Have you ever wished that you could live your life in a protective bubble – a life full of everything good, with all of the bad stuff removed? I know that I certainly have – and I look forward to, and long for, the Day when God will transform forever the world as we know it. The wonderful future Day I look forward to when God says He “will create new heavens and a new earth” (Isa 65:17) – but more about that another time.
In the meantime the concept of Bubble Creek Canyon (available at www.bluefishtv.com) is not the way that God calls believers to live. Jesus never said head away from the real world, escaping from sin and corruption, and away from people who don’t share your views or your faith. Earlier on in Luke’s Gospel – his faithfully and carefully researched account (1:3-4) – he tells how Jesus called together his 12 disciples and “sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick” (9:2).
On that occasion we’re not told whether all 12 went together or whether they went in smaller groups, but in today’s Bible account we hear that Jesus – The Lord – “appointed 72 others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go” (10:1). The King James Version of the Bible - which next year will celebrate its 400th birthday – says that the Lord appointed 70 others, not 72, and I believe the evidence from the Bible in Genesis chapter 10 where 70 nations are listed, strongly suggests that 70 is the correct number, not 72.
The number ‘70’ in the Bible symbolically represents the nations of the Earth in the early-Biblical period, so the fact that Jesus selects 70 followers, and sends them out in pairs, is also symbolic of the fact that later the Gospel would go out from Jerusalem to the whole world. So, I’m not going to suggest you deface your Bible, but when you see 72 read 70, because on this occasion the King James Bible got it right!
This Bible-event does not point to followers of Jesus hiding away in Church buildings or in an Englishman’s Castle, or in a ‘Bubble Creek Canyon’ Christian-only community. No, we are encountering followers of Jesus being sent out in teams of two, symbolically being sent to the whole world; where Jesus says that “the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few; ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field” (10:2).
And when we ask anything of God – the Lord of the harvest – it is prayer. So when we ask God to send out workers into his harvest field – the World of men, women and children with all of their hopes and fears – we are praying into God’s mission to the world. At the New Wine Summer Conference in 2002 I was at a seminar being led by Wili Stewart – an Irish evangelist. He loves talking to people about Jesus, and he said ‘it is not that God has a mission for his Church, but God has a Church for his mission’.
He is Lord of the Harvest. It is his harvest, it is his mission, and we are his to send. Jeremy and Kate Ellis went to Pakistan where they have been for several years. Peter and Alison Roots went to Tanzania. My friends Geoff and Michelle Morris recently moved to South Africa and have made incredible progress in just 6 months, working amongst orphans, and working amongst refugees from the Congo where their fluent French comes in very useful.
I’ve had some lovely conversations recently with couples sensing God’s call upon their lives in a fresh way – sensing God’s call and direction into his multi-faceted mission; and it is by no means just married couples; and it is not just two by two. Going out in twos probably relates to the ancient custom of the need for at least two witnesses (Deuteronomy 19:15), and it also brings us right up to date with our Child Protection Procedure requiring at least 2 CRB-checked adults whenever we work with children.
We’ve sent out teams this morning working with children and young people, and I’m currently in discussions with BBC Radio Essex about them coming to advertise what we do one Sunday morning. What an opportunity that will be!
Jesus didn’t send out ‘Lone-Rangers’. He sent them out in pairs and I believe he sends us out in teams, in groups, often with different gifts, skills and talents into his mission-field. I love working with the other two Vicars in the Billericay and Little Burstead team – Paul Carr and Paul Gambling. We’re a team of 3. God has sent you to Billericay, or the place where you work. What group or team are you part of?
Jesus goes on to describe a strategy for the 70 he was sending out, and I think we can learn from it in whatever situations we find ourselves in, whether at home, or at work, as part of a group of friends or a club, or in a new situation we find ourselves.
Verse 4 of our Bible reading needs some careful attention first. Jesus sent them out in twos and our English translation of his words reads like this: “Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road” (10:4). Such a strategy doesn’t work if you’re going shopping on the High Street and wanting to stop and chat but that’s not the context so we need to put that out of our minds. The context is Jesus resolutely setting out towards Jerusalem (9:51), sending out teams of 2 ahead of him into every town and place he was about to visit, because there is a plentiful harvest. Time was short. A harvest needs to be gathered in. The workers were not to take a purse, a bag or sandals because they were to rely upon the hospitality that was offered to them (10:8) – “When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is set before you”; and they were not to greet anyone on the road because of the urgency and the immediacy of the task. The Messianic-Jewish commentator David Stern thinks that Jesus meant ‘don’t stop for idle chat’.
If I’m on my way to a school assembly, a funeral, a wedding, an appointment, or some other commitment, I can’t usually stop for idle chat or gossip, and that is the sense of what Jesus was saying.
The strategy Jesus taught the disciples was one of prayer, relationships, acts of kindness, and verbal proclamation of Yahweh’s kingdom - the Kingdom of God. When God revealed himself to Moses from a burning bush he revealed his name – Yahweh, which means: “I am what I am” (Exodus 3:14). ‘Yahweh’ – God has told us his name, and Jesus sends us out in his name. Prayer, relationships, acts of kindness, Yahweh’s kingdom proclamation – conveniently forming an acronym: Pray!
Prayer: Jesus said, “When you enter a house first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ If a [person] of peace is there, your peace will rest on [them]” (10:5-6). When I visit a house I pray for the peace of the Lord Jesus.
I pray for God’s peace – the perfect ‘shalom’ of Yahweh for all those who live there, whether that’s an appointment, a meal, a surprise visit, or delivering or collecting a Christian Aid envelope. At home as you look outside your front door or walk along your street pray for God’s peace, the peace of Yahweh, for the homes, families and people you see. At work or school, pray for God’s peace for those with a desk near you, pray for God’s peace for your colleagues. At the school gate pray the peace of Yahweh for those you meet; because God answers prayer and he will often pave the way for deeper relationships.
Relationships: Jesus said, “Stay in that house, eating and drinking whatever they give you” (10:7), and “when you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is set before you” (10:8). This was all about accepting and thankfully joining in the hospitality that was offered, because food and drink builds relationships of trust.
Jesus often ate meals with people. The grumpy-old religious men regularly complained to Jesus, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?” (Luke 5:30 plus c/f 7:34, 15:1-2). In other words, “Why is Jesus having a meal with that lot? Why is he having a drink with what bloke, those women, that unruly lot from the really noisy house on the corner?”
Jesus ate meals with all who would receive him. As we pray for His peace for all people, whether we like them or not, let’s pray for opportunities to build relationships with them. If they offer you food and drink accept the invitation, but also invite people to eat and drink with you. Of course Jesus sent them out in twos for many reasons, so if we’re invited for a one-to-one meal or drink we should exercise sensible caution; and if concerned then go with someone else – two by two; but pray for and seek out opportunities to develop relationships over food and drink. When did you last invite a neighbour for a meal?
Acts of Kindness: Jesus said, “Heal the sick who are there” (10:9). Jesus was able to miraculously heal the sick (5:13, 8:48, and 13:12); although it was not just the healing that was important. It was also the fact that he touched ‘untouchables’, he told people their sins were forgiven, and he sometimes healed people on the Sabbath, thus challenging assumptions. He sent his disciples to do likewise and he sends us too.
It’s a wonderful moment to offer to pray for someone, for them to agree, and for the prayer to happen there and then; but it’s not just about the prayer. It is also about proactively doing something to improve their circumstances. Acts of Kindness wonderfully demonstrate the love of God. The Christmas hampers that we helped Mark and Hannah Pape to prepare for needy families at Christmas is one example, but so is mowing the lawn or doing shopping for a neighbour, or just sitting with someone who is lonely, or including a single parent in your family celebrations.
None of that would be possible in an escapist place like Bubble Creek Canyon! But why do we do all of this? What instructions did Jesus give?
Yahweh’s Kingdom: “Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘The kingdom of God is near you.’ (10:9)”. The miraculous healings, the acts of kindness, were loving signs of God’s kingdom – Yahweh’s kingdom. The Church is not a club or a community association. A former archbishop said that the Church is the only voluntary organisation that exists entirely for the benefit of its non-members. Yahweh’s kingdom is near.
When people ask us about acts of kindness, or when conversation gets really interesting over food and drink, then comes a God-given moment to talk about Jesus; not about Church, but talk about Jesus – God’s kingdom. In answer to the lonely person’s question, “Why are you giving me your time?”
“It’s because Jesus loves you.” The kingdom of God is near you.
PRAY:
Prayer – pray for God’s peace for people. Relationships – accept and offer hospitality regularly. Acts of kindness – they demonstrate what you believe. Yahweh’s kingdom – be ready and willing to tell people about your faith in Jesus, because it is infectious!
Let’s pray together.
