Sermon 7/2/22
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| Racing hotdogs |
The 4th of July weekend found me once again back in Oakdale, Pennsylvania....here's my reflection for the day...
Here we are on the edge of the 4th of July. In my aunt’s neighborhood last night night there were periodic “unofficial” fireworks at different times throughout the night just as I'm sure back in my New York City neighborhood there’s been fireworks all weekend..
It’s an interesting time to celebrate our independence. Russia is still waging war against Ukraine, who are teaching us all something about the meaning of freedom. Here in Pittsburgh, Russian and Ukrainian churches are neighbors, families intermarried.
When I get home, I’ll be going to a ball game with my boys..and fireworks too. 
ballgame with the boys...
And here in Pittsburgh, well, the Pirates are……well….interesting. 
Go Buccos...raise the jolly roger...
Covid hasn’t gone away. Some of us have gone back to 2019. Some of us have never left peak 2020. And the rest of us are just trying to figure out what makes sense in 2022. At the PCUSA “hybrid’ General Assembly, the newly elected co-moderator and my resource person came down with covid. We’re just not sure….
We are ready to celebrate our independence at a time when our nation has never felt more divided since the Civil War. The Supreme Court is radically redefining our understanding of freedom and rights and some of us are celebrating and others are grieving and people on both sides struggling to understand what democracy is.
School shootings continue on a regular basis and in my city it’s now okay to openly carry. We are struggling this 4th of July.
Meanwhile, back in the Bible land, Jesus is getting ready to send 72…why 72? We don’t really know…out on a mission.. What's clear is that he wants to get the word out. Everywhere. Salvation is for everyone….And his instructions are worth taking a look at.
"The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. 3Go on your way. So it says….
I kind of think of this as a song for a place where laborers are few. And don’t we know what that’s like? And believe me you are not alone. In New York City there are about 12000 presbyterians in 88 churches. Over half of them belong to 5 churches, the rest to 83 and over 40 of those have no pastor nor no near time possibility of getting one.
"The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; ….
He is sending them out two by two…kind of makes me think of the ark, you know? Seems like two is the lowest acceptable unit. No lone rangers. You can’t do this alone. Makes me think of the Mormon mission volunteers...theology aside, I have to say I admire them.
He tells us not to greet anyone,…must be a sense of urgency…don’t dawdle, don’t get stuck along the way. I’m guessing there’s an exception made for any down on their luck Samaritans who might pass this this way?
And he tells us that if we go out and are not welcomed, shake the dust off of your feet and keep moving on. I’ll say that again…in a passage left out of the lectionary he says.. ‘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.’[c] 12 I tell you, on that day it will be more tolerable for Sodom than for that town. The sin of Sodom friends, was not homosexuality, but a radical denial of hospitality. Remember Hebrews 13:2 : Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.
Here’s the bottom line…Jesus doesn’t want us to keep beating our head against the wall….know when to shake the dust off and move on…and remember it’s not on us to call down judgment…just move on…judgment is God’s…
We are dependent on those we are sent to. That’s about meeting them where they are. Respecting them…it’s about relationships…Eat what’s set before you…don’t worry about the cleanliness and purity laws…(in Jesus’ day, that was seriously radical…)
I had become a vegetarian when I went to Oklahoma, Until my black pastor friend invited me to a barbecue…that was it..
When Jesus hears what they have been able to do, he tells them he saw Satan fall from heaven..I love that…but he tells them don’t be getting all excited about all the cool things you can do…be happy that you are allies with God….
The joy that Jesus feels is being able to sense, to see the dawning of a new kingdom., a new kindom….
And here’s one thing I want you to see…this fall of Satan is not an historic event or a future prediction…it is a reality every time we venture out…regardless of results, just going out itself is defeating Satan..and when you do succeed, rejoice only in the kingdom, never triumphalism…
Okay…so what am I saying here? These are difficult times, Critical times. Times that demand a witness. We come here to be with each other, to be renewed, refreshed, restored after whatever we’ve been doing all week long…BUT we can’t stay here…we’ve got to take it out there..
This passage raises serious questions for us…like what us evangelism for us in this day and time, in this place? What is exactly is the harvest? Look around….the harvest is plentiful…the laborers few…
…and that’s okay…no matter how small in number we may be, Jesus is calling us out there…it’s not about numbers, it’s about faithfulness…we have a word that needs to be heard…
In Jesus first sermon, (Luke 4: 18-20)Jesus announced his own job description was this:
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to set free those who are oppressed,
19
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
…and so it is with us…it is enough for us to be like pebbles tossed into a pond where then ripples go out and out beyond what we might might even imagine..
Let those with ears to hear, hear….
Amen…..
And we ended by celebrating the Lord's Supper for the first time since I was there last August...
Gospel Luke 10:1-11, 16-20
1After 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. 2He 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. 3Go on your way. See, I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves. 4Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and greet no one on the road. 5Whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace to this house!' 6And if anyone is there who shares in peace, your peace will rest on that person; but if not, it will return to you. 7Remain 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. 8Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you; 9cure the sick who are there, and say to them, 'The kingdom of God has come near to you.' 10But 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."
17The seventy returned with joy, saying, "Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us!" 18He said to them, "I watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning. 19See, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing will hurt you. 20Nevertheless, do not rejoice at this, that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven."
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