First Reading: Jeremiah 20:7-13

 ⁷O Lord, you have enticed me, and I was enticed;
 you have overpowered me, and you have prevailed.
 I have become a laughingstock all day long; everyone mocks me.
 ⁸For whenever I speak, I must cry out,

      I must shout, “Violence and destruction!”
 For the word of the Lord has become for me
  a reproach and derision all day long.
 ⁹If I say, “I will not mention him, or speak any more in his name,”
 then within me there is something like a burning fire shut up in my bones;
 I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot.
 ¹⁰For I hear many whispering: “Terror is all around!
 Denounce him! Let us denounce him!”  All my close friends
  are watching for me to stumble.
 “Perhaps he can be enticed, and we can prevail against him,
  and take our revenge on him.”
 ¹¹But the Lord is with me like a dread warrior;
  therefore my persecutors will stumble, and they will not prevail.
 They will be greatly shamed, for they will not succeed.
 Their eternal dishonor will never be forgotten.
 ¹²O Lord of hosts, you test the righteous,

         you see the heart and the mind; let me see your retribution upon

      them, for to you I have committed my cause.
 ¹³Sing to the Lord; praise the Lord!
 For he has delivered the life of the needy from the hands of evildoers.

Psalm: Psalm 69:7-10 [11-15] 16-18

Answer me, O Lord, for your love is kind. (Ps. 69:16)

 ⁷Surely, for your sake I have suffered reproach,
  and shame has covered my face.
 ⁸I have become a stranger to my own kindred,
  an alien to my mother’s children.
 ⁹Zeal for your house has eaten me up;
  the scorn of those who scorn you has fallen upon me.
 ¹⁰I humbled myself with fasting,
  but that was turned to my reproach. 
 ¹¹I put on sackcloth also, and became a byword among them.
 ¹²Those who sit at the gate murmur against me,
  and the drunkards make songs about me.
 ¹³But as for me, this is my prayer to you, at the time you have set, O Lord:
  “In your great mercy, O God, answer me with your unfailing help.
 ¹⁴Save me from the mire; do not let me sink;
  let me be rescued from those who hate me and out of the deep waters. 
 ¹⁵Let not the torrent of waters wash over me, neither let the deep swallow me up; do not let the pit shut its mouth upon me.
]  ¹⁶Answer me, O Lord, for your love is kind;
  in your great compassion, turn to me.
 ¹⁷Hide not your face from your servant;
  be swift and answer me, for I am in distress.
 ¹⁸Draw near to me and redeem me;
  because of my enemies deliver me. 

Second Reading: Romans 6:1b-11

^1bShould we continue in sin in order that grace may abound? ²By no means! How can we who died to sin go on living in it? ³Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? ⁴Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.
 ⁵For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. ⁶We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin. ⁷For whoever has died is freed from sin. ⁸But if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. ⁹We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. ¹⁰The death he died, he died to sin, once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. ¹¹So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

Gospel: Matthew 10:24-39

 [Jesus said to the twelve:] ²⁴“A disciple is not above the teacher, nor a slave above the master; ²⁵it is enough for the disciple to be like the teacher, and the slave like the master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household!
 ²⁶“So have no fear of them; for nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known. ²⁷What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops. ²⁸Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. ²⁹Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. ³⁰And even the hairs of your head are all counted. ³¹So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.
 ³²“Everyone therefore who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven; ³³but whoever denies me before others, I also will deny before my Father in heaven.
 ³⁴“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.
 ³⁵For I have come to set a man against his father,
 and a daughter against her mother,
 and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;
 ³⁶and one’s foes will be members of one’s own household.
³⁷Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; ³⁸and whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me. ³⁹Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.”

CHILDREN’S SERMON  The following speech should sound familiar to most of us and so we often tune out when we hear it.

“Ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of the crew I ask that you please direct your attention to the monitors above as we review the emergency procedures. There are six emergency exits on this aircraft. Take a minute to locate the exit closest to you. Note that the nearest exit may be behind you. Count the number of rows to this exit. Should the cabin experience sudden pressure loss, stay calm and listen for instructions from the cabin crew. Oxygen masks will drop down from above your seat. Place the mask over your mouth and nose, like this. Pull the strap to tighten it. If you are traveling with children, make sure that your own mask is on first before helping your children. In the unlikely event of an emergency landing and evacuation, leave your carry-on items behind. Life rafts are located below your seats and emergency lighting will lead you to your closest exit and slide. We ask that you make sure that all carry-on luggage is stowed away safely during the flight. While we wait for take off, please take a moment to review the safety data card in the seat pocket in front of you.”

Tell your neighbor what items the flight attendant mentions in her speech.

Let us pray, May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight My Rock and My Redeemer.

SERMON

         Our text this Sunday picks up from where we stopped last week.  Jesus is giving instructions to his crew.  In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus gives the Sermon on the Mount in chapter 5-8 where he lays out his State of the Union Address about what the kingdom of heaven is about.  It is not like the kingdom of this world!  Jesus then goes about Galilee doing what he has talked about.  The rubber meets the road.  He walks the talk.  He has traveled his “hood,” among his people, and realizes they are like sheep without a shepherd, harassed and helpless.  The heart of God incarnate is filled with compassion.  He calls his disciples together and shares his authority with them and sends them out with instructions.  “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. (Matt 10:16)” Jesus gives them instructions for their journey and possibly we have heard the instructions so many times our spiritual ears tune out.  Today, though, we pick up his instructions to his disciples and also to us, his disciples to our world today.

Community:  “It is enough… (v. 25)”

         During Pentecost we focus on the difference it makes in our lives that we believe in a Triune God unlike other world religions.  Today Jesus tells his disciples that “it is enough”, it is enough for the disciples to be like their teacher or master.  Perhaps like the plane attendant’s speech, we need to be reminded to stay calm and don’t panic.  We are not seeking to be “above” or outshine each other.  God will care for each of us in an emergency and we don’t have to battle another for safety.  The Trinity is not about an authority hierarchy and competition but about a unity where each aspect of the godhead glorifies the character of the other.  Jesus glorifies the Father and the Holy Spirit glorifies Jesus.  When the mother of James and John asked Jesus for her sons to sit at his right hand and left hand when he came into power, she had missed the point.  When we somehow think the Bishop is closer to God, more powerful than the person in the pew next to us and that God cares more about the Bishop than me, I fear we are sliding down a rabbit hole.  When we pray together we are not thinking numbers make power or that the other guy is closer to God’s ear but we are inviting each other into a group conversation.  Big churches or small churches, rich people or poor people, or even talented verses ordinary make no difference to God.  His goal is for us to be Christ like using the characteristics God created within each of us.  We are each part of the body and we each serve a role that reflects something about God.  It is enough to be like him as we are created to be. We are on God’s plane, on his agenda, each having our own seat and he will help all of us board and deal with any emergency that might arrive.

Communication:  “So have no fear of them…(v, 26)”

         Jesus next says my favorite words “have no fear.”  We need not be afraid of others because there are no secrets with God.  We are not to be afraid of “them,” the people who attack us.   Hmmmm, that makes me stop and think about our social world today.

         “Scam” is one of the words that come to mind and “disinformation” is another word that has become popular.  We do not have to be afraid that God will “scam” or deceive us into doing something harmful to ourselves.  God is not going to mislead us about where the exit is when we encounter turbulence.  He will not bring out all our dirty laundry to discredit us.  We are forgiven and secure in God’s love.   Our sins are as far as the East is from the West.  We do not need to be afraid that God will try to take advantage of our ignorance.  The Holy Spirit is our Advocate and always interceding for us.   God is on our side, fighting for us and communicating with us what we need to know.  We can count on his “safety instructions.”

         Likewise God does not dispense “disinformation” to try and confuse us and trick us into believing him.  When we think about ways that communication becomes twisted and harmful in our world, we know these are campaigns that come from evil.  God hates gossip, slander and envy.  God is not like that.  So when fear enters, we know we are being tempted by the evil one.

         Jesus says we need not fear those who can kill the body, other people, but our only fear need be that we are pleasing God who cares about our soul and our eternity.  We do not need to panic in a crisis and fear physical death.  Jesus says we are of more value than a sparrow.  This last weekend I had visitors from California and we went with my neighbor to the Apopka Wildlife trail.  It is 14 miles on gravel road through a swampy area that houses millions of birds and alligators.  The photographers in our group were in heaven.  My friend with her bird book tried to find any bird she did not recognize.  We are more valuable to God than a tiny, ordinary sparrow.  He delights in them…and in you! What God tells us, we can shout from housetops without fear.

         Jesus goes to a darker place as he shares with his disciples not to fear to testify of their faith.  Many of his followers throughout history and today will be called to account by courts and by people of other religions.  We call it being a martyr.  Airplanes do encounter problems.  The underwater sub that has been in the news this week did have problems.   Jesus introduces a reciprocal principle here.  It should sound familiar to us.  In the Lord’s Prayer we ask, “Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.”  If we refuse to forgive, we continue to carry that burden and God won’t force us to let go.  The life-vest under your seat on the plane is of no use if you refuse to believe and put it on.  Here Jesus says we are to acknowledge him before people and he will acknowledge us before God.  This is a piece of spiritual meat we must chew on a bit.  Let me propose a possible understanding.

         When I bury truth within myself and talk contrary to what I know is true, I am deceiving others and hurting myself.  I go home kicking myself for being dishonest. I know I have not been my better self, a person of integrity, congruent outwardly with my inner beliefs.  I have given way to fear.  Likewise, when we are duplicitous, then there is no victory for Jesus to brag about to the Father.  The gold medal I might have won now goes to another because I do not go the whole mile.  I suppose one of the examples of what I’m trying to say is Eric Liddell, the runner.  He was convicted by his conscience about running the qualifying race for the 100-meter for the Olympics on a Sunday.  He allowed Abrams to run it and he ran the 400 meter race that he had not trained for.  By being true to his beliefs, another won the gold medal that all thought was his but he did medal in the longer race.  He did not cave under social pressure.

         Most of our “moments of truth” are not that dramatic or as dramatic as an airplane problem.  I often fail in front of the refrigerator door and then hang my head with my friends, as we know we have not dieted, as we had wanted.  Perhaps truth hangs in the balance when we fill out our tax returns.  The flight attendant has a general announcement that is made on every flight for all people but each crisis is different and each of us is not on the same plane.  But we are headed to the same destination and we do encounter similar problems that God wants to help us navigate.

         Fears eat away at our insides as we fear scams, shams, and disinformation and that fear paralyzes our actions.  Fears can also eat away at our outward testimonies, the person we present ourselves to be to others.  Jesus concludes these thoughts by again reiterating that he is not Santa Claus.  He did not come to bring Christmas and to make our lives here on earth comfy.  Jesus is not about instant health, wealth and prosperity.  The goal is not to be comfortable on the flight but to get to our destination trusting his instructions for the trip.  He is building a kingdom where community without competition is enough and where we do not spend our lives in fear of the other.  

Obedience: ³⁹Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their

life for my sake will find it.”

         Our triune God is communal and we are people of community.  The community that is forming will work by different values than the communities of this world.  God will communicate truth to us and through us to build his kingdom.  We need to communicate with others.  Having that safety card in the pocket in front of you in the plane is of no use if we don’t read it.  Christian community can expect friction and frustration from the world as they communicate their values and the ways they function to the society around them.  We must never forget that we are valuable and seeking to be like our teacher and master where we are.

         Jesus now gives another mind twister.  “Forgive me my trespasses as I forgive others.”  Acknowledge Jesus before people and he can acknowledge us before God.  And thirdly Jesus says that it is as we lose our life for Christ’s sake that we find life.  The kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of earth are not the same and work differently.  So disciples must always make sure they are listening to and following the instructions of their master because his directions will feel like loosing our lives but in obeying him we find life.

         Forgiveness over revenge for the wrongs done us can feel like the death of our pride.  Sharing our wealth with a church through offerings can feel like compromising our ability to lead a comfortable life.  Reading the Bible rather than keeping track of the next series on TV may make us look a little ignorant in public but….  God’s ways don’t make sense in our world and often feel life threatening.  The world sent Jesus to the cross and being like Jesus can feel life threatening also.  In an emergency on the plane, we do not know if there is enough oxygen coming through those masks for everyone.  I have never actually seen that life vest under my seat nor do I know if it is big enough for me.  I do check for exit doors.  But I must admit I am locating the bathrooms also.  We just don’t know and must obey the instructions given us when we board.  We just don’t know if someday we will be called to account for our faith.  We don’t know what the end of our journey will be like.  We all vote for falling asleep in our chair or bed surrounded by loved ones but only God knows.  And so we close today with the promise Jesus gave,

³⁹Those who find their life will lose it,

and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.”

Buckle your seat belts for another week.  He has life-vests, oxygen masks, and marked paths to exits for whatever turbulence you will face this week.

And the people of God said, “Thank You!”

First Reading: Exodus 19:2-8a

²[The Israelites] had journeyed from Rephidim, entered the wilderness of Sinai, and camped in the wilderness; Israel camped there in front of the mountain.³Then Moses went up to God; the Lord called to him from the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the Israelites: ⁴You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. ⁵Now therefore, if you obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession out of all the peoples. Indeed, the whole earth is mine, ⁶but you shall be for me a priestly kingdom and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the Israelites.”
 ⁷So Moses came, summoned the elders of the people, and set before them all these words that the Lord had commanded him. ^8aThe people all answered as one: “Everything that the Lord has spoken we will do.”

Psalm: Psalm 100

We are God’s people and the sheep of God’s pasture. (Ps. 100:3)

 ¹Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all you lands!
  ²Serve the Lord with gladness; come into God’s presence with a song.
 ³Know that the Lord is God, our maker to whom we belong;
  we are God’s people and the sheep of God’s pasture. 
 ⁴Enter the gates of the Lord with thanksgiving and the courts with praise;
  give thanks and bless God’s holy name.
 ⁵Good indeed is the Lord, whose steadfast love is everlasting,
  whose faithfulness endures from age to age. 

Second Reading: Romans 5:1-8

¹Since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ²through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. ³And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, ⁴and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, ⁵and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.
 ⁶For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die. ⁸But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.

Gospel: Matthew 9:35—10:8 [9-23]

³⁵Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and curing every disease and every sickness. ³⁶When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. ³⁷Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; ³⁸therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”
 ^10:1Then Jesus summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to cure every disease and every sickness. ²These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon, also known as Peter, and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; ³Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; ⁴Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed him.
 ⁵These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans, ⁶but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. ⁷As you go, proclaim the good news, ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ ⁸Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. You received without payment; give without payment. [⁹Take no gold, or silver, or copper in your belts, ¹⁰no bag for your journey, or two tunics, or sandals, or a staff; for laborers deserve their food. ¹¹Whatever town or village you enter, find out who in it is worthy, and stay there until you leave. ¹²As you enter the house, greet it. ¹³If the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it; but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. ¹⁴If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet as you leave that house or town. ¹⁵Truly I tell you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.
 ¹⁶“See, I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. ¹⁷Beware of them, for they will hand you over to councils and flog you in their synagogues; ¹⁸and you will be dragged before governors and kings because of me, as a testimony to them and the Gentiles. ¹⁹When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say; for what you are to say will be given to you at that time; ²⁰for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. ²¹Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death; ²²and you will be hated by all because of my name. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. ²³When they persecute you in one town,  towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.”]

CHILDREN’S SERMON:

 Aesop wrote a famous fable called: The Lion’s Share

            “A long time ago, the Lion, the Fox, the Jackal, and the Wolf agreed to go hunting together, sharing with each other whatever they found.  One day the Wolf ran down a Stag and immediately called his comrades to divide the spoil. Without being asked, the Lion placed himself at the head of the feast to do the carving, and, with a great show of fairness, began to count the guests.  “One,” he said, counting on his claws, “that is myself the Lion. Two, that’s the Wolf, three, is the Jackal, and the Fox makes four.”  He then very carefully divided the Stag into four equal parts.

         “I am King Lion,” he said, when he had finished, “so of course I get the first part. This next part falls to me because I am the strongest; and this is mine because I am the bravest.”  He now began to glare at the others very savagely. “If any of you have any claim to the part that is left,” he growled, stretching his claws menacingly, “now is the time to speak up.”

The animals of the forest had a problem.  They were hungry.  King Lion in the fable is not like King Jesus, as we shall see in our sermon today.  How are the Lion and Jesus different?

Let us pray.  Lord, may the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight, my Rock and my Redeemer.

SERMON

         In our Psalm for today, verse 3, sets our theme,  “We are God’s people and the sheep of God’s pasture.”  The first reading from the Old Testament reminds us of God’s promise to the people of Israel,  

         “⁵Now therefore, if you obey my voice and keep my covenant, you     shall be my treasured possession out of all the peoples. Indeed, the       whole earth is mine, ⁶but you shall be for me a priestly kingdom and a        holy nation.”

God had a plan for his creation, a good plan.  We are his sheep designed to be a priestly kingdom.  And so our text opens with Jesus taking a tour of his “hood.” He’s checking out his flock.  He teaches, proclaims the good news of the kingdom, and cures disease.  True to the character of our triune God, Jesus wants a healthy community, is communicating with his sheep that the “kingdom is near,” and is teaching.  So far King Jesus and King Lion might appear to be similar, both agreeing in the good of everyone.

The Problem

       Jesus, God incarnate, has come to his creation but “Houston, we have a problem!” Jesus sees that his people are “harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”  The problem is not that the sheep are stupid and need to go to seminary.  The problem is not that the sheep need to be sheared of their heavy wool that causes them to drown if they fall in the river.  The problem is not that the sheep are in Israel and really need to be in America where there are green pastures.  No, the problem is that shepherds are harassing and harming his sheep.  King Jesus focuses on the good of the sheep.  King Lion in the fable is focused on self and not on the good of everyone.  The sheep are not guilty of being sheep. God created them sheep and God loves sheep. 

         Jesus sees that God’s people are like sheep being “harassed and helpless.”  Please note that our text does not open with God being furious at his people’s waywardness.  Our text says Jesus is filled with compassion for his sheep.  I need to hear that today and maybe you do too.  God’s response to my dilemma with life is compassion, not judgment.  Unlike King Lion, God does not pull rank.   Let me say it again.  Jesus’ response to my problems is compassion.  God is love.  God hates sin, anything that destroys his sheep, but God loves his people.  God does not want his sheep to be hungry while he feasts.

The Plan

         Jesus calls his disciples and gives them authority.  Jesus’ solution is sharing.  Jesus’ solution is people, other sheep, not education, not new laws or new rulers, not science and not new discoveries for a better life for the sheep, and not relocation to a better environment.  Jesus calls his disciples and shares with them his authority to help his people.  He sends them out “like sheep among wolves.”  King Jesus shares unlike King Lion.

         Folks, we are God’s plan for the problems of life, not social security, not bank accounts, not government, not doctors and not moving.  Jesus called his disciples together, delegated his authority over the evils of life and sent them out.  It is not God’s will that any should be lost.  Our problem is not the other person.  I’m going to say that again too.  That person, who irritates you or does life different from you, is not the problem.  They are all lost sheep.  Let me remind us of Galatians 6:12,

            ^“12 For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but      against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers    of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the       heavenly places.”

That other person who gets to me is another sheep, just like me.  I don’t want to excuse abuse but I also think that often I forget that I am God’s plan for helping that other to cope with their problems in life.  I forget that I have my blind spots. 

         I also note that Jesus did not send his disciples out to those “heathens, the Gentiles.”  It is easy to focus on the stranger as a problem because for sure they will do things differently than ourselves.  But Jesus has the disciples focus on the home turf first.  I was deeply touched by an evangelism example that challenged me with a question.  Would I prefer to get $1,000 a day for a month,  total of $,30,000 or would I prefer to get one dollar, $1.00, the first day and let it double everyday for a month?  For the non-mathematically inclined the far bigger return is to take the $1.00 and let it double daily.  By day 15, half way through the month, I will receive $32,768!  We might also call it the ripple effect.  Being nice to one person and sharing your faith with that person can profoundly change the course of history.  Jesus knew this.  His 12 disciples have changed the world.  King Lion keeping all the food does not help build his kingdom.

         The song we warbled in the 70s was “Freely, Freely”.  Freely we have received and freely we are to give.   Jesus says it this way, 

         “⁸Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons.         You received without payment; give without payment. “

That sounds like a big order but I would suggest our problem with Jesus’ command is with us–we forget to pray.  It is not we who do the miracles.  God does.  Our role is to pray, share and invite God into the dynamics of the challenges we encounter.  Today we do not acknowledge demons but we do recognize evil.  We do not see leprosy in our neighborhoods but we do have the sick and outcaste.  And raising the dead does seem impossible but praying for the sick and grieving is not.  God has empowered us to share with others as his representatives.  He has given us authority.  As Nike would say, “Just do it.”

         Jesus adds a caveat. Whew!  Not all people are receptive or willing to hear and we are not charged to just share with anyone and everyone.  Jesus encouraged us to be discerning.  Jesus also warns that not everyone will be receptive.  Many disciples died as martyrs.  That is not our story today but it is for many in our world.  Our challenge is not to change the other but to be transparent about our faith and ourselves as the Holy Spirit taps us on the shoulder.

         Jesus also sent his disciples out two by two; having a friend to share the concerns of our heart is good.  We are not Lone Rangers.  We are part of a body and our challenge is to be true to our role in the body.  We are not all preachers but we are all important and we are all God’s representatives.  We are God’s plan for spreading the news that the Kingdom of Heaven is near!

Peace

         “…do not worry…” Being God’s plan for dealing with the problems of life feels like a heavy responsibility.  It is easy for me to ponder whether I should say something or keep my mouth shut.  Jesus teaches us but we still have to obey.  And so I find Jesus closing these instructions by saying, “Do not worry.”  Those are very comforting words.  Let me say them again, “Do not worry.”  He comes full circle from visiting his “hood” and seeing people like sheep that are harassed and helpless, he comes back and says in essence, I am with you.  Don’t worry.  The Holy Spirit will give you the words to say and will be with you.  Obedience is never me out on a limb alone but it is reaching out to grasp the hand of God who is leading me.  It is not God standing behind me saying, do it or else.  It is God pulling me forward for my own good and for the good of the other.

         King Jesus does not show his claws and challenge us with his authority like King Lion.  King Jesus has compassion for his sheep that are harassed and hurt by life.  King Jesus shares his authority.  King Jesus walks with us into the challenges we face.  We are not alone.  We do not need to worry.  The kingdom of heaven is near.

Lord, may the motives of my heart be compassion.

Lord, may I see people as your plan.

Lord, may I play my part in your plan.

Lord, may we be messengers of peace, trusting your presence.

Keep our hearts on you when we are misunderstood.

Let the people of God say “AMEN!”