6. Sunday after Pentecost, 07/04/2010

Sermon on Luke 10:1-11; 16-20, by Dr. David M. Wendel, STS

After this the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go. [2] He said to them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. [3] Go on your way. See, I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves. [4] Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and greet no one on the road. [5] Whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace to this house!' [6] And if anyone is there who shares in peace, your peace will rest on that person; but if not, it will return to you. [7] Remain in the same house, eating and drinking whatever they provide, for the laborer deserves to be paid. Do not move about from house to house. [8] Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you; [9] cure the sick who are there, and say to them, 'The kingdom of God has come near to you.' [10] But whenever you enter a town and they do not welcome you, go out into its streets and say, [11] 'Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest against you. Yet know this: the kingdom of God has come near.'

[16] "Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever rejects you rejects me, and whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me." [17] The seventy returned with joy, saying, "Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us!" [18] He said to them, "I watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning. [19] See, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing will hurt you. [20] Nevertheless, do not rejoice at this, that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven."

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Church and Christianity Lite

There's a lot of talk these days about what's being called, "church-lite", or "Christianity-Lite". Some church in Alabama or Georgia is known for instituting church services that are only 30 minutes long from start to finish-making its services, "worship lite". You may have seen an article in the Gazette recently about a well-known preacher who's frequently on TV, and is popular because of his simple, straightforward messages-even though many other preachers accuse him of presenting "Bible-lite". And if that is what he's preaching, why wouldn't he continue? He's written several best-selling books, and has 40,000 in the congregation every Sunday! It would seem, church-lite is alive, and doing quite well in Christianity in America today-and why wouldn't it be? We like all kinds of "lite" versions of things-so why should we want our religion to be any different? Supposedly, Americans don't like to spend too much time on things-and have now fairly short attention spans-so, we like brief news reports; short, pity sound bites; quick to the point e-mails; and yes, we've even perfected a new text-messaging language that speeds up communication, so that everything you need to know will fit on a little two inch by two inch screen! We just seem to believe that everything should be available to us, as we like it-short, easy to take, enjoyable, accessible without too much concentration, seriousness, or effort. And-without too much heavy subject matter. That's what church-lite seems to be-brief, pleasant, uplifting, fun, without the heavy burdensome feeling we used to get from Christianity.

Church-lite, or Heavy-Church?

If you were to look at two of our lessons for today, for example, it's not hard to see which would make it into "church lite", and which falls into the "heavy church" category. Take our first lesson from Isaiah-the Jews who had returned from exile in Babylon came home with certain hopes and expectations for the restoration of Jerusalem, only to be disappointed with the reality of their situation-the city would have to be rebuilt from the bottom up, and as you might imagine, after years in exile, being home again wasn't quite what they'd anticipated. So, the Lord, through the prophet Isaiah speaks words of comfort and reassurance to the people, saying, "rejoice with Jerusalem and be glad for her, all you who love her; rejoice with her in joy-that you may nurse and be satisfied from her consoling breast; that you may drink deeply with delight from her glorious bosom. For thus says the Lord: I will extend prosperity to her like a river, and the wealth of the nations like an overflowing stream; and you shall nurse and be carried on her arm and dandled on her knees-as mother comforts her child, so I will comfort you-and you shall flourish like the grass..." Now, there's certainly nothing wrong with this hopeful, encouraging Word from the Lord-in fact, we need to hear such passages from Scripture today-that the Lord God himself, will nurture us, and feed us, and give us his own life, for our nourishment and strength! Who can hear this passage from Isaiah, and not be uplifted and encouraged in life? It's about God caring for us, and God restoring us, and God comforting us, as a mother comforts her child! The good thing about this text is-nothing is demanded of us, nor required of us-other than that we nurse at our mother's breast, and rejoice with her in joy! That's the kind of lesson we like to have on Sunday morning-with our desire for Christianity-lite-a passage from Scripture that doesn't ask anything of us, and can let us leave feeling all warm and cozy inside. No wonder churches and preachers who proclaim such a message find their congregations overflowing! Just as those who read lessons such as our Gospel reading from Luke 10, might find their congregations dwindling. I'm reminded of a story I've surely mentioned before, about an elderly preacher and his wife who, after retiring, worshiped in a church that was packed on Sunday morning. After the sermon, which was decidedly light and airy, the elderly pastor's wife frowned a bit, and the pastor knew what she was thinking. To which he said, "You know dear, I couldn't fill this church." To which his wife replied, "No, but you could empty it!"

Hazardous Duty Mission and Ministry

The trouble is we all know passages like our gospel text are not easy to hear. It shouldn't surprise us that in the church today, if you were going to choose between reading our first lesson, or our gospel lesson, the one from Isaiah is much easier to digest! Because the gospel lesson might be considered heavy and demanding-the gospel lesson talks about having to work hard in mission and ministry, because the harvest is plentiful, and the workers are few! And there will be few creature comforts, little reward, and then, rejection and persecution! We call this text the call of the seventy-where Jesus calls seventy others, whom he sends out in pairs to every town and place where he intended to go. And Jesus says to them, "See, I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves!" And then he says, carry no purse, no bag, no sandals, and greet no one on the road. And then, get this-Jesus says, remain in the same house and eat and drink whatever they provide! Well, no picky eaters allowed, I guess! Talk about hardship-having to eat and drink whatever is provided, and taking no hair dryer or i-phone, and then--being like lambs in the midst of wolves? All in all, this mission and ministry stuff should be considered hazardous duty, certainly not a cushy assignment, certainly not easy or comfortable! And that's just if you read verses 1-11, and 16-20. Listen to what Jesus says in the verses that are left out of our gospel reading; verses 12-15 records Jesus saying, "Woe to you Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the might works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, and been sitting in sackcloth and ashes. But it shall be more tolerable in the judgment for Tyre and Sidon, than for you. And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? No, you shall be brought down to Hades!"

Well, does such talk of judgment and condemnation have a place in Christianity today? Or is it just as well to exclude such verses from public reading in worship? And, why not, then, exclude uncomfortable, heavy passages like the rest of the verses we do have as our gospel reading-about persecution, rejection, being lambs in the midst of wolves? Why not transition completely from Christianity-heavy, to Christianity-lite?

Names Written in Heaven

I'll tell you plainly, without hesitation, why I, for one, am not willing to exclude portions from Scripture, delete those passages I find offensive, or otherwise mess around with the totality of the Biblical message. I'll tell you without pulling any punches, why I am unwilling to water down, soften up, or otherwise dilute Holy Scripture, the teachings of Jesus, or what has been believed and taught by the Church of Jesus Christ from the first century on. It has to do with that last sentence Jesus speaks in our gospel reading-verse 20. Jesus says, "Nevertheless, do not rejoice at this, that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven." In other words, I am afraid to do anything that might cause your names NOT to be written in heaven! I worry that by editing Scripture, by picking and choosing between verses in the Word of God, you will not hear the specific words God wants you to hear, that your name will be included in the Lamb's Book of Life. How would I know that on any given Sunday, the passage I might choose not to read, might be the very passage the Spirit wants you to hear, to bring you out of error, into truth, out of sin, into righteousness, out of death, into life, as we pray in one of our Eucharistic Prayers? I'm not saying that those who are practicing church-lite are not saved, because that's not my decision to make-that's not our call.

Preaching and Hearing Both Law and Gospel

What IS my responsibility is this-to preach the Word of God in its entirety-to proclaim both Law and Gospel, within the congregation, so that you might hear both Isaiah 66, and St. Luke 10. It is our calling, and our task, to present the words of Jesus, as they come to us in Holy Writ, without picking and choosing, without editing, knowing, as Jesus says, that those who hear us, are supposed to be hearing him! And for us to say anything less, than what Jesus says, is just-unfaithful! Even though we know the message, yes, even the words of Jesus might be unwanted, and offensive and well, too heavy for some, Jesus says our job, as with the seventy, is to preach the gospel, to proclaim the nearness of the kingdom of God, to speak His word without concern for the response, or the reaction. Whether we see demons submitting to us, or people rejecting us-that is not to effect our work-the work of spreading the Gospel, so that people's names will be written in heaven. We have no other responsibility than that--as disciples-and apostles, ourselves, we are to preach the truth, and nothing but the truth...to preach the Word, and nothing but the Word-to proclaim that the kingdom of God has come near, in Jesus Christ, and salvation can be found in no one else, but, Jesus Christ-because it is Jesus, who writes our names in His Book of Life-it is Jesus who assures that we can rejoice, because our names are written in heaven! That's why we're here, and that's why we, too, are sent out, to serve the Lord.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The Rev. Dr. David M. Wendel, STS
Saint Luke’s Lutheran Church
Colorado Springs, CO, USA
E-Mail: pr-wendel@saintlukes-cs.org

Bemerkung:
Lessons: Isaiah 66:10-14; Galatians 6:1-6;

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