Sunday
June 18
Stirring the Pot
By Marsh Chapel
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Matthew 9:35-10:1, 10:5-8, 14-22
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Pretty nifty, huh? The disciples get to cast out unclean spirits. They get to cure every disease and every sickness. They get to go out on their own to proclaim the good news that the kingdom of heaven is near. They can raise the dead! Cleanse the lepers! Cast out demons! They are going to be so cool!
And then Jesus spoils it. Apparently, even with all this amazing power, some folks are not going to welcome the disciples, or pay attention to them. What’s this sheep among wolves stuff? Wise as serpents – why do they need to be careful and prudent? And then there’s the being handed over, and the flogging, and the dragging before the authorities, to say nothing of the public speaking. Really? Family betrayals and hatred? This is some pep talk. What in the world is Jesus doing?
The Gospel of Matthew was written to a Christian community very like that of the disciples. They were just starting to engage in mission, and while Matthew is a Gospel, it has features that remind us of a handbook or manual for teaching. Scholars also note that Matthew is the most Jewish of the Gospels, and that the community did not see their Christian faith as a new religion. They saw it as a new constituency of Israel. This brought particular challenges to their mission,
The Gospel was written after the year 70, in a highly politicized time. In the year 70, the Romans destroyed the Jerusalem temple, which was the center of worship for Israel So there was then the external challenge of Roman oppression with its calling to account of the Jesus movement within Judaism. There were also the internal concerns within Judaism for Jewish identity and who were to be the true heirs of the covenant. The Gospel of Matthew was written for a community constantly aware of and in discussion with their Jewish roots and identity. And sometimes the community was over against them. The warnings of floggings within the synagogue were for apparent violations of the Torah and for consorting with Gentiles. The warnings of family betrayals came out of the griefs and challenges of a family fight within the Judaism of the time. Jesus as portrayed in Matthew’s Gospel is the Jesus who sees the urgency of the need for mission and empowers his disciples to go out in compassion. He also wants his disciples to know what they will be up against and how to take care of themselves.
Our own situation is not so dissimilar from that of the disciples and the Matthean community. We too are called to share in Jesus’ ministry of compassion, to proclaim that the Kingdom of God is near. And we too live in a politicized and polarized time. No matter what our political preferences are, the uncertain situation in Washington is the 800-pound elephant in many a room. With this come increasing concerns for the right to protest and communicate our concerns to government. The return of the church sanctuary movement, the concern for eco-justice and creation care, the incivility of our debates, and the violence of our racism and sexism – these all speak to our questions of identity and of who has right to belong. Who has the right to power Who has the right to resources. Our family fights as to national and religious identity and inclusion are still a source of grief as well as frustration. How do we put ourselves out there in compassion? And given the challenges, why would we?
Well, there are certain themes in our scriptures this morning that invite us to take these risks. One is gratitude. Because we are thankful for what we have received, we do not hoard it, but we share what we have received with others. In Matthew, Jesus reminds his disciples that they have received the good news of God’s love and community for free. So they can give their witness to God’s love and power freely to others. Paul writes to the church in Rome, and reminds them that through Christ they have the grace and peace of right relationship with God. So they can boast of their hope in sharing God’s glory. God’s love came to them even when they were estranged from God in sin, to the extent that Christ died for them even before they believed in him. So they can extend God’s invitation to others who do not yet believe. The Psalmist testifies to God’s help and provision in trouble. In return he will become God’s servant and pay vows to God in the midst of the people. And the Israelites, delivered from Egypt and cared for in the desert, agree to covenant with God in love and obedience. They will become a priestly and holy nation to bring other nations to God.
Our compassion comes from our gratitude. It does not come from a place of patronage or superiority. It does not put on a show. Our compassion comes from our own having been loved and cared for in our own challenges and pain. It comes from our gratitude for our release from sin and death and for our freedom in God to choose the good. So gratitude is something that encourages our compassion.
Another theme is that we are not alone. The Spirit companions us. It empowers us to act in compassion. It gives us the words we need to witness in the face of challenge. It pours God’s love into our hearts so that we can even boast in our sufferings. They produce endurance. Endurance produces in us that character that trusts and expects great things from God. Trust and expectation produce the hope that does not disappoint because we know that God loves us and will help us in our lives and in our work, because God has done this for us before. Even if we say with the Psalmist, “I am greatly afflicted.”, we can keep our faith.
And we are not alone because we have each other. The disciples went out together, the Matthean and Roman churches endured together, the Psalmist sang first to his congregation. So we bring our own selves, our talents and resources, our knowledge and our diversity of experience. We do not have to do everything ourselves. We can do our part and know that others are doing theirs for the good of the whole.
It is our past deliverance and present guidance that gives us confidence in being able to carry out our ministry of compassion. And that mission is no small thing. In all these scriptures, we are invited to join in Jesus’ ministry of compassion on a large scale. In capital cities like Jerusalem and Rome, and maybe Washington. In the cities and villages of a whole country, maybe in Boston. In the midst of all the people, as a priestly nation that serves to bring the world to God. It will take a big vision to accomplish a ministry of power and compassion. There are a great many persons and groups who have no compassion. They have vested interests in keeping people sick, dead, isolated, and enmeshed in evil. Of course, we as individuals and as a community cannot do everything. But the old phrase “think globally, act locally” does come to mind. In a globalized world, our sin has far-reaching consequences as it separates us from God, ourselves and our neighbors. But our acts of compassion have far-reaching consequences as well, that bring us together in trust and hope, to act in compassion toward love and justice.
Cure the sick. Raise the dead. Cleanse the lepers. Cast out demons. In our ministry of compassion, some of us will take these instructions literally. And, even if we don’t: there are plenty of folks who are where we may have been, sick in spirit or body or mind or relationships. As we may have, they need healing even more than cure, if cure is only for the symptoms. There are plenty of folks who are where we may have been, dead in despair or numb or hopeless. As we may have, they could use a witness in word or deed to the hope of grace, love, and power. As we may have been, there are plenty of folks that are considered “unclean” by some standards of birth and religion, who in compassion, justice, and common humanity are to be included in the same love and acceptance that we have received, as beloved of God. And there are plenty of demons, forces of systemic and even personal evil, that are to be named and confronted in the name of Jesus and the creativity of the Spirit.
Jesus wants us to be aware of the challenges. The work of compassion stirs the pot. It brings to the surface what is down below. It mixes up what has been separated. It distributes the heat. Just because we are doing something right and good does not mean that everybody will like our work, or even like us. But as we act out of gratitude, and know that we are not alone, we increase our own faith, hope, and confidence in God, as well as increase faith, hope, and confidence in God in others.
The other night I had dinner with a friend. She is a practicing Christian, and often speaks of how God’s love and provision are at work in her life. She said that she had joined a local group to voice some concerns and include some folks in discussion. The group felt that these folks and concerns were either invisible or were being ignored in the community. She also said that after feeling quite overwhelmed and depressed about these issues, joining the group had given her new energy and hope. The group brought a lot of different experience and talents together, and there was a high degree of commitment to the naming of the issues, to the inclusion of those previously excluded, and to practical solutions for the challenges. She was no longer alone in her concerns and her compassion, and was grateful to have been introduced to the group.
For what do we ourselves have concerns? For whom do we ourselves have compassion? The harvest is still plentiful, the laborers are still few. The lord of the harvest invites us to join him in the work. With gratitude, and companionship with God and each other, we can be confident in our calling and our work. Amen.
– The Reverend Victoria Hart Gaskell
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