The Harvest Is Great, the Laborers Few
35 Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and curing every disease and every sickness. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; 38 therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”
The Twelve Apostles
10 Then Jesus[a] summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to cure every disease and every sickness. 2 These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon, also known as Peter, and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus;[b] 4 Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed him.
The Mission of the Twelve
5 These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans, 6 but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 As you go, proclaim the good news, ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’[c] 8 Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers,[d] cast out demons. You received without payment; give without payment.
“We are Called to Work with Jesus”
Today’s Scripture reading may sound more than a little off-putting to 21st Century ears. Not only do some of the main images used in the text--shepherds and sheep, laborers in a harvest field-- belong to an ancient, agrarian society, but also some of the assumptions made--that disease is caused by “unclean spirits,” for instance-- belong to a pre-scientific era. And then there is there is Jesus’ commission to the disciples in Matthew 10, verses 7 and 8: Go out and “proclaim the good news, ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons.” If that is a disciple’s job description--I mean, if Jesus intended his followers to take all that is mentioned here literally, then I dare say most--if not all-- of us would NOT be comfortable calling ourselves disciples. I know I wouldn’t.
And that brings up a question that we run into every time we open the Bible--how do we interpret these ancient texts: how do we figure out how much of the text is timeless, spiritual truth that should still apply to our current lives in our current world--AND/OR how much belongs to a time and society different from ours and should be disregarded as no longer relevant? Answering that question could be a sermon series in itself, but now suffice it to say that it involves prayer, research, reason, common sense and humbly opening ourselves up to the guidance of the Holy Spirit of God whom we believe still speaks through ancient texts to our current world. So, I invite you to join me in prayer right now: “O God, may your Holy Spirit still speak to us through the words of this ancient text. Guide us in interpretation that we might discern the difference between what is literal and what is metaphor--so that we might become better agents of your compassion in our world today. May the words of my mouth, and the meditations of all of our hearts, be pleasing in your sight, O God, our rock and our redeemer. Amen.”
So, let us boldly and humbly dive into this text. Matthew chapter 10, Verse 8: “Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons.” What could this mean to us today? One commentator I read this week-Greg Carey (professor of New Testament at Lancaster theological seminary) suggests that we take Jesus’ words here as a metaphor http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=98) Professor Carey writes: “Many ([perhaps] all?) people find themselves bound by behaviors, patterns, structures they cannot escape, often cursing themselves when they repeat the same behavior time and again. [When we consider what Jesus’ words could mean in this context], let us imagine liberation, freedom from powers that constrain us and prevent us from living full human lives.” [REPEAT]
In other words, Jesus calls us to join him in the work of “healing and liberation.”
I dare say that as our country continues to mourn the tragic killing of George Floyd by a man who should not have been allowed to continue to serve as a police officer due to all the complaints against him, and as more and more voices--black, brown, and white-- call out to end the racism that is built into the systems of our society, we are all becoming more aware of the ways everyone is bound by “behaviors, patterns and structures that we cannot [seem to] escape.” And from these bonds--which harm all of us, but tragically harm black and brown people in ways many of us who are white have never come close to experiencing-- from these bonds we all need release.
Jesus calls us to join him in the work of “healing and liberation.”
So, how do we do that? How do we join Jesus in this work? How do we even start to address all of the bonds that keep us from leading full lives? Today’s Scripture gives us guidance.
Matthew chapter 9 Verse 36. “when Jesus saw the crowds, he had compassion for them. For they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” The path to liberation must begin with compassion. It must begin with God’s compassion for us--and then, our compassion for one another. When Jesus saw the crowds, as the Son of God, he had to know that these same harassed people would later reject him and demand violence, calling for his crucifixion. Yet, still he chose to respond with care, concern, understanding and steadfast love--not changing his message or reacting with violence himself, but rather seeking the healing and release of those who were snared in harmful structures and systems.
We are called to do the same. And it is hard!! The behaviors, patterns, structures, systems of society took centuries to build, and we cannot change or reform them overnight. As we’ve seen in the civil rights work in our country, systemic change takes decades, not days. And we cannot change them by our own strength alone. Which means that our first step in carrying out Christ’s work of healing and liberation is prayer. Prayer for wisdom, strength, patience and-- as one of this week’s UCC devotionals said--“endurance.” (Mary Luti, Still Speaking Devotional for June 11, 2020). We need to open our minds and hearts to the Spirit of Jesus. We start with prayer--and we need to keep coming back to it. We need to keep asking for Christ’s compassion to change us, to soften our hearts toward our neighbors.
And after we pray, as we pray, we need to act. That action may look different for each of us, depending on our unique gifts and callings. I know you know all this, and you have already been praying and acting, but sometimes it is a pastor’s job to remind all of us what we already know. To say, “Keep praying; keep doing the work of Jesus. And if there is new work that Jesus is calling you--calling me, calling Franklin Federated church to engage in, let us hear and follow that call from God.
Let me give you an example. Several members of FFC had expressed to me last week a desire to do something to confront racism, so we gathered on a zoom call to talk about possible things church members could do. One person on that call said boldly, “we need to change the way we think.” Peggy Maxwell recommended a book to all of us that has been changing her thinking already. You may have seen the title in last Thursday’s all church email. It’s called ““White Fragility,” by Robin DiAngelo. I downloaded it yesterday and I am looking forward to diving in. Maybe, if enough people are interested, we could form a discussion group around it. If you’re interested, let me know.
Jesus calls us to join him in the work of healing and liberation.
As we begin this interim time together, let us all be open to Christ’s leadership as we join him in this transformative work.
I want to close with a prayer by Arianne Braithwaite Lehn that speaks to this work. It is in her book Ash & Starlight: prayers for the chaos & grace of daily life. This poem is entitled
When I cry for the world
Merciful Jesus,
I cry for our world.
I cry over broken bodies
And broken homes
And broken hearts.
I cry over violence
and exclusion
and indifference.
I cry most of all over the children!
Through my body and breath,
I pray for your kin-dom…
For all to have nourishing food and nurturing homes,
Edifying work and safe, skilled schools,
Compassionate healthcare and dignified wages,
Soft beds to fall into at the day’s close…
For the children to be protected,
The elderly honored,
and both hugged every single day…
For reparative justice,
Cherished diversity,
And peaceful purity in what’s
breathed, eaten, and drunk.
I cry and I pray,
Confessing the many times
I’ve declared what I deserve
Rather than asking what I could give.
I cry and I pray,
Knowing I’m complicit in the pain
And essential to the healing.
I cry and I pray,
Trusting my tears mingle with your own,
Hoping this tearful river softens and shapes
The hardest canyons of injustice--
Or at least lays the groundwork.
I pray and I act,
Moving my body and resources
Toward your kin-dom vision,
Trusting my skills and gifts
Carry forward the new, just world you imagine
And are always bringing.
I remember this work is mine to do.
Christ has no body but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks
Compassion on this world,
Yours are the feet with which
He walks to do good,
Yours are the hands, with which
He blesses all the world…”
O Jesus, have mercy
And help me.
Amen.
Rev. Dr. Marlayna Schmidt
Franklin Federated Church, UCC
Franklin, MA
June 14, 2020