A sermon based upon Luke 10: 1-11, 16-20
Dr. Charles J. Tomlin
Flat Rock-Zion Baptist Partnership
Independence Day, July 4th, 2010
Jesus and politicians have a lot in common.
I know this sounds a bit weird. We normally think of politics as being dirty, deceitful, full of trickery and sometimes stretching the truth, or out-right lying. Sometimes it is. On the other hand, we most often think of Jesus as being honest-to-God, full of grace and truth, and helpful to people in every way. Besides, we normally say that politics and religion just don’t mix; like oil and water. How could Jesus have anything in common with politicians?
Our text today shows us something when Jesus preaches the good news about the kingdom. When politicians get elected they normally promise us a better world. Remember how the late president Ronald Regan once asked that infamous question: “Are you better off now, than you were 4 years ago?” The first time the people answered “no” and elected Regan as the 40th president of the United States. The second time Regan asked that question was four years later and the people then answered “yes”, re-electing him to four more years.
In this one way faith, by promising something better, politics and religion do mix. But what we also know is that what our hope for the “best” comes in very different ways. Once a little girl asked her mother, “Do fairy tales always begin, “Once upon a time?” The mother responded, “No dear. Sometimes fairy tales begin, “If I am elected…” Ouch! None of us want to think about our deepest hopes and faith in Jesus as being reduced to an “if” or becoming a “fairy tale” dream of a mere political promise.
WE’RE WONDERING: CAN THE HARVEST STILL BE HOPEFUL?
Here in our text, Jesus is sending out 70 of his choice disciples into the towns announcing that a better world is being made possible, by saying things like, “The harvest is plentiful” (vs. 2) and “The kingdom of God has come near.” (vs. 9). That kind of talk sounds really good! But is it as good as it sounds? Was this hope for a better world also too good to be true? This is really a relevant sort of question on this day we are celebrating our Independence as a nation. Sometimes the promises and hopes are not realized as we once believed they would be.
Think about politics first. In many ways our nation was founded upon hope and promises of new opportunities that new opportunities of freedom can bring. While there were probably as many people coming to America for reasons of political and financial freedom as for religious reasons, it is true that when our forefathers “brought forth this new nation conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal”, they were also living toward the hope that liberty would give us a better life than possible before. Not a few of those early Americans settlers were people of faith, even using religious language to say that America has been given the unique chance to be a “holy nation” or “a chosen people” who must shine their light, not keeping it under a bushel basket, but becoming a “shining city on a hill” or a “beacon of light” beaming the light of freedom around the world.
This is certainly a lot of good, promising and hopeful talk. It’s the kind of “talk” that makes all of us “proud” to be Americans who still have freedom and have good reasons to celebrate. But sometimes, as we all know especially now, it is hard for many Americans to celebrate their freedom. Today, many Americans are facing struggles that freedom has also invited to table of celebration, perhaps unwittingly, but these problems are present. Especially in these hard economic times of continued recession and joblessness, especially when some reputable people are saying that we are fighting a “losing battle” in Afghanistan, and especially when all our spirits are doused by all the oil gushing into the gulf, both our freedom and many hopes seem to be in trouble. Many feel just like those brown pelicans who have oil on their wings and will die, unless something is done to rescue them.
Now think about faith. As I read first read our Bible lesson for today, I got to thinking about not only what Jesus was promising (like a politician) about the hope of “harvest” or about the “kingdom of God coming near”, I also observed what Jesus, unlike a politician, told us some about some of the things that few politicians will admit. Jesus not only told them that the “harvest is plentiful”, but he also told them that “the laborers are few”. He not only told them to pray and “ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers”, but he also warned them “I’m sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves”. Finally, Jesus not only told them to “enter a town…saying the kingdom of God has come near…” but he also told them “if they do not welcome you” to move on, “wipe the dust off of your feet in protest”, and then he says something hard to bear: if people don’t seize the promise, or if they abuse the chance they’ve been given, this hope can turn to tragedy and it will even be more “tolerable for Sodom than for that town” (vs. 12).
Certainly this might be the kind of judgmental “disaster” some people are feeling these days. Some have put all their hopes and dreams of prosperity in the fishing business or in the tourist business on the gulf coast, so that with all the oil gushing, with fishing grounds closing and with more and more holiday seekers staying away, it seems it would have better to have trusted something else. The same goes for the economic hopes or monetary harvest in our nation right now. People have bought homes, sometimes big and sometimes small and cannot afford to keep them. People have depended upon having a certain job but those jobs have dried up and we are now experiencing what experts call a “jobless recovery”. (How can anybody recover without a job?) You can see and feel the pain all around on this July 4th, and for many Americans, it is getting harder to have something to celebrate. At least for some in America on this July 4th, as it did for some in this text, the kingdom coming near can mean trouble coming, instead of hope.
Many of us might be wondering too, whether or not, in today’s economic, political and even religious climate, can the “harvest” ever be plentiful again? Just a few days ago, it was reported (www.thenation.com) that one charter boat Captain in the gulf, named “Rookie” Kruse, did not think so. When he realized that his charter boat business would never be the same and that he would have to charter his boat for BP, he decided to take his own life. Locals say he wasn’t any more aggravated at what was happening than the rest. The mayor of that beach town said people are breaking down in his office every day. But what seems to have pushed “Rookie” over the edge, according to some reports from family and others, was when he realized his own independence and livelihood as a businessman was being taken away, he felt his life was too much “like prison”. This was not the kind of situation that “Rookie” was willing to endure. It was suggested that “Rookie” did not like having to go to work for BP or for anybody, but he only seemed to be willing to work for himself. If he couldn’t do that, he decided he wouldn’t do anything and that is when he decided to end his life.
GOD IS WAITING: WILL THE LABORERS BE FEW?
How can the kingdom come, when we are only willing to work only for our own private dreams? How can freedom be maintained, when we get caught up in only what we want for ourselves? The possibility or the problem of the harvest, whether it is the harvest of freedom we are thinking about today, or whether it is the harvest of God’s kingdom, is not the greatest problem. According to Jesus, the greatest challenge we face is not “can” this or that be done, but the most critical question always is “who will do it?” Remember the question as it once came to Isaiah: “Who will go for us?” That question is always in need of being answered in every generation. The hope of harvest is never the main issue, but the main issue is who will do the work?
All of us who live out in the country or on farms, know what happens to the harvest that does not have enough workers or equipment to gathered it in. Even when the harvest is good, or especially when the harvest is good, if you don’t go out into the field to gather it, or you don’t have enough harvesters to go out and harvest it, even the best of harvest will end up rotting in the field. So, the point Jesus seems to be making right at the beginning of this text is about the laborers. Even Jesus cannot gather it all in himself, but he needs laborers to help. I was once the pastor of a church, or maybe I should say, I’ve been the pastor of many churches, where people can get excited what “should” be done, or even energized to come and talk about what is going “wrong,” but the truth is, that kind of desire to know rather than to be willing to do is exactly the problem. Too many want to be chiefs of opinion without taking responsibility for anything, and too few are willing to be an Indian who does at least one thing. The success of the harvest mostly depends upon the willingness of workers to work.
Since this is the 4th of July, let’s especially consider this need for “workers” when it comes to politics and patriotism for a moment. We can think of people going out to parades, to shoot firecrackers, or to enjoy a Hamburger and a Coke. But what America needs from us as both as citizens and as Christians is people who will also take the time to relearn, reconsider or regain what it means to be “workers” and “laborers” for freedom and for the hope we have and want to keep. When I conducted Minnie Ruth’s Brown funeral last spring, some of the family told me how she and others, came to church each Wednesday evenings to pray for the soldiers who went off to war. We are in a war today that has proven harder and longer, but where are the laborers in prayer who realize the need to pray?
In the same way, we can see all kinds of issues, problems or even politics some of us would like to see change, but instead of getting involved, learning or working constructively to help make changes, too many are content to have opinions, sit on the sidelines, and complain about how bad and ugly politics have become. Just like it was in Jesus’ day, it is still so easy to make a person, even a person trying to do good in the world a “scape goat” for everything, saying that if we get rid of this or that person, then all our problems will be solved. You and I know that they got rid of Jesus around 33 AD, and by 70 AD Jerusalem was burned to the ground by the Romans. The problem wasn’t Jesus, just like the problems today is not just leaders and politicians. The problem has to do with having too many who want to enjoy freedom and too few who want to do hard work of freedom.
BEING A LABORER FOR FREEDOM OR ANYTHING ELSE
So, my concern today, from reading this text, is how can we learn to be part of the solution instead of being just another part of the problem. In other words, what can we as Christians and as a Church do for America in these difficult days? How can we be not only people who have been blessed to participate in the “harvest” of freedom, but how can we now become laborers in our freedom to help the harvest continue to be reaped and gathered in the future?
PACK YOUR HEART, NOT YOUR SUITCASE (vs. 3-4). Right in the middle of this passage, Jesus gives specific instructions on how to be disciples on a mission. His words are applicable for preparing for most any kind of social or spiritual work in the world. Look at how his words begin in verse 3. “Go own your way….”, he says, as if you are to begin where you are, but then it begins to get, not just demanding, but even scary. Jesus says, “See, I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves….” Don’t expect it to be easy, and if that’s not enough, he doesn’t tell you and I to take shot guns, rifles, knives or ammo, but he says, “carry no purse, no bag, no extra sandals and don’t greet anyone on the road.” Take nothing with you and don’t stop even to say Hi! Are you interested? You are not to take any protection of any sort. Besides, even though you are surrounded by threats, you are to have no back up plans and no extra supplies. They tell you to have more than this ready in case you have a storm at home; like flashlights, batteries and such, but Jesus is talking about going out without much of anything; no preparation, no protection and no provision, except for what is in your heart.
Maybe this is the most important thing when you are working for freedom or working at anything, is not what you have with you, what tools, what equipment, but it is what you have in your heart, and the sense of vision or mission you have. I use to see this mistake made on all kinds of mission trips. I’d tell the volunteers, don’t over pack, you’ve got to carry all that stuff around. They’d never realize what they can do without. They’d never understand how the train leaving the station won’t wait on all your stuff. They failed to realize that the success to their mission did not rest on what was in their bags, but what is in their hearts.
DON”T INSIST ON HAVING THINGS YOUR WAY (vs. 5-7). Besides getting your heart right, when you are working for good and for God, be ready, be flexible and ready to try something new or you’ll miss the whole point of why you were born with nothing and you leave this world with nothing. Jesus says, when you get where you are going, trust the good will of others, and more than this, he says you completely trust in their hospitality, their choice of food, and their choice of sleeping quarters. When someone invites you in, you don’t rush, you stay! You don’t go away when you feel like it. You don’t visit on your terms, but on their terms. Then, he says, if there is food offered, you eat what you are given. You don’t complain nor do you ask for something else. “Remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they provide” (vs. 7). Even more than this, you are to let other people’s agenda be your agenda, as we are to look for the sick person and offer prayers for them. Don’t just suggest they seek a doctor, but also pray with them. Seek out their needs and meet them. Go for them, not just for you.
DON”T TAKE IT PERSONAL (vs. 8-11) Then, besides all this, Jesus says the really big thing that we all worry about when we try to do something good in the world. What if they don’t like you, don’t welcome you, or if they complain about what you are trying to do? There is always somebody who will reject what you’re offering, even when you do it out of love. What do you do when people you worry about people criticizing you? Jesus says, basically, don’t take it personal. It’s really not about them rejecting you, but its about them rejecting what’s right, what’s good, or about them rejecting Jesus. Remember his words: “Whoever rejects you, rejects me, and whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me? Can you see that as a necessary part of the laboring for good? If you take everything personal, you won’t do anything, and nothing will get done, for God or for freedom.
Several months ago, I learn that the greatest fear most people have, that keeps them from trying new things, or from even doing the right things, or anything, is the fear of looking stupid. It used to be that the greatest fear in America was the fear of public speaking. I think this “fear of looking stupid” is on to something important. When you are going to be on mission for good, whether it be for the kingdom or for freedom, you’ve got to be willing to risk looking stupid. If you remember, the Bible says that God is so smart, he’s not afraid of looking stupid, because he uses the “foolish things” of the world to shame or confound the wise…(1 Cor. 1.27). This means God can use all of us. Having all the smarts, nor even always having the “know how” is not the main problem. The main problem will always be “want to.”
When the first American colonist stood up against “Great” Britain, the main issue was not “not how” or “smarts.” Great Britain was “great” could have beat us by any count. Those early colonist were not bigger nor better prepared. What they had was heart. They were willing not to focus on what they had to have, but what they had to do. They were willing to sacrifice comfort for the bigger cause. More than anything else, it wasn’t about proving ourselves right to the world, but it was about doing the right thing, even about making the world right, and if we risked looking foolish to the rest of the world. We declared our Independence because of what was in our hearts, not what was in our hands.
Perhaps the zeal of a being a on a “mission” for freedom is what’s missing today. We are much more worried these days about what we have with us or on us than what we have in our hearts. We also are more worried getting our own way than about sharing the pain of the world. Our minds have been far too much upon how good we look, or how good we feel than on what good we must all do to get the job done. How can we recapture our place of mission in the world, for God’s coming kingdom and for freedom?
Len Sweet once began a sermon with a question: “Who is our newest parent here this morning?" He went on to talk about the baby: "This little baby is embarking on a journey. And it’s an awesome journey to be a part of. All new parents here - is there anything as exciting as watching your baby go from a snuggly little lump you cradle in your arms to a roller, then a crawler, then a “cruiser,” and finally a walker? Babies seem absolutely driven to get on their feet. No matter how many times they tumble and topple, crash and burn, bump and bruise, babies in the “cruiser” stage keep letting go with their hands and start moving their feet. Standing upright, walking and running with a straight back and straight legs — those are the marks of the human being. It is this posture that sets us apart from all other living creatures on earth. Or is it?"
"There is another position that reveals even more about the uniqueness of being human. Standing up defines our most remarkable physical gift. Kneeling down reveals our most miraculous spiritual gift. If you’re a disciple of Jesus, to move up, move down. The future is on our knees. The future is knee-deep. The future is bottoms up. We don’t know when we’re stretching on our tip-toes. We know on our knees. The depths are knee-deep. And we’re weak in the knees . . . . .Repeat after me: insects crawl [response: insects crawl]; fish swim [response: fish swim]; birds fly [response: birds fly]; humans pray [response: humans pray]. Praying, with body, heart, mind, and soul, is the hallmark of humanity. So why is it that although we spend just one year learning how to stand on our own two feet, it can take us a lifetime to learn how to get back down on our knees? Almost all churches used to hold weekly “prayer meetings” — a time set aside, not for a sermon, not for singing, not for announcements, but a time just for contemplation and prayer. A time to be down on our knees, head bowed, heart open, listening for the “still, small voice” and sometimes hearing the thunder roll.
What kind of “meetings” do we hold now? We’ve given up our “prayer meetings” for planning meetings and committee meetings: strategic planning meetings, long-range-planning meetings, curriculum meetings, worship planning meetings, budget meetings, mission and outreach meetings. In the traditional Quaker “meeting,” prayer time was silent — each soul a quietly opened door, each spirit tuned to a frequency that didn’t register in the human ear. In other traditions prayer time is when “the thunder rolls.” During prayer time in Korean churches, called tongsong kido, the thousands of gathered worshipers pray simultaneously out loud — but not the same prayer. The sound of all those voices, all those prayers, flowing out into the sanctuary seem to physically fill the air with prayer. In those congregations the prayer you breathe out will not be the same prayer you breathe back in. Respiration brings transformation."
Finally, Sweet remarks: "Maybe the church today needs a conversion . . . a conversion to prayer. Maybe that would be the greatest “thing” we can do for freedom and for America. Here in the US, we’ve tried to become every other kind of church imaginable — a planning church, a seeker-sensitive church, a purpose-driven church, an organic church, an Emergent church, an National Church Development church, a house church, a missional church. Isn’t it time we got off our feet and back down on our knees and became first and foremost, a praying church? What was it that made Jesus so angry, at least angry enough to throw a Temple tantrum? We turned God’s house into everything else but what? “My house shall be a house of prayer!” (Mark 11:17; Luke 19:46).
Then Dr. Sweet asked the most relevant question for us today: "Has anyone ever told you, “You are an answer to prayer!” As a kid, his wife, Elizabeth, was required to visit a great-great aunt who lived nearby, every Sunday evening. Their family would send with her a plate of cookies or some other treat. In return Auntie would always exclaim, “Oh, aren’t you just an answer to prayer.” Elizabeth says she didn’t feel like an answer to any prayer. She felt like an impatient kid, still sweaty from playing ball in the yard, and wanting to get back to it as soon as possible. But for this shut-in, ninety year old Auntie, Elizabeth was, in all her imperfection, an answer to prayer. “I now know that her prayer was not for cookies. Her prayer was for family, for fellowship, for the touch of love and compassion to come into her life.”
All of us in attendance here today are an answer to an ancient prayer. That prayer is two thousand years old. It was a prayer uttered and answered in today’s gospel lesson. In that ancient prayer Jesus prayed that his Father would send him workers to “help bring in the harvest:” The prayer is: “The harvest is plentiful, but he laborers are few, therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest (Luke 10:2). (From a Sermon entitled “In Prayer’s Way”, by Len Sweet, in Leonard Sweet Commentary, Leonard Sweet, ChristianGlobe Networks, Inc., 2010).
Are you willing to be the answers to a laborer for freedom and for the kingdom by being the answer to someone’s pray? The kingdom of God only comes near, when we draw near to God. The work of freedom only gets done, when we are willing to do our part. What kind of answer are you? Amen.
© 2010 All rights reserved Dr. Charles J. Tomlin, B.A., M.Div. D.Min
© 2010 All rights reserved Dr. Charles J. Tomlin, B.A., M.Div. D.Min
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