PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION

In the gift of this new day,
in the gift of the present moment,
in the gift of time and eternity intertwined,
let us be grateful,
let us be attentive,
let us be open to what has never happened before,
in the gift of this new day,
in the gift of the present moment,
in the gift of time and eternity intertwined.

–       JP Newell, “Sounds of the Eternal:  A Celtic Psalter”

Luke 10:1-11, 16-20

The Mission of the Seventy

10 After this the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go. ² He said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. ³ Go on your way. See, I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves. ⁴ Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and greet no one on the road. ⁵ Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this house!’⁶ And if anyone is there who shares in peace, your peace will rest on that person; but if not, it will return to you. ⁷ Remain in the same house, eating and drinking whatever they provide, for the laborer deserves to be paid. Do not move about from house to house. ⁸ Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you; ⁹ cure the sick who are there, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ ¹⁰ But whenever you enter a town and they do not welcome you, go out into its streets and say, ¹¹ ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest against you. Yet know this: the kingdom of God has come near.’

¹⁶ “Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever rejects you rejects me, and whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.”

The Return of the Seventy

¹⁷ The seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us!” ¹⁸ He said to them, “I watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning. ¹⁹ See, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing will hurt you. ²⁰ Nevertheless, do not rejoice at this, that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

Last week we discussed being on a journey and the importance of our journey partners.  Our passage in Luke was about Jesus setting his eyes towards Jerusalem and being set on the mission of proclaiming the Kingdom of God, of living out the peace and presence of God on all of humanity.

This week, we find Jesus sending out 70, or in some manuscripts, 72, messengers to towns and places to proclaim the message that God’s Kingdom, God’s presence is now…that the time for release of prisoners, of welcoming of immigrants, of freedom for those being oppressed or persecuted has come…that community, true community…community marked by honest conversation, checking our egos at the door, being confident in who we are in Christ, our humanity, and what God has created within us, radical inclusion of everyone, of opening up the doors of our lives and our communities to all of those around us in some way while trusting that God’s love will flow in and through us is here!  

Jesus goes on to say that this is a message that is ripe and ready for harvest.  I get that.  When I’m out in this neighborhood I hear folks all of the time saying bits and pieces in their conversations for a yearning to belong to a larger purpose, to a community that will not judge them or hem them in, but will allow them to ask questions, to live in wisdom, compassion, and in friendship.  

Jesus is not saying that he came to make a kingdom marked by unhealthy boundaries and power, but a kingdom, or Presence, marked by authentic friendship that leads to freedom and growth.  Friendship, Kingdom friendship, happens when folks believe in each other, love one another, don’t hold grudges, are willing to ask questions out of love for one another and not out of winning arguments or out of some sort of personal agenda.  In that Kingdom, transformation is a mark of friendship, a mark of relationship, not transactions or “if I do this, you’ll do this”.  

It’s important to note that the gospel author is simply trying to say that this is a message that needs to be spread…and that even 72 folks isn’t enough…the harvest is huge, all of humanity really.  But, have hope, you have all you need…you have yourself and a friend.   And, again, trust.  Trust beyond circumstance.  Donated trust.  Going out like lambs in the midst of wolves, but still trusting something deeper.  And, as we trust, to also trust that others also are looking for that kind of faith…a faith that is present and connects us to all that is good in ourselves, one another, and creation.  

My friends John McKnight, who recently passed, and Peter Block, who’s working with us in Westwood that many of you have met, have given us the concept of asset based community development.  The idea is that you don’t go into a situation asking what the need is, you go in looking for your assets…you gather your assets, then apply them in a community and development and growth will hopefully follow.

And, I’ve seen this concept work in so many ways over the years…and it’s working in different ways in our church and in Westwood.  That’s what we’ve been doing with the “Common Good Alliance” that has been meeting periodically.   Really, it’s how we are operating as a church.  When folks start talking about what we don’t have, that’s maybe a sign of a lack of trust in one’s self…or a lack of imagination to see the assets, the possibilities, and the relationships.  It frustrates me to no end when folks say things like something or someone can never change.  That’s simply not the gospel narrative, is it?

Jesus tells his messengers to model presence, even in the midst of resistors.  He tells them to go to homes and if they are welcomed there, to remain there, to bless the house, to give them peace and to have a deeper agency.  For those who do not welcome God’s message, Jesus says to go into the streets, to shake the dust off their feet in protest…but, notice, he doesn’t tell them to leave.  They remain and still proclaim and live out their message.  What I understand in this passage is that the early Jewish listener to this story would understand that the dust represents rejection or criticism.  Shake it off Jesus is saying, don’t let it stick to you.  And remain being the person that you’ve been called to be.  

Remain is a good word for us today.   I have found that being in one place for a while helps to build up love and trust and beauty in that place…when someone makes a commitment to the growth of an area and remaining…and if that place is welcoming and open to the message, good things usually follow…again, it’s trust and any organization or relationship will grow at the speed of trust.  

It’s also a good reminder to remain in Christ, our true home in Christ is welcoming and allows us to grow to a place of self awareness, others awareness, and God awareness.   That awareness while remaining moves us towards growth.  

God’s flow can’t be stopped, it will continue to flow over those who welcome it, and those who reject it.  Those who welcome it will grow, and those who can’t seem to welcome it, who can’t let go of the demons in their lives that are oppressing them, will continue to live in the hell that they’ve created for themselves, and often for others.  

Friends, Jesus reminds us that there is a thief that comes to steal and destroy, but as we live in the awareness of living in Christ, we experience abundant life…life filled with wonderful assets of relationship, possibility, imagination, purpose, and new life that we see emerge as we remain and become our true, authentic Selves.  We are called to be the body of Christ together…and to experience the abundant life of Christ poured into us.