Matthew 9:35-10:8

            {Prayer}

            If the Covid-19 pandemic taught us anything, it was that we are not meant to be separated from one another. We are not meant to be put into isolation. We are meant to be with other people, we are meant to be within a community. And not only is that true today, but this is exactly what we see, not only in our reading from Matthew but throughout the whole Bible.

            So, let’s go back to the beginning. “In the beginning, God” (Genesis 1:1). Fourth word in our English Bibles, third word in the Hebrew Bible. God in English, Elohim in Hebrew. Elohim in the Hebrew is plural. We talked about this a couple of weeks ago on Trinity Sunday, right? God is all about relationships. God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, are all in relationship with one another. Three persons, one God, all present there in the beginning.

            Within the days of creation, God continued this idea of community. On the third day after the water was separated and the land appeared, “God said, ‘Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.’ And it was so” (Genesis 1:11).

            On day five when God created the living creatures of the water and the birds of the sky, we’re told, “So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living and moving thing with which the water teems, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good” (1:21).

            On day six, “God said, ‘Let the land producing living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals, each according to its kind.’ And it was so. God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good” (1:24-25). Seed bearing plants, great creatures of the sea, birds of the air, land animals and creeping things that creep on the face of the earth, all created to live in perfect harmony with one another.

            Then God made His final creature. The Triune God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness” (1:26a). Out of the dust of the earth, God created man. It was all good, except the man was alone. So God had all the creatures go by and whatever man named them, that was their name. “But for Adam no suitable helper was found” (2:20b). So God established the first human community by creating the woman to complement the man. Woman is the suitable helper, the one fit for Adam, who was just right for Adam.

            But this perfect situation didn’t last long. The perfect world was broken. Sin entered into the world and drove things apart. Sin put a division within humanity, a division between man and creation, and a division between man and God. Ever since sin drove things apart, the human condition has been a paradox of coming together and falling apart.

            In His plan to restore His creation, God went back to the communal drawing board. He sought out an old couple whose ability to have kids was long gone. Abraham and Sarah, through the miraculous birth of Isaac, expanded their family as God created the first community. Through this chosen group of people, God promised to bless all nations. Through hundreds of years of people coming together and falling apart and coming together again, people from the east and the west, from the north and the south, would all come together and live under the gracious rule and reign of God.

            So it should be no surprise to us this morning that when we look at the Gospel reading from Matthew that early on in Jesus’ ministry He called together a community of twelve disciples. As I mentioned last week, when God calls someone to be His disciple, He never leaves them alone. Jesus doesn’t pull them away from everyone they knew and put them in isolation. Jesus calls disciples into a new community with all believers.

            Here in Matthew 9, we have Jesus, with His disciples, going “through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness” (9:35). Seeing the different crowds throughout the land as He traveled, Jesus has compassion on them, for they were like “sheep without a shepherd” (9:36). Jesus then tells his newly formed community to pray for God to send workers into His harvest fields (9:37).

            Then in the very next verse, at the start of chapter ten, Jesus made it happen. He sends workers out into the harvest field. Perhaps to their surprise, I know that I would be surprised if I were them, Jesus sent out those same disciples He said are to pray for more workers out to be the workers. But notice, even though Jesus is the One sending them out, He doesn’t send them out unequipped. Jesus gives them authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and sickness (10:1). Jesus sends out the community of disciples to do the work which He had previously done, the work which they were witnesses of.

            Notice what Jesus did here, notice the movement. Jesus loved the crowds, and then He sent His disciples to participate in His work among them. Jesus continues this same movement today.

            In his book about what it means to believe and live in Christ, Lutheran pastor Jeff Cloeter summarized the life of discipleship in very clear and simple terms. He says that Christians are Loved and Sent. Christians have been loved by God in Christ. This is the promise of the Gospel, of the Good News of Jesus. Luther in his explanation to the second article of the Apostles’ Creed says that “Jesus … has redeemed me, a lost and condemned person, purchased and won me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil; not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood, and His innocent suffering and death.”

            Jesus came to bring forgiveness, life, and salvation to sinful human beings, to you and me, to all people because without Jesus doing what He did, living the perfect life, going to the cross, dying and rising from the grave, we all would be lost forever. Jesus’ compassion for the crowds, for His disciples, for you and me led Him to preach, heal, and restore.

            Jesus loved His disciples, just as He loves us. Jesus sent them, and He sends us out. In this reading from Matthew 9 and 10, Jesus sent the disciples out only to the lost sheep of Israel. But after His resurrection and before He ascended into heaven, Jesus would extend their mission field to include all nations. The purpose of the sending of them out is the same both times., to bring life to all people. Pastor Cloeter says that “Love is incapable of sitting still.” God’s love for His creation moved Him to save His creation, to save His wandering sheep, to save you and me. And God’s love for His disciples moves them to go where Jesus sends them.

            “Where Friends Become Family”, that is not just a slogan, it’s not just a motto, it’s not just a vision for our church … it’s a way of life. From the moment you walk in the door till the moment you sit down, you are greeted by numerous people. Sometimes people are late getting into the sanctuary because they are visiting in the gym or narthex. Sometimes we are visiting so much in here that I have to wave my arm to get your attention to start the service.

            Salem Lutheran is a community, a family. A community of disciples who care about one another, who look out for one another, and who help one another. We are a community of disciples who step up and help with things around the church as needed. The level of personal and familial support here is far higher than any other church I have been in.

            And while we are a family, while we are a community of disciples loved by Christ, we are also called by Jesus to go out and share that love, we are called to go out and make disciples of all nations, we are called to go out and expand God’s family, God’s community. To be a disciple, remember, may involve separating ourselves from something we love and cherish in order to use our gifts and talents and step out of the comfort of our personal bubbles and share God with others.

            There are numerous ways in which we do and could possibly do to share the grace of God to others. We’ve got Hungry Hearts, Vacation Bible School, Sunday School, Youth events, the Food Pantry and Ministerial Alliance, the Pregnancy Care Center. But what other things can we do which are much more informal. Invite someone over for dinner or out to lunch, sit in a different section at your kid’s event and talk with other parents, call someone on the prayer list and see how they are doing. The list of things is endless. Let the Holy Spirit lead you and trust that God is with you as He would not send you out unprepared. Amen.

            The peace of God, which surpasses all human understanding, guard your hearts and minds as you go out to share the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord, now and forever. Amen.