Where you land, evangelize

Sermon-Year A-5 Pentecost-Proper 6 –June 15, 2008
The Cloud of Unknowing,
"O God, our great companion, lead us ever more deeply into the mystery of your life and ours, that we may be faithful interpreters of that Life to each other, through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen."

There is a great saint in Irish history called, St. Brendan the Navigator. He is most famous for going on a journey in a small leather skinned boat called, a curragh possibly all the way to America (this is one of my favorite pieces of art-showing St. Brendan and his followers). But he was also famous for planting monasteries and starting churches all over Ireland and Scotland. One of my favorite stories about Brendan was that he would take 2 or 3 of his followers, young monks, and he would put them in one of these small leather boats with this instruction-“wherever you land, evangelize.” And then the boat with a small sail and the monks would be pushed out to sea. I love the incredible confidence and faith and courage of this story. Imagine the strength and trust it would take to simply take off and believe that what you are doing will change lives?-but I also have always had the image in my mind of these young monks, sitting in this boat as they drift out to sea, looking back at Brendan safely standing on land and yelling at him, “wait, what is it again we’re supposed to do?”
I was telling folks yesterday that this is such a great gospel reading, and all the sermons I read from other people were so BORING. This is a amazing lesson: Jesus is busy doing his thing and realizes that even if he keeps on doing what he’s doing, he’ll never reach everyone “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless,…” . So he shares his divine power with his disciples. And he tells them to go out into the world, and :
proclaim the good news, '….Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons.
-and don’t take any money for it! In other words, “wherever you land, EVANGELIZE!” And take only what you need!
Jesus woke up. He looked at all the people, all those in need When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, and he realized that 12 could do more than 1 and that the whole world was desperate for good news. So he sent them out to take this good news. All the optional part of today’s gospel was how hard it was going to be on them to do this. He’s getting them ready for this unbelievable undertaking. And so he gives them the power and he gives them the message. And he sends them out. “wherever you land, EVANGELIZE!”
Bruce Larsen, a Presbyterian minister, has written a book entitled Ask Me to Dance, and in it he included the story of a member of his congregation who had come from another country. Pastor Larsen said of this person, “Her faith sparkled and the living water of the spirit flowed out of her soul to all around her”. He invited her to go with him to a seminar on the topic of evangelism. The leaders had prepared tables filled with all sorts of pamphlets and strategies and demographic studies, all aimed at reaching the un-churched in their area. At some point during the program the leaders turned to this woman and asked her to share some of the reasons that made the church so important and so vital in her home country. At first she was a bit intimidated by the crowds, but then she had this to say, “Well, we never gave pamphlets to people because we never had any. We just showed people by our life and example what it is like to be a Christian, and when they can see for themselves, then they want to be a Christian, too.”
Then they want to be a Christian, too.
No word in Christianity pulls up more negative images than the word, “evangelism”. You know what it means? Bringing good news. Why should that scare us? This is why we were made, this is who we are, this is our purpose-bring good news to all those who are struggling, striving, yearning, longing.
Another preacher writes, “When Jesus sent out laborers, he gave them specific instructions. They were to cast out demons, heal the sick, tell people about the kingdom of God, and raise the dead. In other words, they were to address people's greatest needs: mental and emotional stability, physical health, hopelessness, and fear of death.
Do you think you can do this? Meet people’s mental and emotional needs? Reach out to them in their physical well-being? Touch them when they are hopeless? Stand with them as they fear death? Do you think you were called to do this? Of course not! And yet….
Jesus said, proclaim the good news, 'The kingdom of heaven has come near.' 10:8 Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons.
Why should that scare us? Why can’t it inspire us! Jesus doesn’t just give the power to those twelve 2000 years ago. He gave it to Brendan the Navigator. He gave it to
Bruce Larsen’s parishioner. And I think He gives it to us.
I was talking last evening in the restaurant to Wilma Petrasky’s granddaughter, Laura, a freshmen at Hope College. 18 years old. She just returned from 3 weeks in Cameroon on the west coast of Africa. Last year a group of students from Hope went into a village to show the people how to use simple water filtration systems in their homes to purify their water. One thing we have learned from the Cropwalk is that the single most deadly part of people’s lives around the world is clean water. These systems that the students put in this village were incredibly simple and yet very effective. Laura’s team went around and checked to see how the systems were working and if they made a difference in people’s lives. On average in this village 20 children die every year from parasites, worms, diarrhea, dehydration, and contaminated water. This past year, after putting in these systems, not one child died. Not one. These sand and concrete purification systems cost $12 per home. $12.
Laura is a freshman. 18 years old. “wherever you land, EVANGELIZE!”
This Strawberry Festival is a lot of work. I can’t believe how hard so many people work on it. It’s amazing. The money from the festival, half of it will go to an inreach project. And half will go to outreach-for instance-helping people have clean water.
You’re doing evangelism. You’re taking good news to people. This is what it looks like. You know the best thing I hear every year at the festival-it isn’t how much we made, how many pies we sold, or how many cheesecakes we made. The best thing I hear every year comes sometimes from crafters, or sometimes from customers. This is what I hear- “The people in your church are really nice, they were very kind to me.” And I always think the same thing, This is where we have landed-this is what we were meant to do.



Matthew 9:35-10:8, (9-23)
9:35 Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and curing every disease and every sickness.
9:36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
9:37 Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few;
9:38 therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest."
10:1 Then Jesus summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to cure every disease and every sickness.
10:2 These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon, also known as Peter, and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John;
10:3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus;
10:4 Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed him.
10:5 These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: "Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans,
10:6 but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
10:7 As you go, proclaim the good news, 'The kingdom of heaven has come near.'
10:8 Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. You received without payment; give without payment.
10:9 Take no gold, or silver, or copper in your belts,
10:10 no bag for your journey, or two tunics, or sandals, or a staff; for laborers deserve their food.
10:11 Whatever town or village you enter, find out who in it is worthy, and stay there until you leave.
10:12 As you enter the house, greet it.
10:13 If the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it; but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you.
10:14 If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet as you leave that house or town.
10:15 Truly I tell you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.
10:16 "See, I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.
10:17 Beware of them, for they will hand you over to councils and flog you in their synagogues;
10:18 and you will be dragged before governors and kings because of me, as a testimony to them and the Gentiles.
10:19 When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say; for what you are to say will be given to you at that time;
10:20 for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.
10:21 Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death;
10:22 and you will be hated by all because of my name. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.
10:23 When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next; for truly I tell you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.