The Apostolic Principle

Do you know about the principle that directs every Christian's life? 

Father Goodrich preached this sermon, based on Matthew 9:35-10:8 to a live congregation of St. John’s Episcopal Church, Dubuque, Iowa.

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Transcript

The Apostolic Principle

Speaker 1 0:06

So I parked at the parish house parking lot , get out of my car and I went up the ramp with the intention of going inside the parish house , into the church's offices , and suddenly I heard the sound of brakes whaling and steel smashing together . So I whipped around to witness the wreck of two cars that had collided .

Speaker 1 0:39

And since I'm not an , emergency medical technician or a medical doctor . I just turned around and I went up the ramp back into the parish house . Oh , of course I didn't do that . So I walked down to the scene of the accident , i called 911 . I tried to comfort and provide some reassurance to the people in the wreck And I waited for help . I waited for the experts to arrive . I responded to the situation And today a gospel lesson from Matthew , chapter 9 , jesus responds to a situation And his response set the direction for the very first disciples , their whole lives , and his response set the direction for the church for 20 centuries to the present moment . So what ?

Speaker 1 1:38

situation was Jesus , exactly responding to .

Speaker 2 1:41

Did you catch it when you heard the gospel ?

Speaker 1 1:43

lesson being read Well let's hear just a snippet of it again , maybe you'll pick it up this time . Matthew 9 , verse 35 .

Speaker 2 1:53

Then Jesus went about all the .

Speaker 1 1:54

Finnesian villages teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom , incurring every disease and every sickness .

Speaker 1 2:03

When he saw the crowds , he had compassion for them . So what's the situation ? Through Jesus' compassion , he notices the crowds and he notices their very real human needs . This is the situation he is responding to , and he turns to his disciples , his students , and he tells them this in verse 37 . The harvest is plentiful , but the labors are few . Therefore , ask the Lord of the harvest to send out labors into his harvest . Now some translations render that verse slightly differently from verse 37 . Here's how other translations put it Pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out labors into his harvest .

Speaker 1 2:59

Question Does Jesus asking his disciples , his students , to pray seem particularly radical ? That's in particularly radical to you ? Not particularly at all , but notice what happens immediately after Jesus gives this injunction to pray . It happens in the very next verse , matthew 10 , verse 1 . Jesus summons his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits to cast them out and to cure every disease and every sickness .

Speaker 2 3:39

Now .

Speaker 1 3:40

Jesus does ? he sends his disciples to do . What Jesus does He sends His disciples to do . Let's say that together What Jesus does , he sends His disciples to do ? Now that's pretty radical . Yet that is exactly how the church is supposed to work . Jesus sends His disciples out to do what He does , What Jesus does . He sends His disciples out to do So if you identify as a . Christian whether a weak Christian a strong Christian , a Christian with reservations whatever .

Speaker 2 4:25

If you identify as a Christian , if you've been baptized if you intend on coming forward to the altar this morning to receive Holy Communion , then this principle applies to you .

Speaker 1 4:41

Let's call it the Apostolic Principle . Let's say those two words twice Apostolic principle , Apostolic principle We rehearse the Apostolic principle every week in the Eucharist . Every week we are gathered and we are summoned as a St John's church family to be strengthened and then sent out into the world to respond to the harvest of human need , to do what Jesus does . That's the principle . We are to pass on what we have received . So we've received wisdom and the lessons appointed for each day .

Speaker 2 5:29

And we are then to pass on that wisdom to others especially the children in our lives .

Speaker 1 5:34

We will share the peace during this service during the liturgy , And so we are to go out into the world and be peacemakers and to grant the gift of peace and pass on peace to other people .

Speaker 1 5:45

Now stick with this . We also have confession and absolution , and so we receive forgiveness . Therefore , you and I are to go out into the world and give the gift of forgiveness to others , to be reconcilers in the world . In Holy Communion we are fed , and so we are to go out into the world and feed others physically and spiritually . Now the next point I'm going to make . I hope you've made this connection by now . I really hope you've had it . You've been here for anything but time . But just in case , it is no accident that we have a mission partnership with the Dubuque food pantry . We are Eucharistic people , so we feed others . It is no accident that we serve a meal to those in need on the fifth Sunday of the month . Why ? Because we are a Eucharistic people And so we feed others . So make sure you're still awake here . Question for you Is it an accident that up at the parish house we have a mini food pantry ?

Speaker 2 6:58

Is that an accident .

Speaker 1 7:00

No , why ? Because we are a Eucharistic people . Just this week , someone came by who was in needing assistance from them . Now the Eucharist is the meal of the apostolic community , and we are fed at the altar so that we might live our lives in a way that feeds others physically and spiritually . This is Christianity 101 . This is the basics of what we rehearse every .

Speaker 1 7:30

Sunday , when we come together and celebrate the Eucharist , we are fed so that we might feed others .

Speaker 1 7:39

This started with Sunday school . Question answer Jesus And Jesus passing on to the apostles , the very first disciples , and then for 20 centuries , 20 centuries . This apostolic principle of passing on what we receive has been handed down from generation to generation of believers . And if you're in this room , if you're a Christian or baptized or thinking about being a Christian , well then this is our turn to pass on and live this faith , to live out the apostolic principle . And this applies whether you're a so-called spiritual physician or technician , a priest or missionary , or whether you're a so-called ordinary Christian though there is no such thing . So this apostolic principle applies to all of us , whatever particular state of life or commitments that might we have as a Christian . It applies to us all . Father Roth Cain teaches at an Episcopal Seminary and here's how he thinks and talks about this subject Jesus' call to discipleship is a single call Come and follow . It is the singularity of Jesus' call , the simplicity of the call , that gives it his wholeness Now listen to the next part of the quote carefully .

Speaker 1 9:04

Whatever her vocation , the Christian carries it out as part of the single task of following Jesus , of simply being a Christian . Since some of you are already wandering you're looking around I'm going to make it more explicit .

Speaker 2 9:23

So you might be retired , you might be a plumber , you might be a parent , you might be a professor .

Speaker 1 9:34

You might be a kid , but whoever you are and whatever it is that you're doing in life , you are invited by God to be a student , a disciple of Jesus , and then bring that apostolic principle with you into everything you do . Underline that in your mind with a red pen , everything you do Now some of you are thinking well , how could I possibly ?

Speaker 1 10:00

do that . Well , let's bring it down to a precision point . You are to do what Jesus does as you can in your situation , according to your gifts and limitations . I'm going to rewind that one . Feel free to join me . You are to do what Jesus does as you can in your situation , according to your gifts and abilities . So if that's the message of Jesus , which it is . You can look it up . In the Scriptures .

Speaker 2 10:42

You can find over 2,000 years of Christian teaching well then , what's the point of the church ?

Speaker 1 10:47

Well then , every church , every local church , therefore , should be a missionary center for recruiting , training and encouraging and sending out these intentional Christians , these Kingdom workers , out into the world to respond to the harvest of human need , to do what Jesus does .

Speaker 2 11:12

So I got a question as you ponder this or as you wrestle with this , or as you disagree with it internally .

Speaker 1 11:19

What is one major outcome of Jesus-like work , of Kingdom work ? Think about that .

Speaker 2 11:28

What's an outcome of Kingdom-like work of ?

Speaker 1 11:29

Jesus-like work . What should happen ? Let me ask it another way What's ? one major result , one major thing that should follow from faithful discipleship , faithful living our faith , faithful Christian life .

Healing and Living Out Your Faith

Speaker 1 11:46

There's lots of things , but one major one is healing , healing . Turn to somebody and say healing . Now just think about it think about it .

Speaker 1 12:00

wherever Jesus went , people were healed . Wherever the apostles went , people were healed . Wherever the saints went , people were healed . So check it out as it brings down to our level , because maybe we're not in those categories , including myself and not being in that category , Wherever faithful Christians are , people should be healed , encouraged , comforted , lifted up , forgiven and set free . So , wherever faithful Christians are now , maybe you and I are not- we're certainly not perfect .

Speaker 2 12:37

We certainly mess up .

Speaker 1 12:39

We certainly have some days where we have no motivation at all to do it , but hopefully you and I are trying , with God's help , to be faithful in some way . So wherever faithful Christians are , people should be healed , encouraged , comforted , lifted up , forgiven and set free in some measure , in some way . And so that is a measure of your faith in mind as individuals . And that's a measure of the quote success of this church A measure , not the only measure , but a measure .

Speaker 1 13:17

In other words looking at your life as an individual , your life as a couple , your life as a family . Can you say God has been using us to bring healing to our lives and to people around us ? Same ?

Speaker 2 13:29

question for our church . Is God using ?

Speaker 1 13:32

our church to bring healing to us and to the world around us . So I am not an emergency medical technician . I am not a medical doctor , And yet on that day I responded to the harvest of human need as I could .

Speaker 1 13:54

My part was very small , but it was significant . Now , when the experts arrive , the ambulances and all that and the police , what did I do ? I prayed for them . I prayed for the people who were hurt , and there were some people who were pretty seriously hurt . I prayed for all . And that's something you could always do whatever situation is before you , and you don't have to be a spiritual doctor or a spiritual technician , a priest or a friar , something like that .

Speaker 2 14:27

You don't even have to be overly religious .

Speaker 1 14:30

Our goal here is not to make you overly religious , to make you more fully human , a more loving human being , and so all you have to do is be someone who believes in . God and then tries to respond to the situations in your daily life with a little faith . That's the Apostolic Principle And the good news of the . Apostolic Principle is that when you and I fail in our faith , will we fail in our faith . Yes , jesus does what ?

Speaker 1 14:59

we cannot do and sustains us by His grace and forgiveness . And the further good news of the Apostolic Principle is that we do what Jesus does best when we live our faith in community with others . So , despite you , despite me , and because of me and you lives will be made better , encouraged , lifted up , forgiven and even transformed .

Speaker 2 15:32

This is what the Gospel is supposed to look like in everyday life , in the little messes and the big crashes .

Speaker 1 15:39

This is what Christianity is supposed to look like . This is your calling and mine , so let's live it together , amen .