Agents Of Grace

July 2, 2023

Rev. Mary Erickson

Hope Lutheran Church

Matthew 10:40-42

Agents of Grace

Friends, may grace and peace be yours in abundance in the knowledge of God and Christ Jesus our Lord.

I’ve always been a fan of good news - bad news jokes:

One day, the Pope’s assistant urgently approached him and said, “Sir, I have some good news for you and some bad news.”

“Please, tell me!” says the Pope.

“Well, the good news is that we have Jesus Christ himself on the phone. He’s called from heaven.”

“That’s awesome!” says the Pope. “So, what’s the bad news?”

“The bad news is he’s calling collect.”

Good news – bad news jokes typically start off with the good news and end with the bad. But Jesus does just the opposite when he talks to his disciples about the mission he’s sending them on. He leads with all of the bad news.

• He’s sending them out like sheep in the midst of wolves!

• They can expect to be handed over to councils and flogged!

• Even their own family members will turn against them!

Wow, it sounds pretty dire! But then Jesus ends with the good news. For the past few week’s we’ve heard the bad news. But in today’s gospel passage, we get that good news. The disciples won’t only face persecutions and hostility. They’ll also be welcomed and given assistance.

In good news - bad news jokes, it’s the bad news that’s the punch line. But when you’re being sent out on a mission, it’s the good news at the end that inspires.

As followers of Christ, we’ve been called out. We’ve been given a mission, we’re sent into the world in Jesus’ name. That service bears the shape of a cross. Jesus has us called us to take up our cross and follow him.

Crosses are all about service. A cross undeniably implies that suffering will somehow be involved. It’s just part and parcel of bearing a cross. So it’s no wonder that Jesus feels obligated to tell his disciples about potential fallouts.

But there’s more than just the bad news. It’s not all doom and gloom. In their service they’ll also encounter agents of grace. People will minister to them. There will be comfort and renewal.

It would be pretty hard to set out on a mission if our only prospect was hardship and suffering. No young high school graduate sets on a future vocation if they think they’ll receive only adversity and pain and misery. Now, every vocation certainly has both its hardships and its rewards.

• Dairy farming is extremely difficult. You work long days, it’s very physically demanding, and you don’t get rich on it. But the farming life is not without its rewards, and that’s why people do it. There is the beauty of the countryside, the elemental connection with the earth and its creatures, the reward of producing food for the world to eat.

• Doctors work extremely long days. They hold the very weight of human life in their hands. It’s high pressure. They get called in the middle of the night to respond to emergencies. But they receive rewards through their ministry of healing. They see patients respond to treatments. They develop long relationships with families.

• Teaching is hard work, too. Especially nowadays, it seems like teachers face so many more challenges than they did in simpler times. Poverty, drug abuse and lack of support systems complicate the learning experience of their students. But there is a joy in teaching. They see the light bulbs turning on above their student’s heads, they see them advance in skills, and in that they receive their reward.

• Soldiers face the real prospect of death. When they’re sent out on a military mission, like the soldiers who landed on Omaha Beach in World War II, they know there’s a real chance they might be killed in action. They might lose a limb or be captured by the enemy. But they know there’s something greater than their own physical welfare, something they hold higher. Preserving that good thing is their priority.

Each of us has a vocation of one sort or another. It doesn’t have to be a job that we get paid for, but every one of us has a purpose, a function to fulfill. The word vocation comes from the Latin root for “to call.” And as people of faith, that’s how we understand our vocation. We are called into service in this world. In whatever way we utilize our position, our abilities, we understand that God is using us to act and serve our neighbor in accordance with God’s design.

In every vocation, there will be suffering, there is a cross to bear. But there’s also joy and grace. There’s bad news AND good news. Which will we focus on? As we serve in Christ’s name, in whatever avenue our vocation – our CALLING – our strength and sustenance is within the promise of these rewards and caring welcomes.