Luke 10:1-11, 16-20
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ
Are there 70 of us here? How many did you count? It really doesn’t matter. I’m not Jesus and you are not first century Jesus followers, following a man that you saw with your own eyes and heard with your own ears. Still, there is something about today’s Gospel reading that reaches to the heart of our faith and commitment to Jesus Christ. The faith of that 70 must have been great. Jesus told them to go out in twos to spread the word of Jesus; Jesus told them to go out just as they were, with no provisions, no money, no extra cloak and to go barefoot and they did it. How about I send you out, dividing all of you into twos? A couple differences. You can wear shoes and you can go back to stay at your own homes at night; you can even go to your jobs during your normal work hours. So, let’s see! You two, I want you to go to the north side of Phoenixville, to the newer developments and share the good news of Jesus Christ. And you two I want you to go to the development at Beyer’s Station. And you two, I want you to go to the Merlin Hills section. And you two, I want you to go to the Weatherstone development. And you and you, I would like you to go to Freedom Village; the rest of you I will get to in a minute. I want all of you to share the good news of Jesus Christ and invite those that you meet to join with us in ministry, if not here at St. Peter’s, at any church they want. What do you think?
(Well) Maybe I can’t really send you this way, as I said, I am not Jesus, but can you imagine how you would feel were I to have such authority and do this for real? Think about it. The idea of doing such a thing is both scary and exhilarating. I’ve done it; I’ve gone out, knocking on the doors of people that I didn’t know; one after another. I’ve been yelled at for knocking on people’s doors, welcomed into homes, shushed away by people looking through their blinds, been ignored and also listened to. I’ve also stood up before groups of people (not in church) to talk about Jesus. And again, I received a variety of reactions, some blank stares, some intent listening and had people ignore me or go away unhappy that I had the nerve to speak at all. Going out into the world the way that Jesus asked the 70, is no easy task, even for the most outgoing of individuals. But something happened when the 70 went out into the community. Jesus had given them extraordinary powers and gifts to help them on their missionary journeys, gifts needed in a time of miracles and superstition. And they had tremendous success; they healed, they exercised demons, they shared the good news of Jesus. Jesus himself said, that he saw Satan falling from the heavens, because of their ministry. We have a great message to offer. The Psalm we read talked about our reasons to rejoice and Isaiah reminded Israel how God had brought them back out of bondage; the message of Jesus includes a message of love and forgiveness and salvation. Times and people are different today, no doubt, but they need the same kinds of good news as shared by the 70.
It may not be the best use of your time and talents to ask you to go door to door or find some central location to stand there and preach. Today politicians, performers, athletes and news writers and personalities have followers in the millions who read their tweets. Technology has made it possible to communicate with more people at one time than we could make contact with, using our feet and mouths, in all of our combined lifetimes. Thank you to our members and friends who got our website and facebook page up and running. How much more could we accomplish, were we to share our message of Christian love, by tweeting it to our president and to the other politicians and personalities, telling them about the love of Christ as it is being shared here in St. Peter’s and the need for all people to start treating others with love, mercy and forgiveness, rather than embracing the hostility that seems to be taking our world over. Those of you who tweet, or use facebook, or snapchat, or write letters, or call their elected officials can accomplish much more than you think; public forums today are housed as much in technology as in the community. But that does not mean that contact on a one-to-one basis is no longer effective. The ministry of Jesus Christ is greatly enhanced by the friendly sharing of the stories of our ministry and fellowship and opportunities for worship and Christian education with those with whom we are acquainted. You never know, who there might be, who lives in your immediate community, that might be looking for a church and a way to participate in ministry, until you lean over your fence and talk with your neighbor.
And then, think about the idea that you called me as your pastor, and so, maybe I do have at least a semblance of the authority to send you out; you kind-of gave it to me. Still times today are different, people do not like being preached at and it seems that we today (as those called upon to share the good news) do not have the same level of commitment shared by Jesus’ early followers. You today, would not be going out like lambs in the midst of wolves, yet I can’t promise you that you will all be safe. The 70 all came back safe and overjoyed. I also can’t promise you that you will be able to heal the sick, command demons and walk on scorpions and poisonous snakes, or even be as successful as them. Jesus said he saw Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning because of their ministry. Our results may not appear quite so dramatic, but if all of us shared our satisfaction and joy of being a part of Jesus’ ministry hear at St. Peter’s there would be a dramatic change here at St. Peter’s, and Satan would not be happy. Let your family, neighbors and friends know how happy you are with your church and its ministry, talk to them, call them, write out a note, send an email, a tweet, put it on facebook. In this way I am now sending you out.