St. John’s Lutheran Church, Toluca, IL – 4th Sunday after Pentecost
Isaiah 66:10-14 ; Psalm 66:1-9; Galatians 6:[1-6] 7-16; Luke 10:1-11, 16-20
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.”
NRSV
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Heartbroken
Grace and peace to you, beloved of God, from our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ.
This week Nancy, Rhonda, and I met to pick our hymns for this month later than usual. Normally, we meet on Tuesdays, but I was not still free from the bug I brought with me from vacation, so we postponed it to Thursday – not the timeline. We were halfway to the month when we realized that we did not select any national song in our hymnal for this weekend (July 3). It was like, “oh”!
It reminded me of something I read or heard in the news recently – I honestly do not remember where – that the American Patriotic Sentiment was at an all-time low, which was not surprising to any of us. We had just missed the fact we were worshiping on the eve of the 4th of July.
See, I am one of those who think honoring the nation belongs to any day of the week and any time of the day, but on Sunday Mornings, we worship God and honor the loving sacrifice that his Son, Jesus Christ, made for all nations. Yet, something struck me. I have been living in this land of Lincoln long enough to realize that something is wrong whenever independence day becomes an afterthought. Since was out of the country for a couple of weeks. I wondered and worried about how much of the people’s soul had been crushed to unprecedented levels with yet more troubling news (Uvalde’s school shooting and the congress testimonial revelations about January 6).
If the answer is no pastor, I am OK, then well and good. However, if your heart is broken, but you can still feel the love of the Christ and the warmth of the Spirit in you, remember the words of St. Paul in Galatians 6:15, a new creation – or a new creature, if you will – is everything!
One of the things about the Bible is that most of it, if not all, is believed to be written in response to the laments of God’s people over troubling times. The letter from Paul to the church in Galatia is no exception. Like all the early church communities, they were experiencing serious trials, doubt, and division. In the text for this Sunday, Paul advises the Galatians to be gentle with each other, even with transgressors; to carry each other burdens, that is, to support and encourage one another, but also not to neglect their own loads – that is, their responsibility to the community. In other words, don’t drop the ball. Insist on working for the good of all.
See, if these are the kind of things that got those early Christian Communities through times of captivity, persecution, and death, then they are very well the words and the tools that will restore our souls now, at this time.
Dear beloved of God, believe when I say this to you, every time we remember our rebirth – what we were recreated for – and re-connect with the divine purpose for us to be light, comfort, and healing to the world, we are given a clean heart and a renewed Spirit. We become the new creation, the King-don of Heaven come near.
Yes, we are sent shoeless, lambs among wolfs, to announce and to advance such Kingdom, such good news.
Yes, we struggle to find joy in singing the Lord’s song in a strange land.
Yes, not everybody will join us, and not everybody will listen to what we have to say. That is OK. Shake the dust, don’t lose sight of those eager to believe. The harvest is great!
Yes, we were granted the power to step bare feet on snakes and scorpions, for it is written, “don’t let evil get the best of you, but conquer evil by doing good.”
And remember, Jesus is at the helm, and always with us, to the end of the ages.
Thanks be to God, Amen.
Bridging Faith 