Preached at First Lutheran in St Peter, MN on June 29, 2014
Grace, peace, and
mercy are yours from the Triune God who sends us forth to serve. Amen.
Today’s Gospel
comes from the end of a portion of text from Matthew’s Gospel known as the
Missionary Discourse. It is a sending
out of the disciples. Jesus is equipping
them to go out into the world for the sake of the Gospel. It is a benediction of sorts, both a blessing
and a call to action. We heard previously in the Missionary Discourse, in last
Sunday’s Gospel, that the work of being a disciple is very difficult. There will be trials, there will be
persecutions, to be identified with Jesus was politically, religiously, and
socially radical, even dangerous. To
welcome one of these disciples into your home was also radical. To follow Jesus at this time was to turn
against the empire, a dangerous move indeed. It was to turn against those
things that the world dictates as valuable (wealth and power) and instead focus
on serving the least of the world, and following a God who commands us to love
our neighbor more than we love ourselves.
But
this text is so much more than a superficial command to be hospitable or
welcoming. Being of service to others is
certainly a commendable thing, but I am not convinced that is what is going on
in this text. Jesus is equipping his
followers to get out into the world and do something. This
text is not a command to “go and do likewise” while welcoming others, but
rather, an assurance of blessing in the course of discipleship. Jesus is saying, “I am with you, even as I send you out.”
We so often want
to see ourselves in the role of providing the hospitality or extending the
welcome. In our homes we maintain nicely
appointed guest rooms. In our office
buildings we provide water coolers and magazines. In our congregations we devote entire
committees to this work of welcome, making sure that those who visit us feel comfortable. And all of this is commendable work. But it also keeps us in a privileged
position. Because we get to stay
home. We get to stay on our own turf, in
our own comfort zones. We welcome people
into our world on terms that we have created.
How
might this text change if we view ourselves AS the disciples rather than
as those providing hospitality TO the disciples? If we view ourselves as the missionaries
rather than those receiving the missionaries?
What might it mean if we are part of communities that are sent out into
the world to be missionaries of the Gospel? If we view ourselves as the ones
being sent rather than just being willing to receive or support those who are
sent by someone else?
In our world, we
want to see missionaries as special people who are able to drop everything and
go serve in some far off country. We
send our youth on “mission trips” across the country or across the globe. Mission work becomes something for someone
else to do. In this understanding,
mission work is confined to certain times and places. Two weeks ago, representatives from the
Southwest Minnesota Synod gathered at Gustavus for the annual Synod
assembly. The theme throughout the
assembly was looking at our local contexts in light of the needs of the world. The
world with all its needs is at our doorstep, right now. We were challenged to think about how
mission and discipleship is being lived out in our communities right now,
because we are all missionaries and we are all disciples. I commend your work of
welcoming our Methodist brothers and sisters into our building, as well as numerous
community groups. I commend your work of
welcome as a Reconciling in Christ congregation. But I also challenge you to continue to
imagine all the ways that we can turn outwards towards the other. We are living in a time of great possibility
for mission work and our congregation is excited about discipleship. We like
the disciples are sent out for the work of proclaiming the Gospel.
But it costs us
something to be a disciple. It costs us
our very selves. It costs us our comforts.
To follow Jesus even means to lose your own life. In the Gospel text read today Jesus talks
about rewards. The ways that we serve others do not help us rack up heavenly
bonus points that will pay some great dividend someday. That is applying the values of the world to
God’s kingdom. The reward that Jesus
speaks about is not about something that will happen some day if we do all the
right things now. Nor is he talking
about a life full of happiness and contentment from the sheer joy of altruism. Instead,
we have already received the blessing that Jesus walks among us. God came to earth in the form of Jesus
Christ, and as we testify to that good news, we know that we are blessed with
abundance beyond our imagining.
People of God, we
are all missionaries. That is the charge
that we are given by Jesus Christ. We
are called to serve one another and we are called to bear witness to the creating,
redeeming, and sustaining work of God in this world. We do not have to do it alone, but we are
commanded to do it. God bears with us
even when the work seems impossible. God
shows up again and again to walk with us.
We as individuals
are called to be disciples, but we are also part of missionary communities. As we go out from this place today, I
challenge you to think about how you are living out YOUR calling as a
missionary. How are WE as a congregation
living out our calling to be a missionary community? Go therefore and be disciples AND make
disciples.
