LUKE 10: 1-20 (NRSV)
Even
though it happened about 50 years ago I can still see them clearly. They were
walking down the street of my childhood home as big and as bold as you can be. It
probably was a Friday night and lots of people were out strolling around. Times
and distances were different then, and “going downtown” was still in.
As
they walked along every eye that could see was trained on them. You could hear
people stop talking when they saw these four young men come closer. Older women
gasped, young girls jumped up and down, and most men got angry.
They
were followed by two people who were passing out flyers announcing the upcoming
concert by the green-haired “Beatles mania” band touring the country. Believe
me, you either liked the Beatles or hated them.
This
incident is a perfect example of what used to be done in a pre-TV, low tech
world. In order to garner publicity and attention, circuses, travelling shows, evangelistic
revivals, and even musicians sent advance men ahead of their itinerary to stir
up interest and encourage ticket sales.
Sometimes
it worked and sometimes it didn’t. Sometimes it depended on the humor, or lack
thereof, of the local police department. Sometimes the people received it well
and other times it bombed.
I
would label the green hair stunt a success as I still remember it so many years
later. You may have similar memories or experiences as well.
Listen
to our Gospel Lesson for today where Jesus sends out his advance men:
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.
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. Go on your way. See, I am
sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves. Carry no purse, no bag, no
sandals; and greet no one on the road.
Whatever house
you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this house!’ And if anyone is there who shares
in peace, your peace will rest on that person; but if not, it will return to
you. 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.
Whenever you
enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you; cure the
sick who are there, and say to them, ‘The Kingdom of God has come near to you.’
But whenever you
enter a town and they do not welcome you, go out into its streets and say,
‘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.’ I tell you, on
that day it will be more tolerable for Sodom than for that town.”
“Woe to you
Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the deeds of power done in you had been
done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth
and ashes. But at the judgment it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon
than for you.
And you,
Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? No, you will be brought down to
Hades. Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever rejects you rejects
me, and whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.”
The seventy
returned with joy, saying, “Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us!”
He said to them, “I watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightening.
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. Nevertheless, do not rejoice
at this, that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are
written in heaven.”
God
may not require you to dye your hair green to be his “advance man” but he might
require you to sacrifice your time and talent in order to witness to His glory.
Jesus’
teachings are, for the most part, hard teachings. The kumbaya crowd can't or won't hear them - Jesus' doesn't endorse verse 3 of "They'll know we are Christians" as human pride and dignity are abominations in the Lord's eyes.
There are
winners and losers; the judged and those who will be saints. If you can’t
realize this and see the sheep and the goats, then being a Jesus disciple, a
Christian, will be hard for you.
You
will be like people with green hair walking among blondes and brunettes,
causing a stir, being source of jokes, stirring hatred, and brewing controversy.
The
average Christian in today’s America is under pressure to cave in and submit to
gay marriage and abortion on demand regardless of what the biblical standards
are. What will it be like next week, next year, in 5 years?
Jesus
warns us that His disciples will be like sheep among wolves. We already are if you consider the gay lobby
who would declare us haters and discriminators with an almost frenzied passion.
Jesus
tells us that some people, some towns, and some countries will recognize him
while others do not.
The
number listed here, which is not mentioned anywhere other than here in Luke’s
Gospel, has been thought to be symbolic of the number of known countries
(Gentile) in the world during Jesus’ lifetime, thus emphasizing Jesus’ mission
to not just the Jews, but to the whole world.
This
seems to be confirmed when Jesus mixes Jewish and Gentile cities as sites of
future woe as they have rightfully earned judgment that will fall upon them.
In
the final analysis this passage has had a great impact on our concept of
mission work and the ministry. Jesus has promised that to them who He has
called both success and failure, both rewards and sufferings. He has also shown
that His enemy, Satan, is present here on earth as an enemy to His disciples.
Jesus
told His disciples that while they would have power over the enemy they must
not brag or flaunt it because the true prize is their home in Heaven. As
Christians and disciples the people will accept or reject us. We need to deal
with it.
Mandisa Hundley, a gospel singer, was one of the twelve
finalists on American Idol. When she met with judges Simon Cowell, Paula
Abdul, and Randy Jackson to find out if she had made it through to the next
round, she instead got a stinging comment from Simon. Eyeing Mandisa, who was a
large person, Simon asked, “Do we have a bigger stage this year?”
When she entered the room to learn the judges’ verdict,
Mandisa looked right at Simon and said, “Simon, a lot of people want me to say
a lot of things to you. But this is what I want to say: Yes, you hurt me, and I
cried, and it was painful.
But I want you to know that I’ve forgiven you, and that
you don’t need someone to apologize first to forgive somebody. And I figure
that if Jesus could die so that all of my wrongs could be forgiven, I can
certainly extend that same grace to you. I wanted you to know that.”
Simon apologized and hugged the singer, and Mandisa
discovered she was going on to the next round.
Today Mandisa is the most requested Gospel singer on the
Christian Conference tour.
We
are Disciples of Christ, examples for Christ, and representatives of His
Kingdom, let us learn to live with that commission from Christ. Amen.
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