You Do It!

 This is the sermon I preached Sunday at St. Timothy Lutheran Church. The text is Matthew 9:35-10:8. 

Jesus was a great, accomplished, sought after teacher, to which the gospels attest. But Jesus didn’t just talk. Healing followed teaching. They went hand in hand. Jesus “healed their diseased bodies, healed their bruised and hurt lives” (Matthew 9:35). I don’t know about you, but there was a time in my life when I felt like there was not one single thing under control in my life: my marriage, my health, finances. I felt like everything was swirling around me. 

Things happen in life over which we have no sway. We may or may not have degrees of control over what’s happening. All we can manage is our response to it. Will we be victims? Will we place the blame on others? Will we go to our friends and talk about the people who are doing us wrong? About this, Chuck Swindoll wrote:

…we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past… we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. And so it is with you… we are in charge of our Attitudes. (Charles R. Swindoll)

What was Jesus’ attitude? It was compassion for all the aimless, confused and harassed multitudes of people. In The Message, it says Jesus’ heart broke over all those people. Another translation is “compassion.” This was my Greek prof, Dr. Carlson’s, favorite Greek word, σπλαγχνιζομαι meaning to be moved as to one's bowels, hence to be moved with compassion… (for the bowels were thought to be the seat of love and pity). Jesus’ gut turns over (D. Mark Davis, leftbehindandlovingit.blogspot.com, Rob Myallis, lectionarygreek.blogspot.com). Jesus feels very deeply for those in trouble.

Jesus sees the crowds gathered all around and tells the disciples to pray for workers to meet the needs of the multitude. After doing so, Jesus sends his disciples out to be the answer to their own prayers. It’s like the feeding of the 5,000, when Jesus tells his disciples, “you give them something to eat” (Matthew 14:15). All the work had been done, and the disciples simply needed to feed the people. 

The need was so great and the answer was right there in front of Jesus. They were to go. Jesus gave the disciples power to do what he wanted them to do.

Just what were these first followers to do? As Jesus had done, they were to, “Go to the lost, confused people right here in the neighborhood. Tell them that the kingdom is here. Bring health to the sick. Raise the dead. Touch the untouchables. Kick out the demons. You have been treated generously, so live generously” (vv. 7, 8). They had seen Jesus do this many times. Now it was their turn. 

How many times have we wrung our hands, wondering what has happened to our church? We see so many empty seats, but what can we do about this? Pastor Ivy had better get on the stick and visit all those people that no longer come! Maybe we need a subcommittee of the evangelism committee dedicated to visitation. 

Jesus said, “you feed them” to the disciples when he fed the 5,000. God wants us to pray for our church, for the sick, the dying, those who just don’t attend. But then, God leaves it up to us to share the gospel with people, just like Jesus did, just like his first followers did, just like everyone has who has been in a growing congregation. 

We aren’t comfortable doing this. We are Lutherans, for heaven’s sake. But can we believe that the God who sent his Son, who saved us from sin, death and the power of the devil, who poured out the power of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, causing the church to grow exponentially, can work through our lives too?

It can be scary to let God use us, but how much scarier is the thought of our church closing. In today’s reading from Romans, Paul writes, “hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us” (Romans 5:5). God has given us all the gifts we need to do God’s work in our world. God’s hope is in us to carry us through. 

There’s so much we cannot do, and that’s ok. Can we wish our African-American friends a happy Juneteenth? Last year, Ray, Sarah Goebel, Lee Magneson and I went to the festivities and had a wonderful time.  This year, I can’t walk and Sarah’s off in Scandinavia. And Ray can’t drive! Why don’t you stop by today at the Jackson-Taylor Park and see what’s going on? There’s great music and food and lots of activities. 

I’m not saying we have here a silver bullet to grow St. Timothy. All we can do is be obedient to the Spirit’s leading, taking advantage of the opportunities we are given, following the example of our Lord and his disciples–share the good news and heal the broken. 

The nice thing about God is that God does not call us to do anything without equipping us to do it. In The Small Catechism, we hear how our inability meets God’s ability:

I believe that by my own understanding or strength I cannot believe in Jesus Christ my Lord or come to him, but instead the Holy Spirit has called me through the gospel, enlightened me with his gifts, made me holy and kept me in the true faith, just as he calls, gathers, enlightens, and makes holy the whole Christian church on earth and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one common, true faith. 

Let us pray.

Look with mercy, gracious God, upon people everywhere who live with injustice, terror, disease, and death as their constant companions. Rouse us from our complacency and help us to eliminate cruelty wherever it is found. Strengthen those who seek equality for all. Grant that everyone may enjoy a fair portion of the abundance of the earth; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen (ELW).

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