July 6, 2025
Fourth Sunday After Pentecost
Text: Luke 10:1-11, 16-20
Our gospel text for today begins with Jesus sending out 72 of his followers in pairs to “test the waters” for a later visit by Jesus himself. David has already given us a wonderfully embodied experience of what that might have felt like, so I will focus on the backstory.
In preparing these disciples for their trial run, Jesus gives a series of directions that reveal the values they have experienced together:
- Carry no purse, no bag, and no extra sandals – all things we would normally pack for a trip. Like most poor people, they are to be dependent on the care of others. They will not be set apart by rank or privilege or even self-sufficiency. And remember, Luke says they will be “like lambs in the midst of wolves.” Not a welcoming crowd.
It makes me think of Fern’s centerfold article in the current issue of CALLINGS, in which Gordon Cosby says “When you have money people want jobs with you for the salaries they will receive and the careers they will further. When you have no money there is no mistaking who is called.”
Being called is no joke. It will demand your best work and maybe little thanks. You have probably experienced that yourself. It starts with parenting and moves outward from there.
Most missions in Church of the Saviour started like that: no purse or credit card, no bag of extra supplies or people eager to join an impossible task. Just a chance to invite people into God’s realm of justice and mercy.
- Next Jesus says, “Greet no-one on the road.” In other words, don’t get distracted by social obligations. Be intentional. Purposeful. Focus on your reason for being there. Living on the edge of impossible takes courage and persistence. The inner journey of listening for God’s reality is why we have spiritual disciplines. The outer journey is the manifestation of that purpose.
- Then he said, “To whatever house you enter, extend God’s peace. If it’s received, stay there and don’t move around, even if you get a better offer.” I think God’s peace is a kind of blessing, a sense of respect, recognition, of mutual interest. Certainly it means coming without judgment or entitlement. Together, people can face the wolves of political power, personal failure, humiliation or disaster.
Staying wherever God’s peace is welcomed also means that if a community of believers begins to develop, it will be centered there, in that place. I think of it as “pay attention to where the Spirit is alive and attach yourself there.” In our consumer society, that kind of commitment to stay is rare but important. And it’s why yearly commitment is practiced here at Seekers.
- Jesus also said, “ Eat whatever they put before you.” Remember that he was speaking to people identified by Temple rules about ritually unclean foods. By accepting what was offered, these disciples were demonstrating oneness, inclusiveness, belonging. Eating together was a sign that God’s table was open to all.
As I read this, I remembered our first trip to Guatemala in 2001. We took sandwiches to the village for lunch, because the villagers were still receiving USAID food supplements to recover from the starvation campaign by the government against indigenous people and we didn’t want to burden them. Our leader, Paul Johnson, knew they had nothing extra to share.
The following year, Peter and I took over leadership of the trip for Faith@Work and we asked whether we could pay local villagers to provide the noon meal. Some women in the village were eager to do that but we were horrified when they provided a meal with chicken, squash, beans and tortillas – not because we objected to chicken, but because they needed the valuable protein of eggs and meat for their children. It turned out that they thought North Americans expected meat.
By the third year, we learned how to ask for no meat and by then they had a greater variety of vegetables to go with beans and tortillas. It was the right balance of receiving their hospitality AND supporting those entrepreneurial women. And we ate what was set before us. [Show of hands – How many of you traveled to Guatemala on a work-pilgrimage with us at some time over the years?]
- Finally, Jesus said their work was to go about the town, healing and teaching that the Realm of God is here, now. Think about that. The realm of God is not only in a temple or a church – or in some heavenly realm after death. No, they were to offer healing and tell people that the Kingdom of God is very near, very now. It was a revolutionary message and demanding work. Healing comes in many forms. We would call it justice work.
I think that is still a revolutionary message – and quite different from preaching that belief in Jesus is a ticket to heaven.
Intentional inner preparation for the outward journey is how I also see the purpose of Seekers today. As our call says, “We come together in weekly worship, rooted in biblical faith, with shared leadership” and then disperse to practice in the world. Weekly worship reminds us that we belong to bigger story than the lonely individualism that our culture promotes. Weekly worship makes visible the inward journey of prayer, meditation and self-reflection that we have been practicing at home. Shared leadership means that no one person has the authority. There are no kings here.
And because we have an open pulpit, trusting that any of us may have an insight from that deeply mysterious realm of the Spirit, I see the School for Christian Growth as the key to our continued health as a spiritual community. The School is where we mix old and new, skeptics and seekers, casual and committed. Without the School, we would quickly fall into silos of special interest as mission groups and project-oriented ministry teams.
Last week, I spent about 3 hours with a Korean visitor who had read about Church of the Saviour. When she bought a copy of Call to Commitment at the Potter’s House, where we were having lunch, I mentioned the 3-week zoom class that begins on Tuesday. Since she is spending the year in San Antonio because of her husband’s sabbatical, she asked if she could be part of the class and I was glad to sign her up.
Honestly, I think the School may be our best method of inviting new people to explore what it means to share this nward/outward journey. In the coming year, I hope you will save Tuesday nights for an in-person or online class at the School – to deepen our knowledge of one-another and prepare for your particular outward journey.
When preparing a sermon, I always read beyond the text to get a feel for the bigger story. Today’s story about sending out 72 disciples in pairs comes from Luke, chapter 10. But in Luke, chapter 9, we read virtually the same set of instructions which Jesus gave to his inner circle of 12 disciples before he sent them out, apparently to test their understanding of God’s realm — like a practicum after intense tutoring.
I think of the 72 disciples in Luke 10 like our congregation and the 12 disciples in Luke 9 are like Stewards. In Luke 9, Jesus invites the returning disciples to retreat, but crowds gather and we have the story of feeding the 5,000. We know that story. After a long day of teaching, the disciples want Jesus to send the people away so they can buy food. But Jesus simply invites them to take the next step: “You give them something to eat.”
“What?” they reply. “Do you want us to buy food for this whole crowd?” . Basically, they fail that test of faith.
Then Jesus becomes the liturgist. He gives thanks to God for the provision of five loaves and two fish as though it would be enough for everyone. And miraculously, it was.
I remember feeling like such a miracle had occurred when we found that Seekers were willing to give or loan all the money that we needed to renovate this building so we wouldn’t have to borrow from a bank. After six months of study and talk about the spiritual side of money, nearly 40 people offered financial help to renovate this building when we had no money to start with. Here again I am reminded of Gordon’s words: “When you have no money there is no mistaking who is called.”
When we gather here for worship, we hear these archetypal stories and can step into them with our own experiences. I hope you will take the time to reread those two chapters of Luke and reflect on our life here, together, in this day and place.
Perhaps our work is to invite people of any age to explore the inner work of healing and transformation as the bedrock for social change. And so, as we come together in weekly worship, with shared leadership rooted in this biblical story, let us come to the communion table with open hearts to find our way once again on the sacred path that Jesus laid out for his followers so long ago. As always, God is here. It’s we who need to claim our place at the table.
May it be so, Amen.