Proper 6 – A
Matt 9:35-10:8
June 14, 2020
St Columba’s /
Mount Cross
In the Name of God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Intro
As we settle down in earnest for the Sundays after Pentecost, our Old Testament lessons will take us on an adventure as we wander our way through the Book of Genesis.
There we will explore part of our “family tree”, if you will, as we learn about Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, Jacob and his sons, and especially Joseph – and then on to the Book of Exodus as we learn about the beginnings of Israel as a people.
And so we begin at the beginning – the beginning of God’s people – and in a very real way OUR beginning – with the story of Abraham.
I. Abraham
A. Now, the story of Abraham actually begins several chapters earlier, in Chapter 12, with God’s call to Abraham.
1. Abraham is called by God to leave his homeland and go to the land that God will show him – and God promises to make of him a great nation
2. So Abraham follows God’s call and has many adventures, yet he always remains FAITHFUL to the call of God.
3. He is so FAITHFUL that by Chapter 15 God makes a COVENANT with Abraham.
4. Again, God promises to make a great nation of Abraham – and promises land and descendants.
5. Then Abraham reminds God, “That’s great, God, but I don’t have any children.
6. So God takes Abraham outside and says, you will have as many descendants as there are stars in the sky – if you can count them all.
7. And the COVENANT that was made with Abraham is renewed again and again between God and God’s people: “I will be your God and you will be my people.”
B. Now, as we reach Chapter 18 and today’s reading, we find out how all this may take place.
1. Abraham is sitting outside his tent – snoozing in the afternoon sun – when 3 strangers appear.
2. Instantly, Abraham jumps up and offers his hospitality.
3. As they are sitting down to dinner, one of the strangers – who we know are angels of the Lord – says, “When I pass by here again, Sarah will have a baby.”
4. And Sarah, who is eavesdropping on the conversation, begins to laugh for she is far too old to be having children.
5. The Angel hears her and tells her not to laugh, saying, “Is anything too wonderful for the Lord?”
6. And in Chapter 21, behold, Sarah does have a son, and Abraham names him Isaac – which means “Son of Laughter.”
C. Now the point of these stories is two-fold.
1. On the one hand, these are “Where did I come from?” stories, explaining the origins of the people of Israel.
2. While at the same time these are stories of FAITH – faith in God and keeping God’s Covenant – “I will be your God and you will be my people.”
3. Because Abraham has FAITH – and follows God’s call through thick and thin – God keeps the COVENANT with Abraham and Abraham DOES become the father of many nations – as we will hear over the rest of the summer.
4. That’s the theme running through all these stories: God keeps God’s promises – and Abraham is faithful to God’s call.
II. Gospel
A. And the same is true for the Disciples in our Gospel reading.
1. Jesus had been teaching and healing and sharing the Good News of the Kingdom of God, and now he calls from his group of followers some ASSISTANTS to help him.
2. Now, it’s important to notice here what Jesus does.
3. He CALLS his Disciples – his assistants.
4. And he GIVES THEM AUTHORITY – in other words he EQUIPS them for what they are going to do.
5. And then he SENDS THEM OUT to do it.
6. And they have the FAITH to go.
B. And then Matthew names them – but rather than calling them Disciples, he calls them APOSTLES.
1. This is the only time that the word “Apostle” appears in Matthew’s Gospel.
2. A DISCIPLE is one who follows – an APOSTLE is one who is sent.
3. And these 12 are SENT OUT by Jesus to share his message of God’s love for God’s people.
4. And, are they called and sent because they were better than anyone else – that they had no faults?
5. NO – we know better than that – they were sent because they were FAITHFUL to the call of Jesus and lived it out in their lives.
III. Us Today
A. Jesus said to his Disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”
1. They may have been pretty surprised when they prayed as Jesus suggested for the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers, and found that THEY THEMSELVES were the answer to the prayer.
2. And WE TOO are the answer to that same prayer as we are called to FAITHFULLY respond to Jesus’ call in OUR lives.
3. WE TOO are called to be APOSTLES – sent out by Jesus to share his message of God’s love to our broken and hurting world.
4. We are called to be people of FAITH – just like Abraham – just like the Apostles – and to live out our FAITH in our lives.
B. But how can we do this?
1. Sure things are opening up a little bit – but we’re still supposed to be staying at home as much as we can.
– We can’t even go to church!
2. How can WE help anyone?
– How can WE be people of faith?
3. How can we meet them – when we can’t BE with them?
4. How can we help them know God’s love for them?
5. And the answer is just as true for us as it was for the Apostles – just live your live and let God worry about the rest.
C. The story is told of a church who was organizing an evangelism drive.
1. A young woman named “Maria” moved into this congregation from Angola in West Africa.
2. She was always laughing. Her faith sparkled and the Spirit flowed out of her soul to all around her.
3. So Maria decided to join the Evangelism effort and attended a meeting of the committee.
4. All kinds of pamphlets, various mission strategies, and demographic studies were handed out – all designed to get the unchurched to church.
5. At one point toward the end of the day, another participant turned to Maria and asked her what they did in Angola to evangelize those who did not know Christ.
6. Everyone perked up to hear her answer, as they had heard stories about how rapidly Christianity had grown in her former country; and they wanted to learn their “methodology.”
7. Slightly intimidated by the sudden spotlight being turned on her, Maria stood up, and, after a moment’s thought, said:
– “Well, we don’t give any pamphlets to people – we don’t have any!
8. “We just send one or two Christian families to live in a village.
– And when people see what Christians are like, they want to be Christians themselves.”
D. “When people see what Christians are like – they want to be Christians themselves.”
1. When people look at your life what do they see?
2. Would they want to be a Christian when the see how you live and act?
3. Do people even know you’re a Christian by the way you live your life?
4. We still get out a little bit – and in the coming weeks we will be able to more – and when we do, we have the opportunity to be examples of the Christian life.
5. When you are in the grocery store – how do you treat the harried cashier ringing up your groceries?
– How do you treat your fellow shoppers – especially the ones who can’t keep six feet distance –and can’t or won’t wear their mask properly?
6. How do we live a Christian life when we think no one is watching – when in reality EVERYONE is watching?
7. “When people see what Christians are like – they want to be Christians themselves.”
Conclusion
St. Francis once said, “Preach the Gospel at all times: and if necessary use words.”
– “Preach the Gospel at all times: and if necessary use words.”
Each of us is called to be an APOSTLE – sent out to share Jesus’ love;
– and the way we do that is by the living of our lives.
Like the Apostles, we are to respond to Jesus call – be equipped to carry it out and then be SENT OUT – and in FAITH do the things that Jesus calls us to do:
– to reach out to our broken and hurting world;
– and to share his love freely offered to all.
The harvest is STILL plentiful and the laborers ARE few – so what are WE going to do – let the harvest rot?
“When people see what Christians are like – they want to be Christians themselves.”
“Preach the Gospel at all times: if necessary use words.”
All it takes is for us to live lives of FAITH.
Let Us Pray – and ponder with me this Celtic Prayer
Let us go forth in the goodness of our merciful Father,
In the gentleness of our brother Jesus,
In the radiance of his Holy Spirit,
In the faith of the Apostles,
In the joyful praise of the angels,
In the holiness of the saints,
In the courage of the martyrs.
Let us go forth,
In the wisdom of the all-seeing Father,
In the patience of our all-loving brother,
In the truth of the all-knowing Spirit,
In the learning of the Apostles,
In the gracious guidance of the angels,
In the patience of the saints,
In the self-control of the martyrs.
Such is the path of the servants of Christ,
The path from death to eternal life. AMEN.
(Synthesis June 16, 2002)