2 Kings, Psalms, Galater, Luke

Pentecost 4 | Proper 9 2022 | 2 Kings 5:1-14, Psalm 30, Galatians 6:(1-6), 7-16, Luke 10:1-11, 16-20 | Evan McClanahan |

Things were no better for Jesus and his disciples. We think we have it unusually rough due to inflation, a rise in crime, our social glue seemingly losing its grip, etc. But Jesus and his disciples, especially as his ministry and life were coming to a close, were not living in a time of ease, either. Far from it.
There certainly was more poverty then than most of us experience. Crime must have been somewhat pervasive…just look at the poor man beaten on the side of the road in the Parable of the Good Samaritan. None of his political or religious leaders were trustworthy. The Romans taxed and crucified their subjects with impunity. Roman citizens did possess some important rights, but those conquered by the Romans possessed few. And Jesus’ religious leaders ended up conspiring to kill him though he could be convicted of committing no crime.
No one would have blamed Jesus for basically quitting, and just saying, “Well guys, it’s been a good run. We cured many diseases, performed some awesome miracles, preached about the beauty and wonder of the Kingdom. But, let’s face it: we can’t win. No one wants to hear what we have to say. Spies have infiltrated our camp. The Pharisees are planning new ways to trap me every day. It’s the deep state people! So, let’s just protect what we have accomplished so far and ride this thing out, and hope no one bothers us anymore.”
Yes, if Jesus had taken the withdrawal option, the “prevent defense” or “run out the clock” option, no one could have blamed him. He was against mighty powers, after all. But is that what he did?
Of course not! He took 70 of his most trusted disciples and he sent them out two by two. He would not retreat; he would press his message. He would continue to proclaim the message of God’s Kingdom until it could not be done anymore. But actually, the day when it could not be done anymore has never come. Even in more hostile environments than Jesus’, the Gospel has continued to be spread using secret channels of communication, underground house churches, and networks undetected by tyrants.
So, what did these 70 do, exactly? Like John the Baptist, they prepared the way for Jesus. They would preach and teach about how God had broken into the world and how the prophets had been fulfilled in Jesus’ ministry. They were not sent out to be nice or pleasant. Indeed, Jesus commands the disciples NOT to greet others on the road. This is due to the overly ceremonial and pretentious rituals that such greetings commanded. They are sent out as sheep among wolves. And success is not guaranteed. There are teachings for what to do when the word is received and what to do when the word is rejected.
But I will admit that I am torn as to how exactly we are to carry forward our Christian witness in a hostile environment. And at the same time, I am hopeful that we are starting to see signs of success in our evangelism. Several years ago, journalist Rod Dreher wrote a book called The Benedict Option. While it wasn’t a full-on admonition to desert the world, it was at least the belief that Christians will need to withdraw from some elements of the world while building stronger and more intentional communities for the purpose of later reengagement when the world may be more receptive. You know, perhaps after a nuclear winter or when the zombies had been killed off.
The “Benedict Option” is named after one of the world’s most famous monks, Benedict of Nursia. He founded twelve monastic communities in the mountains of Italy. His model was essentially the standard for all monasticism of Europe, and at one point about a quarter of the entire European population was monastic. So, this was no small achievement. But these communities led self-sufficient lives and were removed from cities precisely not to be poisoned by them. Again, as the order of the Roman Empire was falling apart and actual Barbarians were a legitimate concern, the impulse to retreat was understandable.

But the cities definitely lost something with the retreat, and in time, the monasteries themselves were not free from corruption. Yes, monasticism led to some significant problems, even if it may be commendable that any one person chooses chastity and poverty in service to Christ. Monastic communities were not full of perfect men and women but sinners who could be corrupted and who were part of the unjust systems of simony and indulgences. Because they owned tremendous amounts of land, they became heavily involved in the affairs of the world in time, even though they sought to escape them.
And all withdrawal would accomplish in our own day is an encouragement of non-Christians to push their agenda more and more. Waiting for the world to blow up so we can finally start from scratch is a fantasy, and a dangerous one at that. And it is not what our Lord did. He sent out his disciples into the community not expecting a 100% success rate, but to offer those towns the opportunity to come near to God’s Kingdom. Success was not the goal. Faithfulness was. Engagement was.
And maybe, just maybe, there are some signs of hope in our own day. For many years, Christians just assumed that everyone would agree with them forever. We were the dominant cultural foundation for centuries, after all. But over time, first far off in the academy, then in the arts, and then finally even in the Church, true Christianity became the minority view. Those who opposed Christianity could only whisper that at first, but were soon able to shout their joy at its death.
And there were many signals that they had won. Perhaps the single greatest testimony to human autonomy and the public defeat of Christian values was the Roe v. Wade decision. It was a culmination of many other ideas that had won the day in previous decades, and it was all about man planting his flag and saying to God, “You can’t tell me what to do.”
That was a declaration of hostility that naturally flowed to every area of life. Now, bodily autonomy is so radical all of us must agree with someone’s assessment of their own biology. What we believe about reality now defines everyone else’s reality too. Far from this being God’s world and us just living in it, we are now dictating the terms of God’s world back to Him.
But maybe we have finally reached the zenith of this humanistic experiment. Perhaps the utter futility of rebellion against God has been demonstrated. Perhaps the defense of the indefensible will become a distant memory. Perhaps cooler heads, heads reasonably open to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, will emerge. Perhaps Christians who took for granted the Christian nature of their world will realize that, no, actually, they have to fight for it and apply it. We have to go into every area of life, like those disciples went into those towns two by two and say, “The Gospel of Jesus applies here” and “The Gospel of Jesus applies here and here and here besides.”
It will take decades to rebuild a society that actually treasures the things we took for granted: life, dignity, virtue, and even reality itself. But I am hopeful that the futility of ignoring God’s Laws is closer to being demonstrated to the world, and the Church will see the urgent need to go into cities and towns and contend for the truth.
What that might look like for every Christian will be different. But in going, we are showing the world that the Kingdom of God is near them, too, and that we do not have to defined or defeated by any force of darkness. Amen.
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First Lutheran, Houston
Evan McClanahan