Go to the Lost Sheep

The sermon uses scripture Matthew 9:35-10:15.  It was preached on June 18th at Gregory Memorial Presbyterian Church in Prince George, VA.

 

Go to the Lost Sheep

 

In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus is very busy.

The verses before this scripture have included miracle stories;

Jesus has healed a woman,

brought life to a girl,

opened the eyes of 2 blind men, and

cast out a demon from a man who was mute.

Jesus has gone to multiple towns and villages

and everywhere he goes there is a need.

And Jesus has compassion for all of them.

He describes them as ‘sheep without a shepherd’.

Even more than that, not only without a shepherd but

          also harassed and helpless.

These people, this flock, have been neglected by the shepherd.

They have not been cared for;

They have been ignored and dismissed;

These ‘lost sheep’ are without hope;

They need someone to help them.

So Jesus has been busy,

          reaching out to many in need.

“The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few”.

The ’harvest’ is the work that needs to be done;

          missionary outreach to those on the margins;

healing, caring, loving, and improving their lives.

This is the work Jesus is called to do;

Jesus’ earthly mission is to show the love of God,

God’s mercy and grace to the people of Israel.

He enlists disciples to be part of this mission;

          the disciples are made partners in his work.

They are given the same tasks:

          Cure the sick,

raise the dead,

cleanse the lepers,

cast out demons.

The disciples take on the mission they are called to do:

there are more laborers for the harvest.

When the disciples are given their mission, it is specific:

 These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions:

“Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans,

 but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

Now this is very specific –only to the house of Israel,

          Why not go to all people,

all who are hurting and in need?

There is an interesting answer

          -the disciples reflect the mission of Jesus.

Isn’t Jesus’ mission to spread the love of God to all?

Well, no and yes.

Jesus has a 2 fold mission:

          the House of Israel is at the center of part 1.

Part 1 is Jesus’ earthly mission:

in Matthew 15:24

He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

It is only after his death and resurrection that part 2 begins.

The post-Easter mission –go to all!

Last week you heard the verses from Matthew

concerning the commissioning of the disciples.

From Matthew 28:19    

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit

When you think about it, this makes sense.

You start with home and move outward from there;

first, get your house in order

then broaden your mission.

Think of it this way

          When you and I have news to share (good or bad)

–we start with our family and friends first

 before ‘proclaiming it on Facebook’.

For the disciples

-first get the house (of Israel) in order

by healing, caring, loving, and improving lives.

And the instructions on how to go about their mission,

          how to travel, is also very specific.

Take no gold, or silver, or copper in your belts,

 no bag for your journey, or two tunics, or sandals, or a staff;

In other words:

Travel light.

Be humble on your journey.

The way they travel demonstrates faith in God

by refusing to take along money and provisions.

They must live the humble life as Jesus did

          because the disciples reflect the mission of Jesus.

One commentary on Matthew states:

“Jesus’ way of living is a prophetic sign that embodies the truth of the message of the kingdom of God.”

The disciples are messengers of God;

          their mission is to be shepherds,

to care for those in need,

and proclaim the kingdom of God.

Remember the verses in Micah 6

          Do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with your God.

The humble life is again mentioned in Romans 12:16   

Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are.

So what happens when the people or the town

do not welcome the disciples and their message?

They must move on.

If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet as you leave that house or town.

They move on to the next town

shaking off the dust from their feet.

The disciples

          do not give up

          or quit and return home.

The mission, their faith carries them on.

What can we learn from the disciples?

‘Go to the lost sheep.’

Who are the lost sheep today?

          Are they…

                   the unchurched

                   the spiritual but not religious

                   those in need

                    those with no one to turn to

                    those without hope?

The disciples are sent to aid those who are in need within

          the ‘house of Israel’,

They worked from the internal

before heading into the world.

Do you and I need get our ‘house in order’

                   before we reach out to others?

We do need to know ourselves and our beliefs

          and be open to encounters with God.

We do need to know what we are called to do

          and be faithful to God’s call.

We do need to know how we can best reach out;

          how can you and I help?

          how can you and I care?

          how can you and I give hope?

The good news is you and I live in the post-Easter world,

          we live in the light of salvation,

                   in the truth of  Christ resurrection,

                   in a world full of God’s saving grace.

We have hope.

Jesus’ mission,

the disciples’ mission, is the wellbeing of others.

‘Love one another as I have loved you.’

God’s love is at the center of what we do;

          it is the why and the how of our reaching out to others.

You and I  can take on this mission.

We too can proclaim the good news;

          share our experiences,

          act with humility,

          and when you and I encounter those who do not listen,

                   we shake the dust from our feet and keep moving on.

We too can promote the kingdom of God:

God’s kingdom in the world we live in now

          to make lives a little better,

          to show love,

          to express our faith,

          to grow God’s kingdom.

Listen to God’s call.

Follow in Jesus’ footsteps.

Let the Holy Spirit inspire you.

Go and be laborers, for the harvest is plentiful.

Go and be shepherds, there are lost sheep in need.

Go and be disciples, and reflect Jesus’ mission.

 

 

Spirit of the Living God

The sermon uses scripture Numbers 11:24-30 and Acts 2:1-21.  It was preached on Pentecost Sunday June 4th at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Richmond, VA.


Spirit of the Living God

 Winds in the east, mist coming in.

 Like somethin' is brewin' and bout to begin. 

Can't put me finger on what lies in store,

 But I fear what's to happen all happened before.

I hesitated to use this quote,

I do not usually mix movie quotes into sermons.

If you are trying to place it, it is from Mary Poppins.

Just before she arrives on the scene

those are the words of Bert as he knows something is

‘bout to begin’.

But it does seem to fit in to the wind of Pentecost,

Something is brewin', something new is beginning,

And remembering how what has happened before

          can influence what continues in the present.

 

Today we celebrate Pentecost.

It is a day we remember the gift of the Holy Spirit

being bestowed on the disciples.

It comes upon them like a flame.

The Holy Spirit comes like a wind, something unseen.

There is something new.

The wind brings something to life.

Remember in Genesis when creation began…

          the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters.

Wind, spirit, and breath of God

are all the same word in Hebrew:      ruach.

The wind, the Spirit, is active in creation.

In the scripture from Acts,

there is more than the violent wind and tongues of fire;

There is something new beginning.

It begins with proclamation of the good news.

The message is for all to hear.

This amazing moment is not the fact that many can hear

in their own language;

The miracle is not upon their ears.

The miracle, the gift of God is

God taking action through the Holy Spirit and

that the disciples speak so the people can understand.

The Holy Spirit,

the Spirit of God, takes action in the life of the people.

The Spirit of God breathed life into dust

and created human beings.

The Spirit of God touched and inspired

the Old Testament prophets.

The Holy Spirit gives voice.

When the Old Testament prophets spoke

it was usually not what those in charge wanted to hear.

The prophets were speaking from outside the center of power,

                    from the margins.

They challenged kings.

They warned of what could happen

if the people did not follow God’s path.

They spoke truth even when no one wanted to listen.

God’s Spirit was upon them.

In the scripture from Numbers, the Spirit of God was on Moses

          and it came upon 70 of the elders;

so they could then share the burden of leadership.

Yet, the interesting thing is how the Spirit of God ‘spilled over’

          onto 2 people in the camp;

          2 men who were not at the tent

where the others were prophesying.

They were among the people and prophesying.

The work of the Spirit of God was not amongst the elders alone.

The Spirit was among the people.

The prophet Joel proclaims God’s Spirit

will be upon all the people.

  I will pour out my spirit on all flesh;
your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
    your old men shall dream dreams,
    and your young men shall see visions.

Even on the male and female slaves,
    in those days, I will pour out my spirit.

All the people.

This is new creation. 

A future of hope.

The Holy Spirit touched the Apostles and gave them voice.

They witnessed to the risen Christ.

The Spirit, the wind came upon them.

And as they spoke,

prophesied,

proclaimed

          and the people were ‘amazed and perplexed’.

The people knew something was happening

but did not understand it.

 

We do not always understand what God is doing.

There are things that amaze and perplex us as well.

However,    we have faith,

                             we have trust,

                             we have hope.

We have a Living God,

          God is active in our lives.

The Holy Spirit is among the people.

The Spirit of God was active in the Old Testament.

The Holy Spirit was working among the disciples.

The Spirit of God is working within us.

How is the Holy Spirit at work today?

          Do we see the Spirit of God working toward

 a new creation in today’s world?

          What about in our corner of the world?

          In Richmond…in our neighborhoods…within the church.

The Holy Spirit works from among the people

to take action in our communities and the world.

It begins with the individual.

One of my favorite hymns says:

          Spirit of the Living God, fall a-fresh on me.

          Melt me, mold me, fill me, use me.

That simple hymn has you and I inviting God to let

the Holy Spirit embody us to do God’s work in the world.

Fill me.       Use me.

So how do you and I embody the Holy Spirit?

How are we open to God working through us?

Discipleship         -we strive to follow Jesus’ example.

          Loving one another.

          Mission                -you and I reach out with mercy to others.

                   Caring for those on the margins.

          Proclaiming the gospel   -we are witnesses to the resurrection.

                   Speaking truth.

The Holy Spirit moves us from being self-centered

and frees us to serve our neighbors;

we are allowed to let go of our grasp on things of the world,

and set our task to loving people.

With the gift of the Spirit all things are possible.

There is hope.

What happened with the Apostles at Pentecost?

Transformation and new creation.

Their Spirit-filled community of faith spread the word of God,

the salvation found through the resurrection,

to people of all languages.

So it could spread around the world and empower creation.

On Pentecost, the Easter promise was fulfilled

by sending the Holy Spirit.

William Willimon in his commentary on Acts says:

          “At Pentecost the power of God,

made manifest at the resurrection and ascension of Christ,

is bestowed upon the people of God.”

So on this day of Pentecost,

          you and I celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit.

It draws us together in unity.

It helps us understand what God is doing in the world.

The Holy Spirit empowers us to take action,

          to proclaim in word and deed God’s love,

                   the salvation through Jesus Christ,

                   and the hope of new creation.

The wind is blowing.

The spirit is in action.

The ruach is upon all the people.

Something is ‘bout to begin’.