“As you go, proclaim the good news, ‘The kingdom of God has come near.’ Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons.’” (Mt. 10:7-8a)

There is no question that the Gospel from Matthew this morning is about mission…the mission of the disciples and, by implication, the mission of all Christians. We hear that Jesus had been going from town to town doing exactly what he charged the disciples to do in the previous passage. When he noted the pain of the people he spoke of them being “sheep without a shepherd, harassed and helpless” and that there were few laborers to meet the multitude of needs around them. So Jesus summoned the disciples, gave them authority to do the work and then sent them out to do the work. The world then, as it is now, was filled with people in pain and need, the people who needed to hear the good news that the kingdom of God was near!

I wonder if you noticed the name change given to the twelve. When they were learning from Jesus they were called disciples, students if you will. When they had been given their authority they were called apostles, meaning those who were sent out to exercise said authority. Jesus didn’t promise it would be easy, and he was clear that some would not listen or notice them. There is clearly urgency here, one that says to them “don’t waste your time on the ones who cannot see or hear.” The kingdom of God is breaking in…find, tell and show as many as you can. It is interesting to note that Jesus sent them out in pairs, there were to be no “Lone Rangers” in this endeavor. It emphasized that they would need the support of one another to tackle this most difficult job and, that it was not about the faith of one individual but that of the entire community. Their success was legion, for the church was ultimately spread throughout the then known world.

Obviously, we are talking about mission and evangelism, two words that have gotten a pretty bad rap in recent times. Canon Gray Temple told a story in a sermon about an Episcopal bishop who once attempted to launch a campaign of evangelism in his diocese, only to be told by a sweet, elderly woman, “Why, Bishop, everybody that wants to be an Episcopalian already is one.” Given the stern resistance in that diocese the effort failed. (Copied)

This raises the issue of exactly what do we mean when we speak about evangelism? There is an old adage that says: “Preach the Gospel at all times; if necessary, use words! (Copied) Jesus gathered followers not just through his preaching, but by what he did and who he was. The Old Testament lesson from Genesis tells us the story of Abraham and his welcoming of strangers. He had no idea who they were; he simply knew that he was to provide hospitality. He raced to prepare a meal to refresh them. As it turns out, they were messengers from God. Abraham had been promised land and descendants, but, so far, he had only one son, Ishmael, the child of Sarah’s handmaid. Both he and Sarah were well beyond child-bearing years. One of the guests announced that, when he returned, Sarah would have borne a son. Sarah, hearing this in the tent laughed. The Lord said “…is anything too wonderful for the Lord?” Later Sarah, afraid, denied having laughed, but rebuked by the Lord who said: “Oh yes you did laugh!” I love this passage as it makes this revered patriarch’s wife intensely human. Sarah’s laugh basically said: “I don’t think so!” Later, we find she laughs for joy after the birth of Isaac.

It is interesting to note that Abraham simply acted with hospitality and generosity. We don’t hear that he had very much to say. I would suggest that he might be a model for us. We, as twenty-first century Christians, are disciples (learners) and apostles (sent out). We are not called to preach on street corners or to press our beliefs on others. We are called to be Christians in the world, to seek out those in pain, to listen, to tend, and, above all, to love. This is the charge to every one of the baptized, not just the clergy. In our mutual baptismal vows:

We promise to proclaim by word and example the Good New of God in Christ.

We are to seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving our neighbors as ourselves.

Finally, we are to strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being. (BCP, pg. 305)

This does not mean that we are to be sappy, pushovers but rather, as Jesus commanded the disciples: “to be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.” There is an old story purported to be true told by members of a rural church in Euharlee, Ga. They claimed that Sam Jones was a Methodist preacher/evangelist in the Cartersville, Georgia area sometime in the 1920’s. One day he was asked to visit a member of the local Methodist church who did not have an honorable reputation and had not been to church in years. Rev. Jones entered the hospital room and the conversation supposedly went like this:

“Oh, Brother Jones, pray for my healing! If God will only heal me I’ll straighten out my life. I’ll stop drinking and smoking and I’ll be in church every Sunday. I’ll start tithing and quit running around on my wife…etc. etc. etc.”

At the conclusion of the man’s promises, Rev. Jones said nothing, took the man’s hand, and kneeled at his bedside as was his custom and prayed:

“Lord, you have heard Brother Brown’s promises of what he will do if you heal him. If he means it, cure him. If he doesn’t, kill him. Amen.”

Sam Jones got up and walked out of the room without saying another word. (Copied)

Rev. Jones was a perfect example of the combination of wisdom and innocence. We, too, are called to go out into the world and, by how we live and what we do, to show Christ to others. There is another true story of a young Angolan woman named “Maria” had come to this country and joined a Presbyterian Church. She was full of life and joy and brought much to the congregation. One day she attended a presbytery conference on evangelism. It was filled with demographics, detailed plans and mission strategies. At one point late in the conference a participant asked Maria what they did in Angola to evangelize those people who didn’t know Christ. She said simply: ‘Well, we don’t give any pamphlets to people, we don’t have any! We just send one or two families to live in a village. When the people see what Christians are like, they want to be Christians themselves.’” (Synthesis, June 16, 2002)

So, my fellow disciples and apostles, we have our charge. As a community we are to live in the world in such a way as to draw others to Christ. We are to seek out those in need, and they are plentiful. We are to be wise as serpents and innocent as doves…for if we are patsies we relinquish all respect and the ability to help others in creative, life-changing ways. We are also not to rush to judgment, to be innocent, and to see the whole person not skin color, socio-economic status, sexual orientation, intelligence, education…or any other lenses that blind us to see each person as a child of God.

We are to go with the deep knowledge of Christ’s presence with us in our hearts and in the community of which we are a part. The kingdom of God is near, we cannot wait…let us begin. AMEN