But this was
more than on-the-job training, it is the first expression of the Church going
out to the rest of society offering the Good News to a hurting and broken
world.
These disciples
had been learning from Jesus. Now they were going to go do the work of Jesus…
all by themselves…or at least in teams of two!
But were
they ready? No way! They often did not understand the fullness of what Jesus
taught. Except for whatever they might have learned in their local synagogue or
in their households, they were not learned men in the formal sense. They had
set aside their regular jobs to follow Jesus and to learn from him. But now it
was time for them to live what they learned.
Matthew’s
Gospel is showing his community and us what Christian discipleship is all about.
Notice the motivation for Jesus’ ministry and his sending: as he traveled
around Palestine, he was moved by the people’s need for hope and healing. Matthew
says that they were “harassed” and “helpless.”
Compassion
means to “walk with someone.” It is something that can be taught, yeah, but it
does not come out of one’s head but from the heart. The compassion Jesus felt what
in his gut. And it is from this deepfelt concern that he called his disciples to
him and sent them out in pairs to proclaim the nearness of God’s reign. He gave
them everything they needed to heal, restore, cleanse, and liberate those to
whom they were sent. He warned them that there would be resistance as well as
welcome. Some people would be angry, even hate them, and chase them out of
town. And yet, they were encouraged to endure all this with God’s help.
We’ve all been
sent on a similar mission, you know! In our baptisms, and when as adults (or at
least as older teens) we publicly affirmed our baptismal vows in front of the
Church and a bishop at confirmation or reception… and every time we’ve renewed
our baptismal covenant… we’ve promised to “proclaim by word and example the
Good News of God in Christ…,” “to seek and serve Christ loving our neighbors as
ourselves…,” and to “strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect
the dignity of every human being….” (p. 305, BCP)
So we’ve been
sent, just like those first disciples!
But
discipleship is not just a job filled with to-do lists and skill sets. It is a
life of grace. And just as Jesus chose his twelve disciples, Christ calls us
and we follow him. As the disciples were Jesus’ friends and his apprentices, so
are we! We are also friends and apprentices of Jesus Christ!
Discipleship
always begins with and is rooted in divine love. And we are being called out as
the Church, as a community. We don’t walk alone, but we are sent out tougher! Indeed
the Greek word for “Church” – “ecclesia” – is composed of the words “ek,”
meaning “out,” and “kaleo,” meaning “called.” So to be the Church is to “be
called out.”
Being a
disciple is living a life, called out to minister in Jesus’ name as his friends
and apprentices living under God’s grace and power.
Notice that the
call to be a disciple is never about the disciples themselves. Christian
discipleship is always about engaging with and living for others. We share what
we have been given with others. William Temple, who was Archbishop of Canterbury
during World War two, once noted that the Church is a unique institution,
because it exists specifically for the ones who not already it’s members. The
Church is a proclaiming community of disciples—friends and apprentices of Jesus
Christ—who in our word and in our actions and in our ethics seek to make a practical,
useful difference in the world.
This is why discipleship
and mission go hand in hand. You can’t have one with the other. Like the
disciples, we learn and we do the work of Jesus.
Of course, disciples
don’t just go “out.” They return and share and tell what they have seen and
heard and done. They will pray together and learn together and they will care
for each other as they learn to do
Christs work both in community and in the world.
Today, in
our first lesson, we heard about how this worked when Abram receiving the
divine visitors into his home. While Abram generously and compassionately
offered the three men food and drink, he also received, even if unexpectedly,
blessings from them that would completely change his life—and the life of Sarah
his wife, who, after all, did the actual work of hospitality!
This shows
us that we cannot give without being open and humble to receive. The Christian life
is a a life of offering to others what God has given us, and a life of receiving
unfolding layers of grace. Because when we engage with others, Christ
encourages us to receive as well. That’s why listen and learn from the people
to whom we are sent. Discipleship—living as friends and apprentices of Jesus--
is a life of humility, openness, receiving, learning, listening, and genuine
dialogue.
It can be
risky to be a follower of Jesus sent into the world. That’s why we don’t do it
alone. Jesus sent his students and friends out in pairs for a reason. We need
each other. None of us has everything we need to do the work God has given us
to do. . inally, our Lord also reminds the twelve that discipleship involves
vulnerability. We can be proud of our calling as disciples, but we cannot
forget that it is always a risk-taking business. Those who follow Jesus,
because they strive for peace and justice, often find themselves in trouble
with the powers of the world. Yet, we are never alone.
I heard a
story that was told by the late Rabbi Harold Kushner, who wrote When Bad
Things Happen to Good People. It was the story of a mother who sent her son
to the store to buy a loaf of bread and few basics for their lunch and dinner.
She gave him some money, gave him a list, and sent him out the door. Well,
morning turned into noon which turned into the afternoon and he did not appear.
Finally, the boy returned with the groceries and the change from the purchases.
“Where were
you?” she asked. “I was so worried!”
“Well,” he
said, “as I was walking home, I saw Bobby and his bike was broken, so I helped
him fix it.”
“I see,”
said the mother, “but you don’t know anything about fixing bikes!”
“No, but I
helped him cry about it.”
We are sent
by Jesus in to a complex and complicated world. Are you ready? We are given the
task of communicating the Gospel to friends and strangers, in familiar places
and in new. Do you think we’re ready? I think that God thinks we are… we’re
ready right now!
We are
called, and given the power, to do everything that Jesus did. We have been
given the tools to be present to others, to meet them at the point of their
greatest need, to assist them in navigating tough moments, and most of all to
simply love and support them. And when we do as Jesus did, even a little bit,
we present Jesus’ face, Jesus’ presence, Jesus’ power, Jesus’ love, to a hurting
and lonely world. It may only be a hug, or a meal, or ride to the doctor, or a
listening moment over lunch or in the break room but these are the moments that
communicate Jesus most deeply and most practically, in ways that make a real difference
in the lives of harried, distracted, lonely people.
Jesus
trusted his followers to do all this and more. They probably didn’t feel ready,
but he gave them the power to change lives just the same. And as he did with
the twelve, God does with us. God trusts us to learn, live, and do the work of
Jesus.
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