Sunday's Message - The Most Important Question

Here's the message I offered during the celebration service in the Presbyterian Church of Hopedale on Trinity Sunday, June 14.

Matthew 9:35 – 10:8

And Jesus was going around to all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom and healing many diseases and many ailments. And when he saw the crowds, he felt compassion concerning them, because they were harassed and helpless, just like sheep that didn't have a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Now ask the lord of the harvest in order that he might send workers into his harvest.”

And after he'd called his twelve to himself, he gave them power over unclean spirits to cast them out and to heal many diseases and many ailments. And these were the names of the twelve apostles: first Simon, the one called Peter, and Andrew, his brother, and James, the son of Zebedee and John, his brother, Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew, the tax collector, James, the son of Alphaeus and Thaddaeus, Simon the Cananaean and Judas, the Iscariot, the one who betrayed him.

These twelve Jesus sent after he gave them instructions saying, “On the way of the Gentiles, don’t go. And into Samaritan towns, don’t enter. But go rather to the sheep of the house of Israel who have gotten lost. And when you go, proclaim saying, “Near is the Kingdom of Heaven.” Those with weaknesses, heal. The dead, raise. Lepers, cleanse. Demons, cast out. Freely you received; freely give.”

The Most Important Question

This morning we’re going to look at the passage I just read and talk about some of the questions it answers about living as disciples of Jesus Christ. But I’ll be straight with y’all, for as important as those answers are, there’s one question that this passage doesn’t answer at all. And you know, I think it’s the most important question of all, because it’s one that only we can answer as individuals and a community. And that’ll be our focus this morning.

And you know, it’s interesting, this question is really a lot like one that I kind of struggled with almost eighteen years ago, but given what’s going on in our country, it could be happening right now. You see, about six months before Maggie was born, I went back to teaching full-time in Buckingham County, Virginia, at a public school that was about 60% African-American, which is pretty typical in rural, central Virginia. And when I was setting up my classroom, I brought some personal stuff I’d had for years, including these five little Confederate flags, each of them different, that were stuck in this round wooden base. Now, I remember buying them at a Stuckey’s back in (I’m thinking) 1964. Of course, it’s not a shock that I bought them; back when I was a kid, Virginia history meant spending a semester and a half looking at Jamestown through President Monroe and the last nine weeks studying the War Between the States. And so, for me, I grew up with guys like Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson and JEB Stuart as heroes. And so I’d kept those flags for forty years, and they traveled with me and sat on my desk in New Orleans and Montana and Indiana. And now I’d returned to the center of the universe, the Old Dominion, the place “where the cotton and corn and taters grow” and “...where the birds warble sweet in the spring-time.”

But you know, as I was working on my desk, I suddenly realized that I had a problem: What should I do with these flags? Now, let me be clear, in the year 2002, the school would have been fine with me putting them right in the middle of my desk, but me, I wasn’t sure at all. You see, as I was thinking about the work I’d been hired to do, it hit me that I had some pretty good reasons for taking them home. I mean, teaching teenagers is hard enough, why in heaven’s name would I want to put a potential wedge between myself and over half my kids? And since I was being paid to teach ancient and modern world history, how would five Confederate flags enhance any of those lessons? You see, that’s what I started to think about. And I’ll tell you, for those reasons, it just made sense to take that 40-year-old souvenir back to the car. You see, that’s what I could do, and if I did, nobody would have cared, accept maybe me. And so, when came to those flags, I knew why and how it made sense to leave them in the box; therefore, I knew exactly what I should do, right? But I’ll tell you, as I was unpacking, there was still one question left, and it was the most important question of all: Was I going to do it? Was I going to take them home or put them out? And as I stood there, looking at my stuff, that question was unanswered.

And you know, that’s the same kind of question we face this morning. I mean, right now, we’ve got to decide what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ; that’s what the passage is all about. Of course, this isn’t a one-time thing, man, it’s a decision we face each and every day. In other words, we constantly need to figure out how we’re going to put into action the faith we claim. And I’ll tell you, that’s a decision we have make every day of our lives and twice on Sundays.

And I’ll tell you something else, this passage answers three very clear questions related to doing it. For example, first, it tells us exactly why. Why should followers of Jesus Christ do something? Why should we even care about the world on the other side of the stained glass? Why? Well, like I said, the answer is right here in this passage. Again, listen: “And Jesus was going around to all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom and healing many diseases and many ailments. And when he saw the crowds, he felt compassion concerning them, because they were harassed and helpless, just like sheep that didn't have a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Now ask the lord of the harvest in order that he might send workers into his harvest.’” [Matthew 9:35-38]

Now that’s what Matthew wrote, and I want you to notice that it all really comes down to one word, compassion. And I’m talking about the compassion that Jesus felt toward the people he encountered. And let’s get real, they were a lot like folks we see everyday. Man, they’re all over the place in our country and in our communities. And they may even be in our churches and our families, folks who are overwhelmed and frankly clueless. And I’ll tell you, their situations have been made even worse because of this pandemic and all the stuff these protests have brought to the surface. I’m telling you, I think there are people all around us who are confused and feel powerless, or as we’d say down south, rode hard and put away wet. And with all the denying and accusing and blaming coming from leaders on both sides of the aisle, I believe a lot of folks know exactly what it’s like to be a sheep without a shepherd. And you know, we’re just at the beginning. What’s going happen when families start losing their health insurance to say nothing of their homes? But you know, that’s really not all that new or exciting, because ours is the same kind of world Jesus saw when he was going around from town to town, of course, not to blame but to proclaim and not to accuse but to cure. You see, he saw that, given the world he faced, the need was there; man, the harvest was ready. And now was the time to start doing the work. And what was true then, I believe is true know. And so, why should we do something? Why should we care about the world around us? The answer is clear; because Jesus felt compassion for those who were struggling and so should we. That’s one question answered.

And second, how are we going to be able to do what we needed to do; man, that’s answered in these verses too. In other words, how are we going help those folks who are harassed and helpless, who feel confused and powerless, who don’t know where to turn or who to trust? How can the few of us here this morning make any kind of a difference? Listen to what Matthew wrote, and remember Jesus was talking to twelve people not twelve million: “And after he'd called his twelve to himself, he gave them power over unclean spirit to cast them out and to heal many diseases and many ailments. And these were the names of the twelve apostles: first Simon, the one called Peter, and Andrew, his brother, and James, the son of Zebedee and John, his brother, Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew, the tax collector, James, the son of Alphaeus and Thaddaeus, Simon the Cananaean and Judas, the Iscariot, the who betrayed him.”[Matthew 10:1-4]

Again, that’s what Matthew wrote. And you know, I think this applies to us as well. In other words, we’ve been given the same thing those twelve apostles received, and I’m talking about power, you know, real authority over all those things that weigh folks down. Man, we have power. And according to Matthew, it’s not just about what we do; it also involves what we say as well. For example, after Jesus finished his Sermon on the Mount, Matthew wrote, “And it happened, when Jesus finished these lessons, the crowd was amazed by his teaching, for he taught with power and not like their scribes.” [Matthew 7:28-29] You see, the words themselves have power. And remember, as we talked about last week, that power comes from Jesus himself. At the very end of his gospel, Matthew wrote: “And when he went to them, Jesus said, ‘All power in heaven and upon the earth has been given to me. When you go, disciple all nations by baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit and by teaching them to keep everything that I commanded you. And behold, I myself am with you every day until the completion of the age.’” [Matthew 28:18-20] Now think about what that means; we don’t have some kind of generic permission; man, we have power that comes from Jesus himself. And so, how can we get the job done? How can we make a difference with harassed and helpless people in a shepherdless world? Again, the answer is clear; because Jesus has given us the power to get out into the field and to bring in the harvest. And that's another question answered.

And third, what exactly are we suppose to do? In other words, what are we suppose to do for all those folks for whom Jesus felt compassion? And what are we suppose to do with all the power that he’s given us? Again, listen to Matthew: “These twelve Jesus sent after he gave them instructions saying, ‘On the way of the Gentiles, don't go. And into Samaritan towns, don't enter. But go rather to the sheep of the house of Israel who have gotten lost. And when you go, proclaim saying, “Near is the Kingdom of Heaven.” Those with weaknesses, heal. The dead, raise. Lepers, cleanse. Demons, cast out. Freely you received; freely give.’” [Matthew 10:5-8] Now, that’s what Jesus said.

And I’ll tell you, that should sound pretty good and seems really clear. I mean, he’s kind of given us a break, hasn’t he; that our field is probably the one closest to our home. In other words, we don’t have to go to Africa to do the work we’ve been called to do; man, we don’t even have to go to West Virginia. There are plenty of people who look just like us, and guess what, they’re also confused and feel powerless. As a matter of fact, we’re probably going to find enough folks who need some direction and hope that just working with friends and family members may be a full-time job. And we can help them by what we say and do, just so long as we’re reminding them that the rule of God is always near, and so is his love and grace and mercy. And even though some of us may have the miraculous power to heal and to cleanse and to cast out, let’s face it, weakness isn’t always physical and a person can have a pulse but still feel dead inside. And there are plenty of non-lepers who’ve been declared unclean and shoved outside acceptable society, and there are all kinds of people who are driven by demons that they just can’t control. And when does being willing to give involve anything more than the decision to do it? I’m telling you, Jesus was right. The fields are ready. And we have the power to bring in the harvest. And we know exactly what to do. And so we’ve got the third question answered, right?

But of course, there’s still one more: Are we going to do it? In other words, are we going to accept that Christian compassion is the why and that Jesus-given power is the how and that making a difference with the people around us is the what? All this we know. But we’ve still got to answer the question: Are we going to be disciples? And like I said a little while ago, it’s the same kind of decision I faced back when I was setting up my classroom in Buckingham. And back then, well, I decided to pack those flags away as a souvenir of childhood so that they wouldn’t get in the way of what I was hired to do. Now that’s what I did. And as it relates to following Christ, it’s all about the decision that only we can make, and I’ll tell you, in my opinion, that’s what makes it the most important question of all.