7th Sunday after Pentecost
Luke
10:1-11, 16-20
The
Kingdom of God
There are many reasons why Jesus
sent those seventy out in pairs. He wanted
them to have someone else with them for company, for sure. He wanted them to have a friend and someone
who could reinforce what they had been told to tell others. He wanted them to have a prayer partner,
someone who could share their burdens. But
he also wanted them to have someone who would watch their backs. His commission to them is only one verse
long. His warning to them about how they
are likely to be treated extends for eleven verses.
We tend not to focus on this part
of the reading. We are inclined to skip
over the concern Jesus expresses that they are not to expect a warm and cordial
greeting as they share this “Good News” with the towns and places he himself
intends to visit. But a warm reception
is not in each of their futures.
I have had so many experiences in
the weeks (months) that I have been away.
Among them was a return trip to Turkey – this time with the chief
ecumenical officers of the various denominations in South Carolina. The group I pulled together included Lutheran
Pastors, Roman Catholic Priests, an Episcopal Rector, a Rabbinical trained Jew,
and an Orthodox Priest. The Orthodox
Priest proved the most interesting. He continued
to wear his cassock throughout the trip.
You are not allowed to do that, if you are a resident in Turkey. Priests cannot wear their clerical shirts in
public. Nuns cannot wear their
Habits.
The overall reaction of the
general population was positive. Groups of
children would gather around Father Thomas and ask to have their pictures taken
with him.
The response he got, as we were
touring the Museum of the Sultan’s Palace was a different experience. Four hefty looking men in dark suits, wearing
sunglasses that completely hid their eyes stopped our group. They asked the tour guide if we were from
Greece. His reply was courteous and
seemingly apologetic. Our in-country
Muslim partner showed concern on his face, interceded to make sure the men in
dark suits knew we were guests of the Foundation – making a cross-cultural
pilgrimage.
There are many other positive
stories – and I regret that this is the first I have opportunity to share with
you. I share it as a way of illustrating
that the presence of those who speak of Jesus is not always a welcome event. Jesus tells the seventy this, as they are
about to depart on their journey. When we
read these words today, in this setting, it is important that we ask whether
his warning to them is something of historical significance only – or if his
warning is something we too need to hear.
Is there any danger, in our world(s), in our context, to speaking the
name of Jesus or sharing the message Jesus intends to bring to the world?
Has the world changed so
completely that the cutting edge of Jesus’ words no longer divides us? I guess that is possible. There are a lot of folks running around with
pretty golden crosses dangling around their necks or tattooed on their
forearms. It is possible that this
country has so significantly changed that the words and instructions of Jesus
are part of our universal code.
Possible. But not all that probable. In my opinion anyway. Jesus tells us that his messengers are to
share what they have with the poor. (Don’t
try to counter with the comment Jesus makes about “you will always have the
poor” unless you are prepared to discuss the source of Jesus’ quote. Deuteronomy 15:11 from which the line comes
is a call to action on behalf of the poor, not permission to ignore them.) Jesus tells us how we are to respond to those
who choose violence. It does not involve
making sure we have a bigger gun than they do.
Jesus tells us that visiting those in prison is an indication of having
grasped his call to discipleship. When was
the last time you surrendered your belt and shoelaces and heard the clink of
iron gates behind you?
I think the reason why we no
longer suffer ill effects from our telling of the Good News is that we have
toned down Jesus’ words, turned into polite conversation. We have made Jesus so acceptable to those
around us that no one is likely to be offended when we tell them about our
faith and the way in which sharing this faith might change their lives.
Toning down the message of Jesus
might make it easier for folks to envision crossing the threshold and coming
inside. Toning down the message
certainly makes it less imperative that one remain inside. If all we are going to do is preach and teach
a code of morality, they folks can get that from any number of values
clarification workshops.
Another event that occupied me in
the weeks since I was with you was the campus ministry conference in
Chicago. The speaker was Diana Butler
Bass. I encourage you to read her books –
very insightful. The way she helped us
to see the innocent and not so innocent presentation of Jesus’ words was to
talk about our attempts to gather – for the conference where she was the
speaker.
Hardly any of us in attendance go
there when we were supposed to. Weather
delays at the Chicago airport backed us up for hours. The weather is something we call all discuss;
it is something on which we can have our own opinions and clearly express
them. In polite conversation, you can
always talk about the weather. Even if
you have strong convictions about the weather, those convictions are not likely
to upset your conversation partner.
When we talk about the weather,
we are talking about what we see when we look out the window. We are talking about the clouds and sun and
the anticipated immediate ramifications of such. It is immediate and close at hand.
Those with a bit more invested (meteorologist)
might speak of the weather differently. They
would continue to describe the clouds and the winds and the moisture likely to
fall. But somewhere in their
conversation they are likely to get on the subject of climate. Climate is the larger framework within which
weather develops. It is climate changes
which lie behind alterations in the weather.
Talking about the weather is a short-sighted view of the changing of the
climate.
Initially I was going to trick
you into this, asking you to have a brief conversation about the weather with
the folks sitting around you. Then ask
you if your brief conversation included any talk about the wildfires out west
or the strength of Hurricane Sandy.
Those events – to some – are indications that we are in climate
change. And, climate change has become a
hot topic in political circles. That
means that while weather remains an acceptable topic for polite conversation, you
have to be careful not to venture too far into it in order to avoid the sensitive
topics of Greenhouse gases, and the EPA, and the taxation of those insisting on
driving their cars everywhere.
We know that the words of Jesus
call us to live lives which are very different from the lives we were living
before. Jesus dies on a cross, not
because his contemporaries misunderstood his message, but because they would
not tolerate the total commitment to God of which he spoke.
Jesus’ disciples were met with
hostility and frustration and told not to come to “our town” because they spoke
of a demand too great for the population to bear.
We have toned down the message of
Jesus: made it more acceptable; ensured that no one would be offended when we
speak his name; re-crafted his message into some simple lessons on being nice
to one another.
I know that we don’t all agree on
global warming. Neither is there unanimity
of opinion among us with regard to same-sex marriage or immigration policy. Dare I be so impolite as to even mention the
Affordable Health Care Act? But these
are topics which must be informed by our confessions of faith. Unless our opinions and discussions and
actions grow out of our commitment to Christ, then our commitment to Christ is
little more than a hobby or a side-show.
I wanted to pull aside those guys
in the dark suits in Turkey and tell them they had nothing to fear from me or
from the other members of our group. I wanted
to, at first. But then I realized they
did have something to fear from me. The God
who resides at the center of my existence calls everything in their world into
question.
The God who resides at the center
of my existence calls everything in every world into question. It is high time we start listening to those
questions, with regard to our carefully crafted worlds.
Know this: The kingdom of God has
come near.
Ask yourselves this: Am I prepared to enter that kingdom?
Amen.
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