“All the Towns and Villages”
Romans 5:1-8 [First Reading]
Matthew 9:35-38 [Gospel Lesson]
Once upon a time there was a man trying to cross the street. However, when he stepped off the curb a car came screaming around the corner and headed straight for him. The man walked faster, trying to hurry across the street, but the car changed lanes and continued coming toward him. So, he turned around to go back, but the car changed lanes again and was still coming toward him. By now, the car is so close and the man so scared that he just stopped in the middle of the road.
The car got really close, swerved at the last possible moment, and stops next to the man. The driver rolls down the window. Lo and behold, it’s a squirrel driving the car. And the squirrel says to the man, “See, it’s not as easy as it looks, is it?”
From my first reading this morning of Paul’s letter to the church at Rome comes for many what is considered the most important section of the letter, if not the most important of all Paul’s correspondence. I have a preacher friend who wrote in his blog that this text plays a pivotal role in Paul’s plot of redemption. He writes that it’s the kind of text that we should read slowly, and repeat it, letting us savor the words. For Paul, Christianity is hardly about being saved—justification necessarily involves reconciliation—with God and others. We were God’s enemies, but totally by grace we are beyond lucky to discover we are God’s friends.
Call it a fluke or an act of God but the first sermon I ever preached, out at the old Friendship UMC here in Dodge County, as a “Certified Lay Speaker” was based on this text from Romans. I was trying to remember what I said in that first message. I’m sure somewhere in my files I have a copy of it but then again, it was probably so bad that I burned it long ago. I do know that I selected the text because of my checkered past dealing with many different types of heartaches, suffering, and disappointments and how my faith has increased because of it. How my suffering has made me the man I am; how it developed my character.
I’m sure it was a sermon filled with frilly stories and very little theology since at that time I had received no formal theological training. And I’m sure it contained no “exegesis” since I had no idea what that was and you probably don’t either. Exegesis is an explanation or critical interpretation of a text.
I do remember the story about a farmer who had a son that had fallen off a horse and broke his leg, which at the time seemed like a bad thing except at about the same time the army came around looking for new recruits and since his son had a broken leg they left him alone, which turned out to be a good thing. It was a story reminding us that even the darkest clouds can contain silver linings.
And there was the story about the mule that fell into a farmer’s well. After assessing the situation, the farmer sympathized with the mule but decided that neither the mule nor the well were worth the trouble of saving. Instead, he enlisted his friends to help him bury the mule in the well and put him out of his misery.
When they began shoveling the dirt the old mule was hysterical. But as they continued to shovel, and the dirt hit his back the old mule had a thought. It dawned on him that every time a shovel load of dirt landed on his back, he would shake it off and step up. Blow after blow he did this: shake it off and step up—shake it off and step up.
It wasn’t long before the mule, battered and exhausted, stepped triumphantly over the wall of that well. What seemed as though it would bury him actually benefitted him; all because of the way he handled his adversity.
This is what can happen when we face our adversity with positive thoughts. What we think is going to bury us can sometimes be a blessing instead.
In our lesson for today, Jesus is making His way through all the towns and villages of that region. All the towns and villages; not just some. He’s teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. Can’t you imagine how thrilled the people were to see Him? Then Matthew writes something quite significant about Jesus’ attitude towards the people. He writes, “When he [Jesus] saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”
Can you think of a better description of the mass of people both then and today—“harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”
It’s a marvelous metaphor—or more properly, a striking simile. Can’t you just see a flock of sheep milling around a pen? Frightened and confused, they stumble blindly, bumping helplessly into one another, because they don’t know which way to turn; like many people we see every day.
Sadly, many religious people, including many religious leaders, look on those same crowds with scorn, not compassion. It’s so easy to look down on people according to the way they look or what they wear or the way they talk. The only time you should look down on another person is when you are offering them a hand up.
Nancy Ortberg, the wife of mega-church pastor and best-selling author John Ortberg tells a wonderful story about an experience her family had one day at an IHOP restaurant. They had about an hour in an otherwise hectic day to spend together as a family and Nancy was hoping for a quiet, calm meal. About halfway through their dinner, though, the hostess seated at a table next to theirs a single mom with three young children. Nancy didn’t notice at first, but soon it became very clear that at least two of the three children had some kind of slight developmental issue. Their mother had very little control over them. They were loud and very distracting.
When the meal was over, John took two of their children on to the church for an evening program. The middle daughter, Mallory, and Nancy stayed behind to pay the bill. Nancy was still frustrated that they had not been able to have the kind of peaceful family meal she had hoped for…thanks to the family at the next table. But she didn’t say anything.
Fortunately, Mallory did. She leaned over to her mom and said, “Mom, I have an idea.” Then she looked toward the woman with the three unruly children and said, “Let’s pay for their dinner.” And that’s exactly what they did. It made for an exciting experience for Mallory…And Nancy learned a lesson in compassion from her very sensitive and thoughtful daughter.
Jesus had compassion on the crowds because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd—sort of like that single mother with the three unruly children.
Carl Boyle, a sales representative, was driving home when he saw a group of young children selling Kool-Aid on a corner in his neighborhood. They had posted the typical hand-scrawled sigh over their stand: “Kool-Aid, 25 cents.”
Carl was intrigued. He pulled over to the curb. A young man approached and asked if he would like strawberry or grape Kool-Aid.
Carl placed his order and handed the boy a dollar. After much deliberation, the children determined he had some change coming and rifled through the cigar box until they finally came up with the correct amount. The boy returned the change, then stood by the side of the car.
He asked Carl if he was finished drinking. “Just about,” said Carl. “Why?” “That’s the only cup we have,” answered the boy, “and we need it to stay in business.”
It’s difficult to operate a Kool-Aid business if you only have one cup. I want to suggest to you this morning that we sometimes make that same mistake in the church.
This morning we are focusing our attention on the evangelistic task of the church. For many persons the word “evangelism” brings to mind a few prominent “cups” from the past. Such cups include, perhaps, a televangelist with slick hair bringing in big bucks via electronic media. Or, if you’re old enough to remember such things, it might have been a tent revival on the edge of town where sinners were invited to walk the sawdust trail and offer their lives to Jesus. For those whose memories don’t go back to tent revivals. How about a Billy Graham crusade…or a preacher on a street corner…or the person handing out tracts in the airport?
In some churches evangelism has traditionally meant a once-a-year special event or a particular strategy for incorporating newcomers into the life of the church. Perhaps, by limiting our vision of the evangelistic enterprise to some of these rapidly disappearing cups, we may be stifling Christ’s work on earth and cheating ourselves out of one of the most rewarding endeavors Christ offers us.
The one commandment that Jesus gave to His church besides “love one another” [John 13:34] was the commandment to go out and make disciples of all people [Matthew 28:19], the Great Co-Mission. Our failure to take that commandment seriously has resulted in a church that is no longer reaching people with the Good News of Jesus Christ. In fact, a case could be made that we are an enterprise that is rapidly going out of business.
“The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”
After being tested in the wilderness by Satan, the Enemy, Jesus went to Nazareth on the Sabbath, and as was His custom, He went to the Synagogue. He stood up to read and was handed the scroll of Isaiah: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight [physical or spiritual] for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
Right after this proclamation from Isaiah 61 Jesus immediately began to heal and cast out demons. His entire ministry was oriented toward destroying the work of the Enemy in people’s lives.
Remember, He did this through prayer and by the power of the Holy Spirit. In the Gospel of Luke, after sending out the Twelve, He sends another seventy-two with these instructions: “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few” [sound familiar]. Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road.” In other words, you need to get going. This is a mission of utter importance. No time to pack and no time to chit chat. It was important then—it’s important today!
The final two verses of Matthew’s text introduce the disciples, or Apostles, to the ministry that Jesus is calling them to in Matthew 10; giving them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness. Brothers and Sisters, we have this same authority, by the power of the Holy Spirit, and it all begins with prayer.
Eastman First Methodist Church 