Luke 9:1-6
May I speak in the name
of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Amen
The passage which I have just read from St. Luke’s Gospel is
one which has intrigued me for many years. When I first heard it, many years
ago, when I couldn’t really describe myself as a fully-fledged Christian, it seemed to me an impossible task – did
those disciples really step out in such faith taking with them absolutely
nothing?
Here in this country, and especially amongst those
generations which have never experienced the horrors of war and deprivation on
our doorstep, we live in a society where material wealth and comfort abound and
where we are bombarded, day after day, with advertisements telling us that we
need even more material goods, we need to be healthier, slimmer, more beautiful
and must have the latest version of whatever piece of technical equipment
ctaches our attention. Our daily bread
is not sufficient – if the commercial pundits are to be believed the Lord’s
Prayer should really read, “Not only this
day give us our daily bread but also please give us the latest iPhone, plenty of money and eternal good looks
even if it trespasses against others.”
It is so easy to lose sight of those things which really
matter in our lives – honesty, integrity, respect and genuine love. So often we
can substitute those things by surrounding ourselves with the falseness that
material wealth can often bring. We say
things like – If only I had that particular car, or that particular house or
even that particular wife/husband - life would be so perfect. But it seldom is.
Jesus, in this passage is sending out the Twelve in utter
faith. They are to take absolutely
nothing with them – no staff, no bag, no bread, no money no extra
clothing. They are to expect all their
needs to be provided by others on the journey when they call in at
villages. Their instructions are to drive out demons and cure
diseases – in other words a healing ministry. In order to do this, Jesus has
given them something far more important and powerful than those items they are
discarding. He is giving them the power of the Holy Spirit. This power will not
only enable them to carry out that healing ministry but, also, it will accompany
them and provide them with all they need to sustain them on their ministerial
journey.
The implication of his instructions is that this power will
lead them to find homes which will be sympathetic to the Christian cause and
they should stay in that household until it is time to move on and if nobody
welcomes them then they should shake the dust from their feet – this being a
sign of insult that the traveller has not been treated with proper courtesy
when arriving at the town.
During the course of being a Christian I have met many people
whom I would describe as Church-hoppers. People who have, for one reason or the
other, been unable to find a church which has welcomed them or been “their type
of church” and they have moved on.
In this modern day of consumerism, referred to earlier, where
choices abound - sometimes far too many
choices – it can be easy to pick up and drop a Christian community because it
doesn’t quite fit our pre-conceived ideas of what the ideal church for us
should be. We can be tempted to hop on
to another and another until we find what we feel is the right one. But even then, in our throw-away society, we
can be tempted to ditch it when things aren’t quite right to move on to try
something else.
Yes, unfortunately, it is true that some churches can be
quite unwelcoming – and I can, unfortunately recall a few experiences I have
had where my attendance has felt like an incursion into a very select club with
no real attempt to welcome me as a new member.
To that type of church or Christian community I would echo Christ’s
words and say, “shake the dust from your
feet and walk on”. But this is very
different from the church in which you might get bored or feel they are not
singing the types of hymn you like or “those
prayers were a little too long for my liking” or “I really don’t like sharing the peace”. If those churches are
welcoming and they genuinely project the Christian message of faith, hope and
love then you should stick with them, build up your faith within that community
and bring some of your own ideas of how worship, prayer or teaching can be
improved.
Here at St. Lawrence’s I feel a really genuine spirit of love
and harmony which is evidenced in the way the congregation here has grown in
recent years. I am, thankfully,
preaching to the converted – but I am sure that you, like me, know of people
who would so readily move on from the churches they are currently attending or,
for that matter, not attend any church at all because of pre-conceived ideas
that it would not be for them. Encourage
them to come to this church. This
benefice is blessed with so many different styles of worship – extend the arm
of Christian love to them – welcome them so that they will, like the disciples
in the reading, stay with you until they move on for other unrelated reasons.
We as Christians should more easily know those things which
God wants us to do and treasure above those things which the consumer world
says we need to have or do. I was sent, recently, a note on Facebook about the five most common
regrets expressed to a palliative nurse by her dying patients and none of these
mention a wish that they had had more material wealth. They were:-
1. A wish that they
had had the courage to live a life true to themselves and not a life expected
by others
2. A wish that they
hadn’t worked so hard and had spent more time with their family
3. A wish that they
had had more courage to express their true feelings
4. A wish that they
had stayed in touch with friends
5. A wish that they
had let themselves be happier
None of these five things require material wealth - but a
loving and honest disposition.
A recent recipe for life expressed by a good friend of mine
was “live well, laugh often and love
much” and has been adopted by Wiltshire Freemasons. I am sure that Jesus did just that and would
have expressed his wish that his disciples did this too.
Jesus knew what was important. What would sustain his disciples and also
what would distract them from their mission.
Today, we should begin, if we have not already done so, to
ask God to reveal to us his plans for us, what mission he has and not let
ourselves get distracted by the trappings of our consumer world and leave us
with regrets when we finally move on.
Let us pray:-
Almighty God,
We ask you to reveal to
us your plans for our life,
And in so doing help us
avoid being distracted by the trappings of this Earthly life and its
consumerism
But help us concentrate
on those spiritual things which will sustain us and aid us in doing Your
mission
In the name of Your
Son, Jesus Christ our Lord
Amen
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