A lunar calendar determines the date for Easter each year, and therefore Pentecost and Trinity Sundays. Due to these vagaries, we jump back into “ordinary time” and the readings in Matthew in the middle of a sentence, as it were. The middle of a discourse, anyway – Jesus instructing his disciples about the resistance they will face as they go forth spreading the Good News.
Here is the context for this week’s passage: “These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: ‘Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. As you go, proclaim the good news, “The kingdom of heaven has come near.” Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons.’”
He goes on to tell them that they are to take nothing with them, no luggage or extra clothes; that they are to rely on the hospitality of those who welcome them and have nothing to do with those who do not. He talks about persecution, saying, “‘See, I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.” He tells them to expect the kind of resistance he himself has faced:
“If they have called the master of the house [the devil], how much more will they malign those of his household!”
Would you have gone on this mission? It can be hard for us to imagine facing persecution for talking about our faith in Jesus as Lord – partly because many of us rarely do so, and because we’re more apt to encounter indifference or ridicule than persecution. We don’t have to look far in the world, though, to see Christians dying, attacked for their religious identity in addition to ethnic ties. Would facing danger for speaking of Christ embolden us – or send us into hiding?
Some preachers build huge congregations and rake in tons of money promising prosperity and good fortune for putting Jesus first – often associated with the size of one’s donation. I sometimes wonder if they’re right; their churches sure seem blessed. Then I remember Jesus never promised anything but an odd kind of joy amidst adversity and love in this life, and an eternity of relationship in the next. And he promised his presence with us, throughout, no matter what.
That is where I suggest we rest this week, as we read through a challenging passage, by opening ourselves to Jesus’ presence. That is where all ministry in his name begins – being filled with His Spirit.
Today, let’s take a few minutes to sit quietly, offering thanks for the gifts of the week past, repentance for our failures to demonstrate love, and naming those things that worry us about the week to come. And then let’s pray, “Come, Lord Jesus” (the ancient formulation is “Maranatha!”). And wait. See how Jesus draws near, or what comes up in you as you sit in stillness.
The prosperity preachers are right about one thing: cultivating an expectation of blessing yields blessing. God’s blessing, God’s “yes,” comes in many forms, not only material wealth. As we are open to it, look for it, name it, we will experience it more often, and proclaim what we’ve experienced. And then, whether we’re in the midst of wolves or sleepy sheep, we can proclaim our good news, “The Life of God has come near to you!”
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