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The Seventh Sunday After Pentecost
O God, who hast taught us to keep all thy commandments by loving thee and our neighbor: Grant us the grace of thy Holy Spirit, that we may be devoted to thee with our whole heart, and united to one another with pure affection; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Proper 9)
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The Seventh Sunday After Pentecost
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Scripture citation(s): Luke 10:1-11, 16-20
A Sermon by
on
Luke 10:1-11, 16-20
✛
The Kingdom of God Has Drawn Near
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Let us pray:
God of the journey – may we come to know, in all times and in all places, that you have called each of us to the harvest. That we are to pack lightly for our journey. And that we are proclaim peace to all that we meet along the way. Amen.
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Peace. That is the message that we are charged to carry.
You may remember that last week when Jesus sent two of his followers on ahead, to prepare for his arrival at a village in Samaria, they were rejected. The disciples James & John were prepared to call down fire from heaven.
Jesus rebuked that notion. There is to be no retribution, no violence, and no vengeance from the hand of Jesus. How could there be retribution, violence or vengeance when the message is The Kingdom of God has come near to you?
The anticipated visit to the Samaritan village ended before it could even begin. But even for that village, we know from today’s lesson that the message from Jesus is the same: The Kingdom of God has come near to you. Last week’s side-trip to the Samaritan village marked the beginning of the great journey.
The journey of Jesus to Jerusalem. The journey of Jesus towards his ultimate goal. That journey that is the model for our own pilgrimage, towards our ultimate goal.
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In this morning’s reading from Luke’s gospel we are given our marching orders.
We are told that this is a journey that is best made within a community.
Jesus did not send his friends out on their own. Ministry is not a solo act. The ministry of the gospel in this and every place is best accomplished within a community. There is a great deal that can be accomplished when we work together. Any task or ministry that we undertake by ourselves is a risky proposition.
First, when we think that we can work alone we put ourselves at risk for several things: We can reach burn-out all too quickly, and then become resentful that others aren’t working as hard as we do.
Perhaps even more dangerous: it is also entirely possible that instead of burn-out the task or project that we undertake as a solo act, will be successful and prosper. When that is the case we are at risk of the sin of pride.
This is a journey that is best made within a community.
+ + +
We are told that this is a journey upon which there will be abundant work, abundant tasks, abundant opportunities.
A harvest that is plentiful, but for which there are few laborers. There will always be unmet human needs in our communities. There will always be people like you and me who are in need of pastoral care and concern. There will always be children to be nurtured and young people to be mentored. In a place like this, there will always be slate to repair, mortar to re-point, windows to fix, and organs to tune – or sometimes even build. All the more reason to take this journey together, in community.
This is a journey upon which there will be abundant work, abundant tasks, abundant opportunities.
+ + +
We are told that this is a journey that is best made when we travel lightly.
As I continue along the way on my own journey this is a lesson that I need to learn over and over again. The accumulation of possessions soon becomes as much of a curse as it is a blessing.
For just over twenty years before I became a priest, I worked in the oil & gas industry. Between 1994, when I moved to Tunisia, In North Africa, and when I completed seminary ten year later, I relocated 13 times. When I arrived in Poughkeepsie in 2006 to serve as Rector @ Christ Church there, the Rectory had not been lived in For over twenty five years. During my first two years in Poughkeepsie, I moved six times more times, before settling into the – finally, renovated Rectory – at the 7th move. Two more moves ensued, on my way to New York City, where I now live.
One thing I’ve learned after those 20-some moves: I’ve got too much ‘stuff.’
We all likely have too much stuff. And I’m not talking only about the stuff in boxes and closets, basements, attics and garages and storage facilities.
It’s not a very far stretch to draw an analogy between the material stuff in our cardboard boxes, and the spiritual & emotional stuff that we drag along through our lives.
This is a journey that is best made when we travel light.
+ + +
We are told that this is a journey that brings us close to the kingdom of God.
It’s fascinating that this is the message for those who accept the messengers of Jesus, as well as for those who reject him.
When you enter a town and they welcome you, say to them: the kingdom of God has come near to you.
When you enter a town and the do not welcome you, say to them: the kingdom of God has come near to you.
This is a wonderful and telling message for all of us engaged in ministry.
And by “those who are engaged in ministry” I don’t mean just the clergy. Each person who is called and responds to live their lives as a follower of Jesus Christ, is in ministry. The first order of ministry in the church is the laity. Next deacons. Then priests. Last come bishops. Each of you who have decided to follow the way of Jesus Christ is indeed a minister.
This message that the Kingdom of God has come near is a wonderful and telling message for all of us engaged in ministry. It’s not all about us. It’s not even about whether we fail or succeed. It’s about the message: The Kingdom of God has drawn near.
In each of our own personal lives, and here within your lives together in this community, we will spend time on the mountaintop of success. And we will all walk through that valley that we know from the 23rd Psalm. We must avoid the trap of beginning to think that it is our own experiences that validate the kingdom of God.
Luke tells us today that the message is the same and is equally valid, whether the villages accept the followers of Jesus, or if they are rejected. It’s about the message – not about us as the messengers.
This is a journey that brings us close to the kingdom of God.
+ + +
A journey that is made in community
A journey with an abundance of opportunity.
A journey best made when we travel light.
A journey that brings us close to the kingdom of God.
Your journey today, as a parish community, is to step into the sandals of those first followers of Jesus. It is our task to bring that message to the communities where we live, and move, and have our being. And – in doing so – to also keep that message alive in our own hearts, in our own lives, in our own souls.
We have our own journey to make towards Jerusalem.
We need to go there together.
We’ll find plenty to do along the way.
We need to pack lightly.
We need to go in peace.
And along the way, we’ll likely be surprised to find that the kingdom of God has drawn near.
