July 7, 2013 7th Sunday After Pentecost

Luke 10:1-11, 16-20

1 After this the Lord appointed seventy-two[a] others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. 2 He told them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. 3 Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. 4 Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road.
5 "When you enter a house, first say, 'Peace to this house.'  6 If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; if not, it will return to you. 7 Stay in that house, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house.
8 "When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is set before you. 9 Heal the sick who are there and tell them, 'The kingdom of God is near you.' 10 But when you enter a town and are not welcomed, go into its streets and say, 11'Even the dust of your town that sticks to our feet we wipe off against you. Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God is near.
16 " He who listens to you listens to me; he who rejects you rejects me; but he who rejects me rejects him who sent me."
17 The seventy-two returned with joy and said, "Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name."
 18 He replied, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. 20 However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven."

“Pray  Therefore...Send Laborers”

There is no question about the need; the harvest is plentiful.
There is no question about the importance of prayer as a part of the task.
The question is, who are the laborers we are praying might be sent out?

Praying was never meant to be a substitute for doing.  It is “me” who is to “go”!

To pray for the harvest is to pray that I might be one of the laborers sent out to struggle in the heart of the day whit the task of reaping the harvest.  
This is a dangerous prayer for we might be caught up in the answer.

George Eliot in his poem “Stradivarius” puts it this way:

“This God gives the skill
But not without men’s hands;
He could not make Antonio Stradivarius violins
Without Antonio.”


“Our Reason For Joy”

Joy is a central theme in the Bible.  Look up the word in a concordance;  the Bible abounds with joy.  It is also the keynote of the Christian faith, the heart beat of the Christian life.

A lady once said to me, “You can’t be a Pastor; you smile too much.”   There is a lot to smile about when “our hearts leap for joy!” (Lk. 6:23)

This joy comes not by our own doing - we don’t create it.
Joy comes by God’s doing - it is a gift!  A gift of grace.

We rejoice knowing that our ”names are written in heaven.”

Repentance is the joy of returning home.
Suffering ends in joy, for we can be defeated but not destroyed.
Discipleship becomes a joyful duty, serving long and hard in the kingdom labor force.

Life takes on a different perspective as we dare believe that God is for us, not against us, and “nothing can separate us from the love of God in Jesus Christ our Lord. “ Rom 8:38

This is our reason for joy!

“God’s Great Nevertheless”

God doesn’t delight in judgment.  God delights in grace.  There is a great "nevertheless" which never gives up; always holds open the possibility that grace will happen and mortals such as you and I will see that the Kingdom of God has come near - to us.

The Kingdom of God can be rejected but it cannot be stopped.  It comes near, like it or not.
The eyes of faith see it, embrace it, even extend it as it comes among us in human form still.