So, okay, Church. Are you ready? It looks
like the covid-19 pandemic infection rate is slowing down here in southeastern
Pennsylvania. (Well, that is to say it looks
like it’s slowing down. We don’t really know what the effect of mass protests
in the streets and knuckleheaded behavior at the Jersey shore will do to the
infection rate, but we’re still trying to be optimistic!). This means that the
City of Philadelphia has moved into the first stage or re-opening, the “yellow
phase.” Churches are now allowed to hold in-person worship with some very
strict restrictions. In the liturgical calendar, however, we can say we’re now
in the “green phase.” In Ordinary Time after Pentecost we bust out the green
paraments and vestments and concentrate on growth and renewal. A lot of the
Gospel lessons we get in the Revised Common Lectionary focus on the teaching of
Jesus.
Now, I’d be willing to bet that after
three months of quarantine a lot of folks have already learned some new
lessons. Some of you have learned how to work from home while handling your
home-schooled, bored, and disappointed kids. You may have taken a master class
in online shopping, complete with an economics course in budgeting both your
money and your time so that the monotony didn’t drive you to screaming, homicidal
madness. Maybe you learned how to set aside more time for prayer. I’m sure we
all learned a little more about the people we live with, and, I trust we’ve all
learned about patience. Indeed, in
these last few weeks, we’ve learned a lot more about racial injustice in America
than white folks are comfortable knowing.
Whatever the last few months have taught
us, our Lectionary Gospel for Pentecost 2 (Matthew 9:36-10:8) starts off this
green phase with a reminder that our learning is to have a purpose. Here we see
Jesus proclaiming that laborers are needed to go out into the harvest and get
some work done because people are “harassed and helpless.” (v. 9:37) The Gospel
refers to the twelve followers of Jesus as “apostles.” The word in Greek (apostolon for you Greek
fans) means messengers or the “sent-out ones.” They’re Jesus’ representatives
or ambassadors to the world, and their mission is to proclaim the Kingdom of God
and heal everybody’s sickness. “Sickness,” of course, doesn’t mean only
physical illness. It can mean a whole lot of ways we’re disconnected from God.
So are you up for doing that? Are you
ready to participate in the Kingdom and be a healer for the planet?
Maybe you’re not sure. Don’t feel bad. I don’t
think anyone ever undertakes a major project feeling fully prepared. That’s
where faith comes in, doesn’t it? I’m sure the first ambassadors didn’t feel
all that prepared either.[i] Just look at these guys:
There are four blue-collar commercial fisherman, a cosmopolitan guy with a fancy
Greek name, a sort of “antifa” dude who wants to tear down the system of
oppression, a guy who used to work for the system of oppression, and a guy
who is really good with money but can’t be trusted. They’re a mixed bag, but
Jesus choose them all for his mission and God used them all—even the betrayer.
After all, sometimes it’s the people who hurt us who teach us the most
important lessons.
The Lectionary marries this story of the
mission of the twelve with a story from Exodus (Ex. 19:2-8c). Here the Hebrews
have been brought safely out of bondage in Egypt and through the Red Sea. They’re
sort of like us. They’ve been rescued form their own form of “quarantine,” and
allowed to worship God again. God calls them a “priestly” people (v.6).
Priests, of course, are the folks whose job it is to connect others people with
God. Like the twelve apostles, these folks are going to have a mission. Unfortunately,
they’re not prepared to embark on this mission just yet, so God has them wander
around the Sinai Peninsula for another forty years until they get their act
together. God is patient like that.
Martin Luther believed that when we were
baptized we were, in a sense, ordained as priests. We too have a mission to
connect people with God. We might be wandering around in the wilderness at the
moment, but Jesus is expecting us to be proclaimers, healers, and reconcilers.
If a congregation is to thrive, it can’t just
be about providing comfort and comradery for its members. We are called to take
up our priestly and apostolic identity. Here in Northeast Philly—as in every
neighborhood—there are unique opportunities to establish solidarity with our
neighbors. We might end up spending a little more time in the wilderness, but
that’s just so God can get us prepared to go to work in the harvest.
[i] If
you read down to 10:9ff, you’ll see that Jesus wasn’t too concerned about their
physical preparations for this work. That must’ve scared those guys a lot. It’s
hard to be a control freak when you work for Jesus!
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