A few years back National Geographic ran a feature
on Wales - including some pictures of the little village with the long name in which I once resided on the Isle of Anglesey.
The island is connected to the mainland by two bridges over the Menai Straits. It
is mostly agricultural land, the largest town being its port at Holyhead whose main claim to fame is that it serves as a terminal
for boats sailing across to Ireland. Mostly though it is a community of small villages.
A friend of mine was a pastor of a number of the little Welsh language chapels in the center of the Island. He recounted
one day a problem he had. There was a lady, 80 years or so in age, whom he had volunteered to take to the hospital for some
minor surgery. The trouble was, this lady had never been off the island. In fact she'd rarely gone outside the village except
for an occasional foray to the big port of Holyhead.
She hardly spoke a word of English but shopped, spoke, dreamed and did everything else in her native tongue of Welsh. She'd heard all sorts of things over the years about those people over on the mainland
and had no desire to be anywhere else than her village; everything she needed was there on the Island. Except now for health
reasons she had to go to the mainland. My friend had a hard time to convince her that everything would be all right!
Now that lady is probably an unusual case, but many folk are happy with what they know and comfortable with their surroundings
and wouldn't dream of being anywhere else. A significant number of people grow up, live and die in the same geographical area
and only venture outside when it is absolutely necessary. If you are such a person then you'll echo Dorothy's sentiments in
the Wizard of Oz, "There's no place like home."
When I looked at this morning’s passage, about Jesus sending out the disciples with nothing but the clothes on their
back, my first thought was, "What a great text to use at a Missions Conference, but what a hard one to use in the setting
of a local church in a static community."
What was I to do with this? Suggest you give up your homes and settled lives and abandon all to go on a mission to who
knows where? If everybody in every church in the city did that, there wouldn't be much of a city left! And all this business
of 'shaking the dust off your feet', how does that apply when you live in a settled
community and are going to meet those people time and time again? Aren't you supposed to carry on loving your neighbor?
What does this passage about "Sending People Out" have to say to people who feel called to "Stay where they are"? The
point of contact is simply this; the things that the disciples are sent out to do in the world are the same things that God
calls us to aspire to as a church within a settled community. Whilst the methods used within a static community have to be
different, the mission must remain the same. The Kingdom of God is to be proclaimed as "Near" to people's hearts and lives.
The disciples are sent out to do a number of different things. These are the same things we are called to embody as a
community of the faithful.
· They are to be people who proclaim the peace and wholeness of life that is possible through Jesus Christ.
· They are to expect that not everybody will accept or understand their message.
· They are to trust in God to provide them what they need to fulfill God's purpose.
· They are to pray that God will prompt others to join them in this mission, for "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers
are few."
1. We are called to proclaim the peace and wholeness of life that is available in Jesus Christ.
The Kingdom of God is near and it remains near. God is not far off, but at the circumference of our lives, with the desire
to be at the Center. It is not uncommon for people to feel that God is distant, unconcerned and unrelated to the way they
are living. When trouble comes, when disaster strikes, when hardships and misfortunes attack, when loneliness, anxiety or
depression set in, then it can feel like God has left town and won't be coming back.
The challenge for us as a Church is that we live as a community of people amongst whom the presence of God can be known
as a tangible reality. Our calling is to "model" for the world what being a part of the Kingdom of God can be like. Through caring for each other and being open to needs in our community, we bear witness to there being
a God who cares and can supply what we need.
In our worship services the Word of God is proclaimed. Yes, that is very important. But unless the Word becomes embodied
in our lives, then the Word becomes just words, with no function, power or purpose. No one’s going to get to heaven
by listening to sermons, or singing hymns, or saying prayers alone; it's not just the words, it's who we really are that determines
our standing with God. If our relationship with God is a reality then people will notice.
Of course, they might not always like it or even acknowledge it!
2. We should not expect everybody to accept our message.
Jesus speaks of sending his disciples out "like lambs into the midst of wolves." The wolf really doesn't care about the lamb, except as a source to satisfy its
appetite. It cares not about the lamb’s morality, about the lamb’s beliefs, about whether or not the lamb is having
a good day or bad day. All the wolf is saying is "Feed Me!” And if the lamb gets swallowed up in process, then that's
just tough.
There are those within all communities and even within churches themselves whose primary aim is simply to satisfy their
own appetite, like the down and out who come asking for money, mouth brimming with promises…"I promise I'll pay it back
when I get myself back on my feet." Or like the couple who want to get married and promise that once they are settled they'll
be in church every Sunday, or the youngster who is confirmed only never to be seen in church again.
I confess to have developed a "Yeh, Right!" attitude to some of these situations. Don't get me wrong, I'm not suggesting
that we shouldn't support people, or minister to those going through hard times or wishing to make commitments to each other
or the church. It’s just that the wolf will do anything and say anything as long it gets what it needs.
The gospel is not good news to those who are busy building their own little empires at the expense of others. It’s
not good news for the self-satisfied or self-seeking. It’s not good news to somebody trying to evade responsibility
or seeking to get the most for as little as possible. It’s not good news for those who take the attitude “I’m
going to live the way I like and I don’t care what happens.” Inherent in the notion of discipleship is the unpopular
idea of discipline.
To minister within any situation, be it an unknown frontier or a static community, be it in a time of need or a time of
plenty, there has to be an acceptance that nobody can reach everybody. Some won’t be reached. Some just don’t
want what we have to offer. Some will take advantage of us. It is fruitless to beat ourselves over the heads worrying about
it. Jesus said it would be that way.
God does not call us to do everything for everybody. Yet God does call us to particular tasks. And the things to which
God calls us are also the things for which God supplies our need.
3.We are called to trust in God to provide us with what we need to fulfill God's purpose.
No genuine work of God ever failed because of a lack of God's support. The trouble is that God works through people, and
people can be fickle. People can get the wrong end of the stick. People can misinterpret God's desires or take action on their
own behalf rather than seeking God's will.
That is why I believe the Church has to be a praying community. That’s why this time we spend in worship together
is so important. We can waste a lot of time doing things we think we should be doing instead of getting involved with what
God is doing. The only way to discern God's will is through prayer and knowledge of God's ways, a great deal of which can
be obtained through regular worship, Bible reading, and study.
As we apply ourselves to such disciplines, our faith and trust increase. We dare to attempt greater things because we
have an enlargened vision of God. It is not an easy task to discern the will of God. Not easy - but neither is it impossible.
The smallest of churches can accomplish big things when they are in harmony with God's will.
4. We are to pray that God will prompt others to join us in our mission, for "The harvest is
plentiful, but the laborers are few."
It is a sad thing that in most churches the majority of the church’s day-to-day business is taken care of by a minority
of a church’s membership. But let me offer this challenge in the form of
some questions.
If our church were a ship, are we a passenger or a crew-member?
If our church were a corner shop, are we a consumer or an assistant?
If our church were a bank, are we a teller or a customer?
If our church were a factory, would we be a worker or a visitor?
If our church were a football game, would we be on the field or in the stands?
If our church were a fast food restaurant would we be tending at the drive thru window or just be driving through?
Don't get me wrong. I know some of you are giving a tremendous amount of time and effort to this church’s work.
Through your efforts, truly one can sense that the Kingdom of God is near! But Jesus tells us that we are to pray that God
will prompt others to join us in our mission, for "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few." We have a backyard
mission to fulfill!
