Henri Nouwen writes in his book Bread for the Journey: Reflections for. When we live our lives as missions, we become aware that there is a home

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1 2 Kings 5:1-14; Ps 30; Gal 6:1-16; Luke 10:1-11, Trinity Episcopal Church 6 th Sunday After Pentecost, Year C-July 8, 2007 The Rev. Linda Spiers Henri Nouwen writes in his book Bread for the Journey: Reflections for Every Day of the Year the following: When we live our lives as missions, we become aware that there is a home from which we are sent and to which we have to return. We start thinking about ourselves as people who are in a faraway country to bring a message or work on a project, but only for a certain amount of time. When the message has been delivered and the project is finished, we want to return home to give an account of our mission and to rest from our labours. One of the most important spiritual disciplines is to develop the knowledge that the years of our lives are years on a mission. 1 Jesus sent the seventy on mission in pairs. They had one another to support them in their work. He asked them to travel lightly carry no purse, no bag, no sandals. (Luke 10:4). You will be enough! Jesus gave them specific instructions about the way they were to travel, the way they were to act, the work they were to do, when to go, and when to stay. They were to depend on the hospitality of others. Jesus sent them out on mission to go to the places where he intended to go himself. By virtue of the fact that there were some 35 sets of pairs, they most likely approached their work a little differently. I wonder how many were accepted whether they took rejection or acceptance personally? Jesus had just been rejected in a Samaritan village. We 1

2 heard that story last Sunday. One of the reasons the Samaritans didn t accept him was due to the fact that he had turned his face toward Jerusalem. He was setting out to die. They didn t want to follow him. Part of Jesus instructions included what the seventy were to do if they were rejected. They were to shake the dust off their feet, but their message was the same to those who accepted them as well as to those who rejected them: the kingdom of God has come near. (Luke 10:11). To cure and to cast out demons must have surely made them feel good. To be given authority over things that hurt and harm people must have also given them a sense of great worth. In remembering Jesus instructions though, he didn t tell them to cast out demons. So, did they do that on their own? Perhaps they discovered that power as a byproduct of doing their instructed work. Who knows? But it must have been hard for them not to have swelled heads with pride. We only know they returned with joy. And Jesus told them not to take joy in their accomplishments but rejoice that your names are written in heaven. (Luke 10:20). To their work of casting out demons Jesus makes three comments. The first is that he affirms their ministry of mission together: I watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning. (Luke 10:18). The end of Satan s power has come, and God s reign is present. The second is a promise to his faithful followers to these seventy that were sent out: See, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and 1 Henri J. M. Nouwen, Bread for the Journey: Reflections for Every Day of the Year, (London: Darton, Longman 2

3 over all the power of the enemy; and nothing will hurt you. (Luke 10:19). Jesus now says they are given a gift of power over all evil. The third is a warning: Nevertheless, do not rejoice at this, that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice in that your names are written in heaven. (Luke 10:20). Don t get so proud about your own spiritual gifts. The greatest joy is that God has received and accepted you. The secular world celebrates accomplishments much differently than the ways in which Jesus called the seventy and the way in which Jesus instructs them about rejoicing in their work. We get pumped up because of promotions or nice raises, for getting in the best college, for having our businesses make more money for stockholders than ever, for getting an appointment for a new job with more long term growth, etc. Nouwen s comments about our lives being on mission are somewhat in conflict with the secular world s view of success. One of the most important spiritual disciplines is to develop the knowledge that the years of our lives are years on a mission. As Christians you and I are sent out, like the seventy, to bring the peace of Christ into the world. The Old Testament notion of peace was a state of completeness or wholeness a wholeness that is determined and given by God. 2 The New Testament peace that Christ brings and with which Christ sent those & Todd, 1996), George Arthur Buttrick et al, ed., The Interpreter s Dictionary of the Bible, Vol. 3, (Nashville: Abingdon, 1981),

4 seventy on mission is the restoration of right relationships between God and human beings. I was struck by the story this week of this year s Seeds of Peace International camp. This is the camp that brings together children from war torn regions of the world to interact and promote coexistence. The camp is in a secluded part of Maine where young people from Jordan, Egypt, the U.S., India, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Israel, and Palestine come together to share a bunk, swim, play sports, and be in dialogue with each other. Yafa Ebrrighith and Hamutal Blanc 16 year old girls, one a Palestinian, one an Israeli met at the camp a year ago and this year return to renew their friendship. The conflicts of their homeland prevented them from staying in touch during the year, but now they reconnect. They now commit to each other to begin speaking in the conflict zone, talking to other youngsters about possible nonviolent solutions. Hamutal, the Israeli, said, There are nonviolent options of solving this, because everyone is tired of what s going on. Immediately Yafa, the Palestinian, chimed in, Violence leads to violence. It s a circle. So we re going to try another kind of resistance. 3 Their story brings the Old Testament and New Testament views of peace together into one initiative. In a sense they re being sent out from their homeland and from this camp in pairs of two on a mission of peace to bring a message of 3 Samantha Gross, Planting the Seeds of Peace, The Hartford Courant, July 7, 2007, B6. 4

5 completeness and wholeness and restoration of right relationships between God and human beings. One of the most important spiritual disciplines is to develop the knowledge that the years of our lives are years on a mission. The seventy were called to mission. The two teens from conflicting countries are called to it. You and I are called to it. Whether we re accepted or rejected the message is the same, the kingdom of God has come near. (Luke 10:11). How we say it and how we do it will be up to each one of us. We re prepared in this community and sent out from it each week, so let us go forth with renewed spirit this day with a little more knowledge that the years of our lives are years on a mission. Who knows where that mission will take us? Shalom. 5