You Can’t Be Serious!

Romans 5:1-8

Matt. 9:35-10:11 

Don’t you wish you could see a replay of that scene?  It must have been awesome and exciting to be at Jesus’ side as he was preaching, teaching and healing people everywhere… and to see how moved he was by the condition of the crowds that followed them… like sheep w/o a shepherd…  Then, when Jesus told them to pray that the Lord would send out laborers into the harvest, do you think they had any idea that THEY would be the laborers God would send?

How do you suppose those 12 disciples reacted when Jesus told them to go out on their own and “proclaim the good news, the kingdom of heaven is at hand.  Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons”?

Did they turn to each other and say, “What did he say?!  Raise the dead?  Cast out demons?  Us?  We’re just a bunch of ordinary guys.  How are we gonna do that?!”  They might have said that, because they were, after all, just a bunch of ordinary guys… blue collar workers, for the most part, unschooled, no real credentials. 

If you look at the list of the names of the 12, you’ll see several that are familiar.  There are the fishermen, and the tax collector, and three names that I don’t think we ever hear much about again… and then there’s Judas, the betrayer.  Quite an illustrious group…

While our passage doesn’t tell us what they said or thought, we know from other scripture passages that they did go out… in twos, for protection and encouragement… and they did tell people that the kingdom of heaven is at hand, and they showed them that it was by healing the sick, raising the dead, cleansing the lepers, and casting out demons…  They went out and restored people to life!

Then, when they returned to Jesus, they were so excited… and eager to tell him what had happened to themselves, as well as to the people whose lives they touched.  Nobody was more surprised than they were, I’m sure!

What do you think Jesus would do if he walked the streets of our city today?  Wouldn’t he be moved with the same kind of deep compassion for the crowds of people who are as lost and wandering as the sheep without a shepherd in our scripture passage?  Wouldn’t he ask God to send laborers out to heal the mentally ill who are wandering the streets, to care for the teenagers who are estranged from their families… wouldn’t he ask for laborers to cast out the demons of racism and power-grabbing that rob people of their dignity and hope… and wouldn’t he ask for someone to tell the folks here in this neighborhood that they can’t find what they really need on EBay?  Wouldn’t he do that?

And what if he walked in here this morning… wouldn’t he send US out to be those laborers?  Wouldn’t he tell us to go to the lost sheep of the City of Seattle and tell them that the kingdom of heaven is at hand.  Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, and cast out demons.”

What do you suppose our reaction would be?  I think almost all of us would say… “You can’t be serious!  I don’t have that kind of power.  I’m just an ordinary person.  My life is already so full of responsibilities and expectations, please don’t lay anything more on me, especially something that heavy!”  And we might also be thinking something like, “What if it doesn’t work?  I’d feel like a fool and a failure.”

What makes us respond so differently than those first disciples? Why did they leave everything to follow Jesus?  Why did they risk it all?  Why did they go out to heal, cleanse and raise the dead?  And why were they successful?!

I think it’s because they had experienced all those things themselves!  They came to Jesus as people who were lost, wounded, dying inside… and he healed them and restored them to life.  They knew he was the real deal… so when he transferred his authority to them, they took him at his word.  He said, “Go,” so they went.  They could feel the Spirit within themselves, making them hopeful and strong.

Why can’t we respond that way?  The Spirit is just as alive and present today as it was for those first disciples.  I think it’s that same old self-focused stuff that gets in our way.  We want to rely on our own strength.  We think everything depends upon us… our ideas, our resources, our strength.  Our culture certainly encourages us to think and act that way.  But what we don’t realize is that we are at our weakest when we depend only on ourselves.  When we turn away from God and toward our selves, we actually cut ourselves off from the true source of our strength and power.

I remember a sermon I preached a while ago.  I talked about Jesus eating with tax collectors and sinners… and I said that was a good thing, because we all fit in that sinner category.  Afterwards, a woman came to me and quietly said, I don’t really think of myself as a ‘sinner.’”  She had the courage to say what most everyone else was probably thinking.  I understood what she meant, but then I reiterated my definition of sin: Every time we make a decision that is ego-driven instead of Spirit-led, we sin… (repeat) … we put ourselves – our desires – our wills – at the center of our lives, instead of putting God there.  Actually, we don’t put God there… God is already there… we just turn away and focus on ourselves instead.  It’s that “turning away” that is “sin.”  That’s why we have to “repent” – which means “turn around” – and return to God, in order to be restored to a life-giving relationship with God and with the people in our lives.

Still, we resist thinking of ourselves in those terms.  We’re the good guys!  We’re respectable, we work hard, we follow the rules.  Have you ever thought about how people who really mess up their lives have an advantage over those who are “good girls and boys” their whole lives?

Folks who mess up big time – you know, those who lie, cheat, steal, abuse drugs and alcohol, who hurt or even kill others have a strange kind of advantage.  Because when they wake up and realize what they have done… like the prodigal son…  when they take responsibility for what they have done… when they realize how lost and broken they are and return home to God – they are saved from themselves… and they know it!  They know they are powerless to make it on their own.  Like those first disciples, they experience the healing, cleansing, nurturing love of God, and they are restored to life.  And, then they are uniquely equipped to go out and help others.

When I was working for Self-Development of People, I got to visit with the staff and volunteers who were setting up the New Beginnings men’s shelter in First Presbyterian Church here in Seattle.  The leaders of that project had all been on the street themselves… or had been in prison and/or on drugs…  The fellow who is the director of that program keeps a photograph of an alley on his desk.  I asked about it ‘cause it seemed odd.  That’s the place where he used to bed down at night when he was on drugs.  The photo helps him remember where he’s been and how he has received new life because of Jesus.  Those men know they have been saved by the amazing grace of God – and not by their own merit or power.  And now, they are reaching out to help others find their way to safety too.  And in the process of doing that ministry, they will continue to experience healing for themselves.

But they aren’t the only sinners who have been healed, raised from the dead and redeemed.  It’s happened for each of us too… and is continuing to happen.  We just don’t always acknowledge it.

My own experience of the healing power that comes from doing ministry out of a painful place happened when I was serving the Lake Burien Church.  I had been through a lot of pain over my divorce… I thought I might never get over it.  But then, I got to minister to a couple of women who were plunged into that process themselves. 

As I talked and prayed with them, I saw that my experience was helpful to them… and that redeemed it for me in a way that I never expected.  I saw that what had been a place of weakness in my life was now transformed by God into a powerful tool for ministering to others.  I was astonished at how affirming that was… and I remain deeply grateful for it to this day.

There is real value in owning up to what’s true about your life and asking God to set it right.  It turns out that acknowledging your anger, your hurt, your fear… whatever it is that runs your life – is an act of courage that opens the door for the healing and empowering grace of God.  If you are carrying a burden like that this morning, I encourage you to bring it to the Table with you and leave it there.  Ask Jesus to transform whatever is keeping you from being able to move forward in your life, so that you can become the disciple that he is calling you to be.

But this isn’t just about you and me as individuals.  It’s about all of us together.  If you remember the Romans passage, it ends with that wonderful line that has become so important in Christian faith and life: “God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.”  Notice that the pronouns are all plural… God proves God’s love for us…  while we still were sinners…  Christ died for us. 

God comes to us in community… God holds us accountable as a community… God equips us and calls us out as a community.  We’re all in this together. 

If this community of faith is going to be strong and able to respond to God’s call to ministry, we will have to use the same guidelines we applied to ourselves as individuals.  We need to acknowledge our condition as people who try to do it ourselves instead of trusting God with our life together.  That’s why our corporate confession of sin is so important each week. 

It’s a way for us to own up together to where we have gotten off track and seek God’s healing, reconciling grace.  If any of you sits back and blames others who should be making better decisions or leading us in the right direction, you are way off base.  We really are all in this together.  It isn’t up to a few of us to make this community of faith strong… it’s up to all of us.

When pastors go on sabbatical it is usually a hinge point in their ministry, and therefore it is also a hinge point in the life of the congregation that they serve.  It’s a yeasty time… lots of things come bubbling up… both for the pastors and for their congregations.  You can be sure that Pastors Ken and Deb are thinking about the future of ministry here in Wallingford.  I hope that you are also thinking about that… especially with regard to your place in it. 

It is crucial for every person in this congregation to be praying daily for guidance…  using questions like, who are we, Lord?  And who are you calling us to be? 

The “who are we” part can only be answered if you truly get to know each other…  and listen to each other.  I believe in gifts-based ministry.  Another way to say that is…I believe that God has given you everything you need to do the mission that God is calling you to do.  (Repeat).    Your job then, is to find out what gifts you all have, and then prayerfully use that information to discern the direction God is calling you to go.  Again, this requires you to know and trust each other.

I remember a joint meeting of the deacons and elders at the Mt. Baker Park church a couple of years ago.  In the course of the conversation, one of the deacons, who had been an active member there for some time, referred to some work experience that she had that would be helpful on a project they were planning.  That was clearly new news to everyone there, and we were all very glad to hear it.  I realized that, in the church, we really don’t know each other very well.  I believe that’s true even here.  Maybe getting to know each other and helping each other feel themselves to be an integral part of this community of faith is an important ingredient in your discernment process this summer.

While we’re at it, be sure to remember that some of your most important gifts are those experiences you’ve had that were hurtful to yourselves or others that have been forgiven and healed by the grace of God.  When you go out to minister to others, you’ll want to draw on those strengths.  They will be a gift to you as well as to others.

It turns out that you all are just like those early disciples.  You, too, can heal, raise up and restore.  Together, you have the gifts for that.  But you need to be knit together like that early band of disciples, knowing each other and aware of your need for God’s continuing healing and leading.  You need to acknowledge that Christ is the center of your life together.  You need to help each other to shape your lives around that central truth.  Then you will be able to trust Jesus when he sends you out… you’ll be able to trust that if you respond in faith, the Spirit will give you what you need to do the mission you’re being called to do.  And that will truly be a blessing.