5A Pentecost Matthew 9:35-10:8 June 15, 2008
If you had been in Jesus’ sandals and you could only choose 12 people to help you—whom would you choose?
I would choose at least one great administrator—a CEO-a person with great energy and even greater organizational skills. Maybe somebody who knew how to use a blackberry or a palm pilot.
I would want some great preachers—people who could speak to large crowds and persuade them to follow. Someone who had passion like Billy Graham, someone with the creative story telling ability of Garrison Keillor, and the social consciousness of Tony Campolo or Jim Wallis.
It would be nice if some of them were musicians. It takes great music to build a great church.
And I would like at least one great Biblical scholar or teacher—someone who can take a difficult subject and make it understandable. Someone who would inspire folks to actually read their Bibles and have a desire to grow in their faith.
I would want the apostles to have a heart for servanthood and compassion, a willingness to listen, and care for people, especially when they are feeling harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
That seems like a lot to ask if you could choose only twelve people, but maybe each person could be multi-talented. They could do some cross-training.
I mention this because in today’s Gospel reading we hear about Jesus calling the twelve disciples.
Do you remember their names?
Peter and his brother Andrew.
James and his brother John.
Philip and Bartholomew.
Thomas and Matthew.
James and Thaddeus.
Simon the zealot and Judas Iscariot.
Jesus called and empowered these twelve and sent them out to preach and heal. He was counting on them to carry on the work he started. From what we know about these twelve we have to wonder, what was Jesus thinking? You would think that Jesus could have done better.
I mean think about it:
Simon Peter was hardheaded and explosive. At some point Jesus calls Peter “The Rock” but more often than not, Peter behaves more like a “clod”.
Andrew brought Peter to Jesus. That was Andrew’s only major accomplishment as far as we know.
James and John who evidently were so volatile that Jesus gave them the nicknames, “The Sons of Thunder”. Sounds like something out of the WWF! Besides being—tempestuous—self-serving—they wanted the best seats at the table, one on the right had of Jesus and the other on the left.
Philip brought Bartholomew to Jesus. Not much more is said and even less is said about Bartholomew.
Thomas and Matthew. Now there’s a pair! Thomas must have been from Missouri because of his “show me” attitude when it comes to the resurrection. And Matthew—the tax collector—a collaborator with the Romans— he was barred from even entering the synagogue.
James and Thaddeus: who?
Simon the Zealot: in today’s setting Simon would be considered a terrorist in pursuit of a right wing political-religious cause, in other words, an extremist.
And then there’s Judas Iscariot—famous primarily for betraying Jesus.
In light of this list, it raises the question: was Jesus a poor judge of character? Jesus was placing the kingdom of God in the hands of a motley crew of flawed individuals, a rag tag army of misfits and nobodies, a team of at best ordinary folks with little or no experience when it came to the task at hand.
But you know what—Jesus comes by this odd selection process honestly, because God has been doing this since the beginning of time. Throughout the history of God’s people there has been a reoccurring themes of God calling and using ordinary and flawed people to accomplish God’s mission in the world. I mean think about it—have you ever seriously considered the people God has called for ministry? Someone else came up with the following observation that;
Abraham was too old.
David was too young.
Moses stuttered.
Gideon was afraid.
Hosea’s wife was a prostitute.
Amos spent his time pruning sycamore trees.
Elijah was depressed.
Jeremiah was suicidal and preached naked.
Jonah ran away from God.
Noah was a drunk.
Jacob was a liar and deceitful.
David once he got older was an adulterer and a murderer.
Solomon was too rich.
Naomi was a poor widow.
Samson had long hair and was a womanizer.
Elisha had none.
John the Baptist was too stern and he ate bugs.
In many people’s eyes Jesus was too lenient.
Martha was a worrywart.
Mary was lazy.
The Samaritan woman had too many husbands.
Zacchaeus was too short.
Paul had some serous personal problems
As I mentioned earlier—James and John wanted to call down fire from heaven on their adversaries.
Timothy had an ulcer.
Peter was afraid of death.
And, Lazarus was dead!
Do you see what I mean? And yet God used each and every one of them. And God uses each and every one of us. And God continues to use ordinary and flawed people like you and me.
Today’s Gospel reading tells us that Jesus sent these twelve ordinary men to preach—and to heal—and to change the world. And you know what? They did it!
With the exception of Peter and Judas, we know very little about each of the apostles, but we see the evidence of their work everywhere we look—in churches scattered through this community and around the world—in the faith that wells up in our own hearts—in the impact that Christ has had on our lives.
With that thought in mind, I want you to think about three things:
Consider how ordinary these twelve disciples were.
How little we know about their individual accomplishments.
How much was changed by these disciples empowered by Jesus.
As I consider these three things I am filled with hope. Why? Because, I know how ordinary and flawed I am. And perhaps because today is Father’s Day, I would have to say that the exception to my ordinariness would be my children—as far as I am concerned, they are extraordinary.
Other than that I have not accomplished anything particularly extraordinary or earth shattering during my lifetime, other than marrying well!
And I hope you won’t take this wrong, but by and large, in the grand spectrum of things—we are a pretty ordinary congregation with our own set of unique and not so unique quirks’ and flaws.
Unless some of you are holding out due to an overwhelming sense of modesty, we are by and large, a pretty ordinary bunch.
We still have hungry and homeless people in our community—not to mention worldwide.
We have not found a way to secure peace in the Middle East.
We have yet to discover a new and affordable source of energy other than fossil fuels.
I am not aware of anyone here who has made the Fortune 500 List or won the Noble Peace Prize.
When we tally our achievements at the end of the year, they might not look or sound like much.
And yet or the most part, we simply keep on keeping on.
But the good news is that Jesus worked though people just like us to get the church going—and he works today through people like us to keep it going so the rest of the world might know that the Kingdom of God is at hand.
When we stop and think about it, Jesus could have had anyone that he wanted as his disciples and apostles—so we must believe that he wanted ordinary people who are willing to allow God to extraordinary things through them. Even today, God could have any body, but God wants you!
Jesus could have any body, but he wants me!
Why? Because as ordinary people with the Spirit of God within us we are willing to do extraordinary things for Jesus today.
As we worship together, the witness of each of us strengths the faith of all of us.
As we raise our voices in praise to God…
As we listen to the God’s Word proclaimed…
As we extend a hand of peace and a word of forgiveness to one another…
All things that might seem very ordinary—but when done in Jesus name—they are extraordinary and powerful.
Some of you sing in the choir.
Others are passing on the faith to others through Sunday school and confirmation and some will soon be teaching and assisting with Vacation Bible School soon.
There those of you among us who make quilts that will be sent not only to our graduates, but also to place we have never heard of before.
Some of you are mentors and others are providing leadership to our congregation.
Still others are willing to serve on mission trips in far off places like Honduras and Pine Ridge Reservation.
Some are willing to care for the hungry by working in the local food pantry or preparing food to go to distant lands and others are delivering meals to their neighbors.
The list goes on.
And while it might be tempting due to our modest tendencies to minimize and suggest that it is nothing—the truth is it is huge, it is God’s Spirit working with you and me.
Ministries of salt and light. Ministries that make a difference.
Ministries that are made extraordinary because they done in the name of Jesus.
And today’s Gospel serves as a reminder that even the ordinary and the seemingly insignificant and flawed can be transformed into the extraordinary and the blessed.
Earlier I raised the question, “Is God a poor judge of character?”
By now I hope you realize the answer is, absolutely not! God knew exactly who was being called—whether it was Abraham and Sarah or Jonah or Naomi—God knew each of them better than they even knew themselves.
And in today’s reading Jesus knew exactly who the twelve where—he knew their strengths, their quirky behavior, their flaws and their foibles—yet, Jesus chose them from all who were following him and he sent them forth with the power to the work he had come to accomplish.
And Jesus is stilling calling followers to serve in the vineyard because the harvest is in need of people to serve and for that reason—Jesus calls you and me—knowing full well our strengths and weaknesses—
Our difficulty when it comes to making a commitment—our tendency to think more about ourselves and ignoring the needs of others—
Our difficulty when it comes to looking beyond the here and now—
In spite of this Jesus calls us and Jesus empowers us and Jesus sends us forth—and in doing so—the Sprit of God transforms us.
For finally this is not about our character.
It’s about God and it’s about God’s character.
It’s about God’s desire to redeem and God’s desire to redeem us does not depend on our character, but upon the One doing the redeeming.
It’s about God’s desire to bless us and the fact that the blessing is not dependant upon our ability or worthiness, but on God’s character, which is to bless.
It’s about God’s desire to heal and to make us whole and the grace-filled news that this healing and wholeness is not dependant upon our faith—but once again—on God’s character and God’s faithfulness.
To paraphrase the Apostle Paul as found in our reading from Romans this morning:
“God proves his character in that while we were still weak, still estranges, and still divided, still in rebellion, still anything but godly, while we were yet sinners — Christ dies for us.”
But God’s character does not stop there.
God continues to prove that love by pouring it into our lives through the Spirit: To empower us for work in the vineyard. To change, transform and redeem us in the process. To make us into the people he has promised we were destined to be.
Long ago, Jesus called twelve ordinary and flawed people. He sent them forth to proclaim the kingdom of God. And they did. And Jesus is still calling ordinary and flawed people and we are still carrying out this mission of proclaiming and reflecting the compassion and grace of God.
This is not our own doing, but solely by the powerful love and grace of God and more than enough character for all of us. To this we may all proclaim—Amen. Thanks be to God!
