Northwood United Church

Our Mission

Matthew 9:35-10:8
June 15, 2008
Rev. Cindy Terry

Once upon a time, not so long ago, in not such a far off place, a group of followers of Jesus, would be disciples for Christ, were gathered together for Bible Study. They were exploring today's passage and trying to understand what it might of meant to those who first heard it and what relevance it might have for them today. They quickly decided that it might not be so hard for Jesus' disciples to do what he had done because they had been with him and learned directly from him, but how could they possibly take on Jesus' mission.

This passage was really important to them as they understood that Mission is not optional! The very reason that disciples and the church exist is to do the ministry or mission of Christ. They heard Jesus' call and commission to the early disciples and recognized it as the same ministry as Jesus. The tasks include: proclaiming God's empire…the kingdom of heaven come on earth, heal the sick, raise the dead to new life, cleanse the people with leprosy, and force out demons. How could this group of modern day followers of Christ ever attempt, let alone succeed, in such a task? Who were they to raise the dead!! How could Jesus ask this of them?

Their teacher, ever so gently, reminded them that they might need to widen their vision or open the borders of the box. They might want to use metaphor to understand this passage. What might it mean to proclaim God's empire on earth? How could the kingdom of heaven come to earth? The group stopped to look at the word Apostle. An apostle is one who is literally sent out… one who is commissioned for a specific task. Jesus had been commissioned by God and then commissions the early disciples and now them. The ministry was the same. The motivation for Jesus' ministry came from his compassion for the people, for the lost, the lonely, the hurting. The motivation for early disciples and people of today is the same…to offer the compassionate love of God to a hurting world.

People in the communities in which we live are going to know about God's way and God's unconditional love through the actions and words, the deeds and attitudes of Jesus' followers. The way others are going to feel the presence of the Holy, the kingdom of God come near, is by living as Jesus would have us live. To some in the Bible study group it all seemed too overwhelming, too much to conceive. So the leader suggested they start on the list and with imagination, curiosity and wonder … maybe they could come to a new understanding.

How could they heal the sick? One person blurted out…"Well I'm certainly not a faith healer!" The group laughed and the teacher once more says…What else could it mean? To heal the sick…there are many different types of illness. Then slowly they began to offer suggestions… "well, some in our church offer healing touch and people do receive healing through this ministry." Many people receive healing through prayer, community prayer on Sunday morning and individual prayer. Some people are healed by having someone to listen to their story and walk with them through difficult times. One person said that she offers rides to those who need medical appointments. Many have provided food and done shopping and cleaning for those who are sick. Others are professionals, medical and psychological, nurses, doctors, technicians who offer care and compassion. Yes, we could be disciples as we offer compassion to the sick.

Now it gets a little harder. Jesus commissions us to raise the dead! "Right!" blurts out the same woman. "Now you really do want me to be a miracle worker!" "Well, for what could raising the dead be a metaphor," asks the teacher? Again the group began to offer suggestions. Could it be walking with someone who feels like their life is dead, going no where, lifeless and of no use? We could help them to know and feel the presence of Christ and vitality of faith that could be theirs? Could it be like helping someone out of some kind of prison -someone who feels helpless and hopeless perhaps stuck in a cycle of substance abuse or an abusive or loveless relationship…walking with them offering love and compassion as they discover new life.

We don't have many modern day people with leprosy in this part of the world so what could cleansing the lepers look like today? Well, in Jesus' day those with leprosy could not live with their families, they could not live in community, shop, go to worship or even visit with their loved ones. When a person had leprosy he or she had to live with others in small colonies outside of the town walls. When someone was passing by them they had to yell out, "Unclean, unclean!" so others would not come close to them and therefore become unclean as well. So the teacher asked, "Who might be considered unclean, unacceptable, unwanted, ostracized today and how might we help to offer healing and cleansing so that they could be part of community again? The group immediately talked of the many homeless people in their community some of whom received food from the church. Some used and even abused the church property as they sought out shelter and a quiet, safe place to be. The group wondered what they could do to help bring about more housing and social programming. How could they best be of help with those who lived on the margins of society? How can they be part of the change in society to make smaller the gap between those who have more than enough and those who do not have enough?

The last task on the list in Matthew is to force out demons. The study group didn't even know where to begin with this one. Exorcism of evil spirits or demons is not something most people talk about everyday. Sure there are stories of Jesus demanding the evil spirits to come out of many people and they were healed but did he really mean that this was to be part of our ministry today? What would it look like? The group could only think of the movie version of exorcism and they certainly didn't see themselves involved in that! So the teacher asked, "What kinds of demons do you deal with? … or what kinds of demons do your friends and families try to fight off?" Someone said, "I like to shop way too much. I spend far too much time, money and energy on shopping and watching the shopping channel. It's like a compulsion which gets a hold of me and won't let go. I need help in getting rid of this compulsion." One by one the group began to see within themselves and those they knew everyday examples of that which seemed to take control of them. So rather than God being in control of their lives something else like consumerism, sports, substance abuse, or other compulsions drive us. Often we cannot get ourselves out of the grip of the demon on our own and need the help of others to walk with us and pray with us and help us gain freedom in Christ.

The Bible study group soon came to the realization that this passage was meant for them and all who want to be disciples of Jesus. That we, each one of us have gifts for ministry, not all the same, different gifts to build up the community of faith and to do mission beyond our doors. We too are commissioned by Christ to proclaim the coming of the Kingdom of God and our journey in faithful service is rooted in the ministry of Jesus. Our service…our mission is not of our doing but God working through us. We need not fear. God is the one who calls us and equips us with the Living Spirit so that we can carry out the mission which Christ began.

Some in the group were still not convinced that they were "good enough" or gifted enough to do God's mission. Then the teacher had them read the list of apostles that Jesus commissioned to do his ministry. Included, working side by side, were Matthew who was a tax collector, who worked for the Romans, one considered an enemy of the Jews and Simon who was a member of the Zealot Party, one who dedicated his life to ousting the Romans. There were fishermen who were by no means scholars in theology or religion. Then of course there is Judas Iscariot who betrays Jesus. The point is that God often calls the most unlikely…you and me… to carry out the mission that Christ began. My friends be assured that as you are called to mission in God's name you are not expected to work wonders on your own. You will be empowered by the divine so that the irruption of the reign of God happens time and again in your ministry. May it be so!

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