Season of Growth - Redeemer Episcopal Church

Matthew 9:35 - 10:23

³⁵Then 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. ³⁶When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. ³⁷Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; ³⁸therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”

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. ²These 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; ³Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus;⁴ Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed him.

⁵These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans, ⁶but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. ⁷As you go, proclaim the good news, ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ ⁸Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. You received without payment; give without payment. ⁹Take no gold, or silver, or copper in your belts, ¹⁰no bag for your journey, or two tunics, or sandals, or a staff; for laborers deserve their food. ¹¹Whatever town or village you enter, find out who in it is worthy, and stay there until you leave. ¹²As you enter the house, greet it. ¹³If the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it; but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. ¹⁴If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet as you leave that house or town. ¹⁵Truly I tell you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.

¹⁶“See, I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. ¹⁷Beware of them, for they will hand you over to councils and flog you in their synagogues; ¹⁸and you will be dragged before governors and kings because of me, as a testimony to them and the Gentiles. ¹⁹When 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; ²⁰for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. ²¹Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death; ²²and you will be hated by all because of my name. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.²³When 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.

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This sermon was preached for God's people at Redeemer Episcopal Church in Jacksonville, Florida on June 14, 2020. As God can speak to us in many times and places, I hope that this word might speak to others in many times and places. You can read the sermon below, watch the entire worship service at this link, or listen to the recording of the sermon at this link. 

Let us pray. 

God of sowing and reaping, healing and reconciliation, reveal to us your desire for us. Make your presence known to us so that we might be empowered by the Holy Spirit to proclaim the good news, cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons.

Welcome to the season after Pentecost! I find the seasons of the church year to be pretty incredible. I know that I have talked about the church calendar before. And I know that the liturgical calendar is no accident, and that it took many people over a long period of time to come up with the readings and patterns for what we now called the Revised Common Lectionary. But, with very few exceptions, they seem to have gotten it right. Advent and Lent are two of my favorite seasons because of the way the readings are structured and we are able to anticipate what is coming next in God’s story of Christ Jesus. 

But the season after Pentecost— what some people would call "ordinary time” or the “down time” of the church— is really something special too. I certainly wouldn’t call it “ordinary time.” If we really focus in on the stories God is telling during this time, we will be able to see this as a time of extraordinary grace from our extraordinary God. 

This is the first Sunday that really kicks of the season after Pentecost. There is a theme in "time after Pentecost” readings. We’ll hear a lot of parables— in fact, out of the 22 Gospel readings on the Sundays in the time after Pentecost, ten of them will be parables that Jesus tells his disciples. And every other reading is about what Jesus did in his life of ministry— feeding people, walking on water, exorcising demons, healing people— and about Jesus’ teaching like the Beatitudes and the greatest commandment. 

So it absolutely makes sense that we would kick off this season with these readings. Two weeks ago, we had the birthday of the church, when the Holy Spirit descended upon hundred of people and they were able to speak to one another and prophesy about God’s glory. Now we have a whole season telling stories of how God has equipped and continues to equip the church for God’s mission in the world. 

Two Sundays ago, God said, “I give you the gift of the Holy Spirit” and now, today, God says, “Here’s what it looks like to use that gift.” 

What it looks like is what the Gospel tells us that Jesus did — he went out to all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and curing every disease and every sickness. 

It looks like Jesus who had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

It is no coincidence that these words are echoed in the next few verses when Jesus calls his disciples to go out into the world. 

There are other places in the Bible where Jesus’ command or teaching leaves us scratching our heads and wondering what we are supposed to do, like the many parables we will hear this season. But this is not one of those places. 

This mission is not one that they must work out on their own. Jesus gives specific instructions on where to go and who to visit, on what to say and what to do.

He gave the disciples authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to cure every disease and every sickness. And he gives them these instructions: As you go, proclaim the good news, ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ ⁸Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons.

We were given the gift of the Holy Spirit at our baptism. Using the gift of the Holy Spirit looks like liberation and healing, not just by Christ but by his disciples as well. 

The disciples are called to imitate the teacher. A disciple is, by definition, just like an apprentice, called to follow behind the teacher and imitating what they do until the disciple is able to do the same thing. 

That’s what it means to be a follower of Christ in this day and age too. We are called to the same things to which the disciples where first called. To follow Christ is not just to observe him and his actions, not just walk next to him throughout our lives. To follow Christ is the first action in becoming his disciple, the next step is to imitate him. God’s grace is given to us so freely not so we can stay the same and do nothing, but so that we can live into that grace and proclaim that grace through our actions as imitations of Christ. 

The season after Pentecost’s liturgical color is green. It symbolizes the growth that we are called to experience during this time. Growth that both calls us closer to God and calls us to being more like Christ. And my beloved siblings, this growth is difficult. This growth is sometimes painful. But it is growth that is so desperately needed in this world. We need more people who imitate Christ in this world.

Growing into an imitation of Christ is going to take a lot of work, and we are going to make mistakes along the way. But God has given us the gift of God’s very presence in the Holy Spirit to assist us, to cure every disease and every sickness. God has given us the Spirit so that As we go, we might proclaim the good news, ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ ⁸Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons.

God is calling us to this difficult work of reconciliation, healing, and liberation. Because this world needs it. The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few, Jesus says. 

So over these next few weeks and months, remember that we are in the time after Pentecost, the green season, the season of growth. And as we become more acutely aware of the growing pains of our world, our government, and our society, God is inviting us to recognize the growth places and the growing pains in our own lives, in our own journeys as we work toward imitating Christ and God’s work in the world through the Holy Spirit. 

Amen.