Text: Luke 10:1-11, 16-20
10 After this the Lord appointed seventy[a] others, and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to come. 2 And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. 3 Go your way; behold, I send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. 4 Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and salute no one on the road. 5 Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house!’ 6 And if a son of peace is there, your peace shall rest upon him; but if not, it shall return to you. 7 And remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for the laborer deserves his wages; do not go from house to house. 8 Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you; 9 heal the sick in it and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ 10 But whenever you enter a town and they do not receive you, go into its streets and say, 11 ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off against you; nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near.’
16 “He who hears you hears me, and he who rejects you rejects me, and he who rejects me rejects him who sent me.”
17 The seventy[a] returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” 18 And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 Behold, I have given you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing shall hurt you. 20 Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you; but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”
In the Name of God, the Holy and Undivided Trinity. Amen.
This is one of those Sundays, like Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Memorial Day, and Labor Day, when the decision has to be made whether to talk about the secular holiday, “just” preach on the Gospel lesson appointed for the day, or try to do both.
I’m going to try to do both this morning. The 4th of July is the most significant day of our year, because that day back in 1776 marked the beginning of our country, and it needs to be observed.
But before I even do that, I need to recap last week’s sermon – it had to do with tolerance, as I said then. But the more I thought about it this past week, the more it seemed to me that it really had more to do with following the Golden Rule – “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” That’s really the foundation of tolerance – treating others with the same respect that you would like them to show to you. Elsewhere in the New Testament, we find admonitions like this one from I Thessalonians 5:21-23: “[H]old fast what is good, 22 abstain from every form of evil.
“May the God of peace himself sanctify you wholly; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
And perhaps you have heard this majestic benediction at the end of a worship service:
“Go forth into the world in peace; be of good courage; hold fast that which is good; render to no one evil for evil; strengthen the fainthearted; support the weak; help the afflicted; honor everyone;
love and serve the Lord, rejoicing in the power of the Holy Spirit; and the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, be amongst you and remain with you always. Amen.”[1]
But then we encounter this from today’s Gospel lesson: “But whenever you enter a town and they do not receive you, go into its streets and say, 11 ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off against you; nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near.’”
That does not seem very tolerant, does it? Well, thereon hangs a tale, as they say.
Back in my junior year in Germany, I took a course in semantics, where we spent a lot of time reading and studying the work of the linguistic philosopher (yes, there is such a thing) J. L. Austin. One of his most important books was How to Do Things with Words, in which he reintroduced the modern world to what he called “speech acts.” A speech act is an utterance that not only presents information, but cause something to happen. One example: The statement “I would like the mashed potatoes, could you please pass them to me?” is considered a speech act as it expresses the speaker’s desire to acquire the mashed potatoes, as well as presenting a request that someone pass the potatoes to them.[2] Similarly, when you tell someone to “open the door” or “close the door,” your words are speech acts. Austin’s point was that meaning is not so much about what words say as what they do.
And this corresponds exactly to how words and meaning were viewed in the ancient world. In Jesus’ day and well before, words were more than sounds people spoke. Words were also actions. For example, here’s Isaiah 55:11: [S]o shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and prosper in the thing for which I sent it. (RSV)
Words are not just sounds. They are actions and actors.
So what about the ominous words in the passage for this morning where we hear what really sounds like a warning: ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off against you”?
There are a couple clues that can help us here. First, in the context of the passage we read last week where Jesus in no uncertain terms rejects James’ and John’s violent response to the lack of hospitality shown Jesus by those living in the Samaritan village, it’s difficult to believe that Jesus has suddenly reversed himself. Second, the “bottom line,” the ultimate word here, both to those who welcome Jesus and his disciples and those who do not, is exactly the same: “the kingdom of God has come near.” And again, this phrase is also best understood in terms not simply of what it says, but what it does.
The most common speech act in all of Scripture is making a promise. The statement “the Kingdom of God has come near” – Jesus’ mission statement – is a promise, though it might not sound like one. Taking that statement to heart will call us to account; it will make us reflect on how we treat others. But it is a promise that God’s Word – Jesus the Christ himself – will not return to the Father empty, but will bring all of us with him. For we are all God’s beloved children – yes, even those who failed to show hospitality to the disciples.
Words may describe us, but they do not define us.
And some words, more than others, resonate with us, touch us to the very marrow of our bones. Some of these words are very familiar to us – words like “love,” for example.
But here are a few more words that are appropriate to mention today: “Honor,” “loyalty,” “freedom,” “sacrifice,” and “truth.”
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness.”
More powerful words with a more far-reaching effect have never been penned in the history of the world; and none are ever likely to do so.
I remember the day when I “got it.” It was the summer of 1975, and I was on a bus of American high school students on a tour of East Berlin. Our guide was an enthusiastic young woman who wanted to impress upon us all the glories of Communism. So, as we drove along, she would point out to us one ugly Soviet-style building after another and tell us about it. Just by chance, I looked left when she asked us to look right out of the side of the bus, and I saw down a side street a huge pile of rubble still there from World War II. I thought it was a fluke, until the next time she directed our attention out one or the other side of the bus – and I saw yet another pile of rubble, and so on. I nudged the kid sitting next to me, and the word spread. By the time we got back to Checkpoint Charlie, we’d had enough of the glories of Communism. Somebody – I don’t know who – started singing “The Star Spangled Banner.” That young tour guide was very happy to get off that bus, I imagine!
In 1941, Norman Rockwell painted one of his most famous series of illustrations for the Saturday Evening Post. One was titled “Freedom of Speech,” another “Freedom of Worship,” the third was “Freedom from Want,” and the fourth was “Freedom from Fear.” That painting shows a young couple standing over their sleeping children, and it’s very moving indeed. As those parents protected their children, in those dark days of World War II, millions of other young men and women fought to protect them, too, and millions of other families, so that the bright flame of freedom won for us by the patriots in the Revolutionary War might not go out.
We are the beneficiaries of this great legacy. Patriotism is love of country and dedication to that country’s ideals.
Today’s Gospel lesson, with the words that “the Kingdom of God has come near” – is in that vein; it tells us that God’s Kingdom is not just for some chosen few, but for all people. It tells us that:
God loves us, and that unconditionally and totally.
God cares for us all. Equally.
God will take care of us.
This week, we are reminded that we – and those who welcome us or not, those who affirm us and those who don’t, those who help us and those who refuse – that all of us are, together, God’s children. May this transform how we see ourselves and each other. May this give us the courage and compassion to share the powerful, life-giving word that, in Jesus, God’s kingdom has indeed drawn near. And all because God loves us – each of us – knows us better than we know ourselves – knows what we need before we do, and provides it.
Let us take this reminder with us today. Let us pray it helps us to be better citizens, better followers of Jesus, and better people!
In the Name of God, the Holy and Undivided Trinity. Amen.
[1] That benediction comes to us from the Anglican tradition, but I have heard it – and used myself – in other contexts.
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speech_act