Today we have an account from Luke’s Gospel in which Jesus
sends out the 72. He’s on his way to
Jerusalem, and he knows what that means – arrest, trial, suffering and
death. But his face is set, he won’t be
deterred from his mission.
Nevertheless, along the way, he sends out these 72
disciples, in a sort of preparatory preaching of the kingdom. They are to prepare the way before him,
everywhere he was about to go, and simply share the message that the “kingdom
of God has come near to you.” That is,
to say, Jesus himself, the king, is coming near. It’s sort of like 72 little John the
Baptists, preparing the way, or an auxiliary band of apostles – for though not
the 12, per se, these are also “sent ones”.
There is much for us to learn from this sending. There is much here that also applies to us in
the church, in this day, in which the harvest remains plentiful and the workers
remain few. In which the kingdom of God
still comes near to people in Jesus Christ.
And in which he’s still writing names in the book of heaven.
But right out of the gate, let’s get one thing straight. Jesus doesn’t send most of us to preach to
villages in Samaria and Judea. He
doesn’t even call most of us to be preachers of the Gospel at all. And here is moment for us Lutherans to stop
and reflect, for evangelicalism tends to blur this line between called and
ordained pastor, and layperson. If you
talk to some Christians, they seem to think that they should always be
preaching, trying to shoehorn Jesus into every conversation, trying to personally
evangelize and save every non-believer in their path. But in addition to usually not being very
effective, this is simply not what every Christian is called to do. Indeed, our Lutheran confessions make it
clear, “no one should publicly teach in the Church or administer the Sacraments
unless he be regularly called.”
Ah, but that doesn’t mean that we have no calling at
all. For we are all called by the Gospel
to be Christians. And all Christians are
called as priests, holy people, living holy lives and praying for others, even
our enemies, even unbelievers, that God’s will would be done.
We are also called into various stations and roles in life
in which we are to give witness to the hope within us – to share your faith in
Christ as you have opportunity. You’re
not called to drop everything you’re doing, like these 72 were, but you are
called to be a Christian, and to conduct yourself as a Christian in various
other vocations – parent, friend, citizen, employee, etc.
And yet, even though not all are called to preach publicly,
the whole church is involved in this effort, you see, the making of disciples. Though we may have different roles and
places. One of those is to be a witness,
to give a word of answer when asked for the hope within you. A private word when called upon is often a
very powerful testimony.
Furthermore, our lives as a whole serve as a witness,
especially when people see Christians exercising love, “by this all men will
know you are my disciples, if you love one another.” Not all are pastors, public ministers of word
and sacrament, for the church is also orderly and God sets an office in our
midst with a special calling to handle these things for our good. But all are members of the body with
important and necessary functions, no member less valuable than another, all
bought with the blood of Christ.
Well here’s one universal function or calling for all
members of the church: pray. Pray especially that the Lord would raise up
workers for the harvest. For these words
still stand: The harvest is plentiful,
but the workers are few.
This doesn’t mean just pastors, either. We should be praying for all manner of
workers, including pastors, teachers, professional church workers, volunteer
church workers, young and old, public and private, here and abroad. The church needs all manner of work, for the
harvest is plentiful.
We ought not burden people with the false idea that every
Christian is a preacher. For there’s
plenty enough for us to do in our own vocations, and if we are honest, we all
fail quite enough at those. Nor ought we
think that the work of the church should be just left up to the pastors, “the
professionals”, and that regular Christians are mere customers or consumers of religion
as if we were going to Walmart to get the week’s groceries.
We, too, need to hear the preaching of repentance for our
own sins and failures, for our failure to pray, our failure to love, our
failure to hear and listen and believe.
And we need to hear that in Christ, the kingdom has come near to us, the
good news of the Gospel.
For Jesus, the whole world is his harvest field. You get a picture of this when you look at
his parables overall – stories about sowing the word of God, which falls on
different kinds of soil. Stories about
wheat and tares, growing together, only separated at the final harvest. A story about a struggling fig tree and a
patient farmer who wants to give one more chance for it to produce fruit. Or the illustration of the mustard seed,
which shows the powerful effects of even the smallest faith. Life and growth and fruit and harvest run
throughout Jesus’ preaching. He’s always
looking for people to repent and believe, that is, to have life and have it
abundantly, this is what he means by the harvest.
And He’s the one who does it, of course, but he does it
through his church. Through the
preaching of repentance and the gospel. Through
the sacramental gifts of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper, the kingdom is also
expanded. And through the ongoing
sending of the church into the world.
And even if you’re not a preacher, you have a part in that – through
prayer, through generosity, through your time and your talents. And through your own personal life of love
and witness.
Now, another thing we learn from this passage is that
sometimes, perhaps even quite often, the message of the kingdom is
rejected. And Jesus’ answer to that is
not that we should worry. It’s not a
time to be discouraged or despair. It is
a serious matter, and worse for those who reject the Gospel than it will be for
Sodom and Gomorrah. But they’re not
rejecting you, or your pastor, or the church, even. They’re rejecting Christ. But by the same token, we take no credit for
those who come to Christ, for they really aren’t hearing you, receiving you,
but Jesus, and him who sent Jesus.
There’s plenty of work to do in this kingdom, and no time
for despair. But there is a place for
rejoicing. Rejoice not in the outward
trappings of success, the victories that we see, though we may see many
failures, too. Jesus points us to the
true cause of rejoicing, the eternal destiny that we share with all who receive
the kingdom – names written in the book of heaven. Which is a picturesque way to say, no matter
what happens here, good or bad, ups or downs.
Keep your ultimate hope in your ultimate destination. Yes, some will hear and believe, some will
reject. Some will receive you, and so
receive Jesus. You may even see demons
quivering at the power of his word. But our ultimate hope isn’t governed by the skirmishes
we see, the ups and downs of life in the kingdom, but by the final victory that
is ours in Jesus Christ our Lord.
For Jesus is going to Jerusalem. The kingdom of God is about to reach its goal
in him. He has a cross to endure. He has a grave to defeat. And with his mission complete, our mission
cannot fail.
So repent, again, and daily, for the kingdom of God is ever
at hand. Serve where you are
called. Pray, love, and witness. Don’t despair. But rejoice, especially in the
promise of abundant and eternal life in Christ.
Your names are written in heaven, through the blood of Jesus Christ our
Lord. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment