Reflection: "The Harvest"“The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few”, says Jesus in Luke 10, so he commissions seventy-two disciples to go out, in pairs, to spread the gospel (although some scholars talk only of seventy).
He didn’t exactly give them a locker room pep-talk before they ventured out. No inspirational speech for sending out his followers into a plentiful harvest. Instead, he talked of sheep in the midst of wolves! Who would want to follow that directive? And that’s not all the bad news that there was for these first Christian missionaries. They’re commanded to go empty-handed, without even the most basic provisions necessary for the road. No purse, no bag of food, no sandals. Jesus was acutely aware of how perilous the work of the gospel would be and yet he told them to take no precautions as he sent them out. As they disappear, two-by-two, into the dusty roads before them, Luke tells us that they are empowered to share in the work of Jesus because the peace that they give will be the peace of Christ. This is why Luke is so careful to tell us that there were seventy. Just as God commanded Moses to gather seventy elders to share the unbearable load of the wilderness wandering, Jesus appoints the same number and then pushes them beyond their comfort zones and into the world. "Go on your way." No longer safe on the sidelines, these followers are now sent out, to share peace and table fellowship, to cure the sick, to proclaim the kingdom of God. In short, they’re called to live out and practice the faith that they had confessed, and it is in the performance of that command that the seventy are transformed from bystanders into active participants in the work of God. But why did he command them to go empty-handed? These disciples are to carry with them no money to buy things, no swords to display power, no food or supplies, no spare sandals for their feet. They must leave all of these comforts and necessities at home. They are armed with only a message: the kingdom of God has come near. This is their proclamation, and it is their promise: the kingdom of God has come near. They are to speak these words to both those who offer them hospitality and to those who do not. They are to be ambassadors for Christ and live out God's vision for the world. They are to practice peace, do justice, perform the faith. After being with Jesus for so long and seeing what they had seen, after witnessing so many miraculous moments, these followers were then sent out to be doers of the word, to be kingdom carriers. There’s something about the Christian faith that simply has to be lived to be understood. There are some gospel truths that only make sense in the homeless shelter, or at a hospital bed, or on the steps of Parliament House, or in any one of the great number of places in the world where people cry out for mercy, for bread, for justice, for compassion. Perhaps this is why they are sent into the mission field carrying only the message that the kingdom has come. We might be tempted to disagree with Jesus in so strongly asserting that the kingdom has come near. All you and I have to do is open the morning newspaper and scan the headlines, or watch the evening news on TV, to come to the conclusion that we don’t live in such a kingdom. Wars rage on with little sign of stopping and poverty and hunger claim the lives of so many, while others live in security and comfort with more than enough. Many are unsafe - even in their own homes, while others, in the developed world, might enjoy the security of gates and fences, there are still problems with drive by shootings, alcohol fuelled senseless violence, etc. These are not the signs of the kingdom that we would expect. In fact, if people, purporting to represent the kingdom, knocked on our door with no sandals, no food, and no money - we might be tempted to ask them to leave us alone. But Jesus is insistent that the workers are to proclaim that the kingdom is near, to those who receive them, and also to those who do not. But if the kingdom has indeed come near, what are the signs of its coming? Let's look again at the instructions Jesus gives to his missionaries: They are to enter a town, and where welcomed, they are to stay - that's accepting hospitality. They are to eat what is given to them - that's table fellowship. Then they are to cure the sick - that's compassion and care. Finally, they are to proclaim that the kingdom of God has come near. Thus, in the faithful and loving ministry of the disciples, the kingdom of God in fact comes near. Many Christians in our own time have begun to speak of the kingdom of God as a metaphorical and idyllic symbol of life as it will never be. But this is not the message of Jesus to the seventy as he sends them out. Instead, Jesus declares that, within the mission and ministry of these believers, the kingdom of God will come near. Have you felt the presence of the kingdom in your own life? Have you had those experiences when the thin veneer of ordinary human existence is broken, and the glory of God shines through? There’s something about the Christian faith that must be lived, in order to be understood. Jesus knew this, so he sent his disciples out into the world with only the message of the kingdom to guide them. It was all they needed. We can use our theology as a bludgeon, with which to beat others who can’t muster the faith we have. We can shout louder, speak longer, or preach harder than anyone else. We can be absolutely sure of our right answers and of the certain damnation of others. We can stay in our comfort zones, safely hovering above any real engagement with the issues of faith that call out in our time. But if we do, if we refuse to get our hands dirty and have our hearts changed - then we risk missing the kingdom of God, that has already come near in Jesus Christ. We risk missing the terrifying and empowering journey that requires nothing but faith in God to sustain us and trust in fellow travellers to support us. Jesus is sending us out into a complex and hostile world, like sheep in the midst of wolves. The bad news is that all we carry is a message. The good news is that the message is this: the kingdom of God has come near! Let’s just close with a word of prayer. Liberate us, O God, from all the burdens that we carry on this journey of faith, so that, like the seventy, we might welcome your kingdom - with open hearts and empty hands. Empower us, O Christ, to share the Good News that the kingdom has come near and help us to demonstrate its coming through communal acts of compassion, justice, and peace. Pastor Rick
1 Comment
Lena Beryl Blok
2/7/2022 08:54:57 am
Thank you for your thought provoking message.
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