than corporate or systemic sins, forgetting that the cross happened because of Jesus’ love for all, as well as his conflict with the power structures in ancient Judea. Be encouraged by the example of Clarence Jordan and Millard and Linda Fuller, who were excommunicated in 1950 by the Rehoboth Southern Baptist Church because of their beliefs about racial equality. Notice how their conviction to radically love and support the oppressed and the poor fueled their radical love and determination.
Realize that radical love only asks us to love others the way Jesus did and to use the skills and resources we have to take action. Clarence Jordan used his college education in agronomy to start an interracial community farm. Consider what skills and resources you have been given to join Jesus in convey his radical love to others.

The following poem from Steve Garnaas-Holmes shows how radical love begins with small steps:

When injustice strides so easily,
When evil reigns
And you feel there’s little you can do,
Remember we are all one.
You are part of the Great Oneness –
some call it the Body of Christ –
And what you do affects the whole.
You can choose goodness.
When you change your life, you change the world.
An immense grace hums beneath
The noise of this world.
When you live in harmony with it,
You intensify the great music of life
That renews earth.
You are a voice in the chorus,
A string on the Beloved’s guitar;
When you change your note
You change the whole chord.

Jesus’ talk in Matthew 10:24-39 contains some challenge for us if we say we are his disciples and followers. But it also offers us the comfort of knowing we aren’t alone when we follow his footsteps, participating with him in radically loving others and working toward the kingdom of God on earth.

For Reference:

Capon, Robert Farrar. Kingdom, Grace, Judgment: Paradox, Outrage, and Vindication in the Parables of Jesus. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2002.

Charleston, Steven. The Four Vision Quests of Jesus. Morehouse Publishing, 2015.

https://www.habitat.org/about/history
https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-12/commentary-on-matthew-1024-39
https://www.workingpreacher.org/dear-working-preacher/not-peace-but-a-sword
https://www.workingpreacher.org/dear-working-preacher/do-not-be-afraid-2
https://blogs.baylor.edu/truettpulpit/2017/06/01/matthew-1024-39/

Small Group Discussion Questions

From Speaking of Life

What does the phrase “no longer enslaved to sin” mean to you? Contrast how you might live or behave as a “slave” to sin and how that would change as you more fully embrace the freedom you have being “alive to God in Christ Jesus.”
If we are liberated to live a life of radical love, what are some practical ways we can work to support each other and those who are marginalized by cultural norms and systems of power?

From the sermon

How would you feel to be in the shoes of Clarence Jordan and the Fullers, excommunicated from their church in 1950 and in conflict with the Ku Klux Klan because of their views on racial equality? How would you seek encouragement to continue to radically love others, especially the marginalized?
What can you do with your skills and resources to radically love and support those who suffer from oppression or discrimination?