Matthew 10 (redacted)
Jesus called twelve of his followers and sent them into the ripe fields. He gave them power to kick out the evil spirits and to tenderly care for the bruised and hurt lives. He sent them out with this charge: “Don’t begin by traveling to some far-off place to convert unbelievers. And don’t try to be dramatic by tackling some public enemy. Go to the lost, confused people right here in the neighborhood. Tell them that the kingdom is here. Bring health to the sick. Raise the dead. Touch the untouchables. Kick out the demons. You have been treated generously, so live generously.
“Don’t think you have to put on a fund-raising campaign before you start. You don’t need a lot of equipment. You are the equipment, and all you need to keep that going is three meals a day.
“When you knock on a door, be courteous in your greeting. If they welcome you, be gentle in your conversation. If they don’t welcome you, quietly withdraw. Don’t make a scene. Shrug your shoulders and be on your way.
“We are intimately linked in this harvest work. Anyone who accepts what you do, accepts me, the One who sent you. Anyone who accepts what I do accepts my Father, who sent me. Accepting a messenger of God is as good as being God’s messenger. Accepting someone’s help is as good as giving someone help. This is a large work I’ve called you into, but don’t be overwhelmed by it. It’s best to start small. Give a cool cup of water to someone who is thirsty, for instance. The smallest act of giving or receiving makes you a true apprentice. You won’t lose out on a thing.”
Last week we talked about our individual visions for what our church could be. Some of the things hoped for include:
• A place where we can truly welcome and serve the poor and homeless
• A church with people of all ages - staying small enough to remain family, but large enough to survive and thrive
• A gathering that studies the scriptures to grow spiritually
• A group that gathers in Christian fellowship, perhaps around the table, brought together by God, not the circumstances of our lives
• A gathering that offers welcome and the joy of knowing God, to all who come in our doors
• A church whose focus is on reaching outward to serve
I would add, for myself, a people who welcome those who have always felt un-welcomed by church in the past. “Go to the lost, confused people right here in the neighborhood. Tell them that the kingdom is here....You have been treated generously, so live generously”.
Our task, as Christians, has always been two-fold: to grow in intimacy with God ourselves, and to serve God’s little ones here. I’m pretty sure it is impossible to do one without the other. Martin Luther said it, long ago, "Where there are no good works, there is no faith. If works and love do not blossom forth, it is not genuine faith, the gospel has not gained a foothold, and Christ is not yet rightly known." If all we do is feed ourselves, we are not serving the gospel. If all we do is feed others, we are not serving the gospel. You must have both to do either.
None of this seems too difficult to pull off. Our “wildest dreams” actually seem pretty tame and shouldn’t be out of our grasp if God is truly leading us. What we hope to do IS absolutely impossible for us to do on our own, but we believe that God does not ever call us to a task without fully equipping us for that task. We just need to keep stepping forward, and God will provide the rest.
I know some of you think I’m moving too slowly with all this, but I am so determined that we work out what we want and what we believe and what we hope – together – before we find ourselves owning a property and only then discovering that we’ve been saying and expecting different things all along.
In particular, I want today to p oint out a couple of things we need to beware of. In the UCC web-blog on the lectionary readings for this week, Kathryn Huey, who writes most of the reflections on that site has this to offer:
“Jesus [she says about today’s reading] focuses on two things: have no fear, and have an undivided heart. You probably need to be fearless if you're going to have an undivided heart, because you're likely to risk a lot for the sake of the treasure I offer: perhaps you'll even risk the loss of social standing, family support, physical safety and financial security...” She then goes on to quote writer Barbara Brown Taylor's marvelous description of the temptation we all face: "Sure, it is the gospel, [we say] but there is no reason to get all upset about it. Being a good Christian is not all that different from being a good citizen, after all. You just stay out of trouble and be nice to your neighbors and say your prayers at night. There is absolutely no reason to go make a spectacle of yourself..."
This reminded me of another quote I’ve always liked. This one from Dorothy Sayers, who is best known as the author of the Lord Peter Whimsy mysteries, but who was also a religious writer: "Whenever an average Christian is presented in a novel or a play, he is pretty sure to be practicing one or all of the Seven Deadly Virtues.” And those Seven Deadly Virtues in her thinking are: respectability, childishness, mental timidity, dullness, sentimentality, censoriousness, and depression of spirits.
In other words - what we are doing here is not simply starting another church in Ukiah - just like every other church in Ukiah. What we are talking about here is actually fairly outrageous when you look around and see how few we actually are. And it almost surely going to be hard work. I’ve got one more quote that seems pretty apropos - this one by G.K. Chesterton, "The Christian faith has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult, and left untried."
What we are planning here is to try to live our Christian faith as we believe it should be lived. We are answering Jesus’ call and we are being sent out for the harvest. We are called and sent, in the language of Matther’s gospel, to “go to the lost, confused people right here in the neighborhood and tell them that the kingdom is here. To bring health to the sick. To raise the dead. To touch the untouchables. To kick out the demons.” This is no walk in the park that we are contemplating. And it will take every one of us, working together – no Lone Rangers off on their own agenda and no one sitting back expecting it all to get done by someone else. Look around you – we are pretty darn short on “someone elses.” This isn’t an easy thing we’re planning. We have to be committed, together.
We must, every one of us, know in our deepest heart of hearts that Jesus himself has called us to this task – and we must be prepared to answer with a single mind and a single heart, “Yes, Lord – yes.”
Our task, as Christians, has always been two-fold: to grow in intimacy with God ourselves, and to serve God’s little ones here. I’m pretty sure it is impossible to do one without the other. Martin Luther said it, long ago, "Where there are no good works, there is no faith. If works and love do not blossom forth, it is not genuine faith, the gospel has not gained a foothold, and Christ is not yet rightly known." If all we do is feed ourselves, we are not serving the gospel. If all we do is feed others, we are not serving the gospel. You must have both to do either.
None of this seems too difficult to pull off. Our “wildest dreams” actually seem pretty tame and shouldn’t be out of our grasp if God is truly leading us. What we hope to do IS absolutely impossible for us to do on our own, but we believe that God does not ever call us to a task without fully equipping us for that task. We just need to keep stepping forward, and God will provide the rest.
I know some of you think I’m moving too slowly with all this, but I am so determined that we work out what we want and what we believe and what we hope – together – before we find ourselves owning a property and only then discovering that we’ve been saying and expecting different things all along.
In particular, I want today to p oint out a couple of things we need to beware of. In the UCC web-blog on the lectionary readings for this week, Kathryn Huey, who writes most of the reflections on that site has this to offer:
“Jesus [she says about today’s reading] focuses on two things: have no fear, and have an undivided heart. You probably need to be fearless if you're going to have an undivided heart, because you're likely to risk a lot for the sake of the treasure I offer: perhaps you'll even risk the loss of social standing, family support, physical safety and financial security...” She then goes on to quote writer Barbara Brown Taylor's marvelous description of the temptation we all face: "Sure, it is the gospel, [we say] but there is no reason to get all upset about it. Being a good Christian is not all that different from being a good citizen, after all. You just stay out of trouble and be nice to your neighbors and say your prayers at night. There is absolutely no reason to go make a spectacle of yourself..."
This reminded me of another quote I’ve always liked. This one from Dorothy Sayers, who is best known as the author of the Lord Peter Whimsy mysteries, but who was also a religious writer: "Whenever an average Christian is presented in a novel or a play, he is pretty sure to be practicing one or all of the Seven Deadly Virtues.” And those Seven Deadly Virtues in her thinking are: respectability, childishness, mental timidity, dullness, sentimentality, censoriousness, and depression of spirits.
In other words - what we are doing here is not simply starting another church in Ukiah - just like every other church in Ukiah. What we are talking about here is actually fairly outrageous when you look around and see how few we actually are. And it almost surely going to be hard work. I’ve got one more quote that seems pretty apropos - this one by G.K. Chesterton, "The Christian faith has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult, and left untried."
What we are planning here is to try to live our Christian faith as we believe it should be lived. We are answering Jesus’ call and we are being sent out for the harvest. We are called and sent, in the language of Matther’s gospel, to “go to the lost, confused people right here in the neighborhood and tell them that the kingdom is here. To bring health to the sick. To raise the dead. To touch the untouchables. To kick out the demons.” This is no walk in the park that we are contemplating. And it will take every one of us, working together – no Lone Rangers off on their own agenda and no one sitting back expecting it all to get done by someone else. Look around you – we are pretty darn short on “someone elses.” This isn’t an easy thing we’re planning. We have to be committed, together.
We must, every one of us, know in our deepest heart of hearts that Jesus himself has called us to this task – and we must be prepared to answer with a single mind and a single heart, “Yes, Lord – yes.”
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