Backyard Mission

Readings: Psalm 30, 2 Kings 5:1-14, Galatians 6:1-16, Luke 10:1-11+16-20
Preached at First Presbyterian Church, Baldwin, NY on July 7th, 2013

A printable PDF can be found here

A friend of mine was a pastor of a number of small Welsh language chapels on the Island of Angelsey in North Wales. 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.

She hardly spoke a word of English. She shopped, spoke, dreamt 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. But now for health reasons she had to go.  My friend had a hard time to convince her that everything would be all right!

Now that lady is probably an extreme 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 mornings 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 strange one to use in the setting of a local church!”

What should I do?  Suggest you give up your homes and settled lives and abandon all to go on a mission to who knows where? And all this business of 'shaking the dust off your feet', how does that apply when you live in a community where you are going to meet the same people time and time again? What does this passage about "Sending People Out" have to say to people who feel called to "Stay where they are"?

Then I realized that 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 our own community. We are called to mission in our own backyard.

The disciples are sent out to do a number of different things.

·    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-ones 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 it's 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!” 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 appetite. The politician who mysteriously appears when votes are needed.  The down and out who comes asking for money, mouth brimming with promises, "I promise I'll pay it back when I get myself back on my feet". The couple who want to get married and promise that once they are settled they'll be in church every Sunday. 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 our leaders, 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 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. Inherent in the notion of discipleship is the unpopular idea of discipline.

To minister within any situation, be it an unknown frontier or a mission in our own backyard, be it in a time of need or a time of plenty, there has to be an acceptance that no body can reach everybody. Some won’t be reached. Some just don’t want what we have to offer. Some will take advantage. 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 enlarged vision of God. It is not an easy task to discern the will of God. Not easy - yet not impossible. Small 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 fact that in most churches the majority of the Churches day-to-day business is taken care of by a minority of a churches membership. Every church member should review their involvement.

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 churches work. Yet 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".

As we come to the table, may God help us to find strength for mission in our own backyard. Let us think again on some of the things this passage teaches us.

1. We are to be people who proclaim the peace and wholeness of life that is possible through Jesus Christ.
2. We are to expect that not everybody will accept or understand our message.
3. We are to trust in God to provide us what we need to fulfill God's purpose.
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."

Around this table let us prayerfully seek for God to lead us and guide us. AMEN.

Rev. Adrian J. Pratt B.D.