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The gospel according to Matthew chapters 9 and 10. 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. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore 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. These 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, Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew the tax collector, James, son of Alpheus and Thaddeus, Simon the Canon, and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed him. These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions. Do not take a road leading to Gentiles, and do not enter a Samaritan town, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. As you go, proclaim the good news. The kingdom of heaven has come near. Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those with a skin disease, cast out demons. You received without payment, give without payment. Take no gold or silver or copper in your belts, no bag for your journey or two tunics or sandals or a staff, for laborers deserve their food. Whatever town or village you enter, find out who it in it is worthy, and stay there until you leave. As you enter the house, greet it. If the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it, but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. If any one will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet as you leave that house or town. Truly I tell you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town. I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Beware of them, for they will hand you over to councils and flog you in their synagogues, and you will be dragged before governors and kings because of me as a testimony to them and the Gentiles. When 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, for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of the Father speaking through you. Sibling will betray sibling to death, and a father his child and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, and you will be hated by all because of my name. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. When they persecute you in their town in this town, flee to the next, for truly I tell you, you will not have finished going through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes. This is the gospel of the Lord. You may be seated. I told folks last night that I think I took the wrong my uh niece's graduation was the wrong weekend, because you read this text and it's like, ooh, there is a lot in this text. So let us pray. Lord God, may the words of my mouth, the meditation of our hearts and minds be acceptable unto you, our rock and our redeemer. Amen. I have been doing a bit of driving lately, and I was thinking how much it's different to be the passenger in a vehicle versus when you are the one driving. And I think about this if you've ever experienced teaching a young person how to drive. Anyone had that experience? Might bring back some memories, maybe some not so good memories for some people. But going through that and you you work them through that, and they've been passengers a lot in vehicles, but it's very different when they get into that driver's seat. One, it's like, how do you do this? And the other is do you really know where you're going? You've been to maybe places before, but when you're the driver and nobody's telling you how to get there, are you going to remember how to get there? Now I have a colleague who got a phone call at one point from one of his young adult children, and they were across the state. It was their first time kind of driving by themselves a long distance, and they called and I could hear him, and they obviously had taken a wrong turn and they were a bit lost, and they wanted him to get them in the right place. And he's saying, Well, honey, I'm all the way across the state. I am not there with you, I'm not sure where you are. You need to find a gas station or a rest area or somebody who's actually there and they can help direct you. And he talked her down from her anxiety that she was feeling. And of course, she did. She found somebody to help her. But being a passenger and a driver is different. I remember as a teenager driving from southeastern Minnesota. I grew up in a town less than 100 people. My sister was at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, and I was driving up to go stay with her for the weekend, and I had a day off, so I was going to a class with her. I didn't know where I was going. It was the day of paper maps. You know, you have them printed out and you have to follow the directions, and I missed. I missed a turn somewhere, took an exit, and I had to figure it out. And I tell that story, and my parents think, what were we doing letting you drive up into Minneapolis? You had never done that before. But how do you learn just being in the passenger seat? Sometimes you have to learn by being in that driver's seat as well. Well, the Reverend William Willeman writes that up until this point, thinking about this gospel passage for today, the disciples have been passengers, and he's been doing the driving. The disciples have followed his lead, he's made the decisions, he's been the one spearheading the traveling, he's the one who is taught and healed. And now it's time for the disciples to become the passengers, the to become the drivers, because they are the ones being called and being sent out. Now think back to that reading from the gospel of Matthew and think back to all those challenges it sounds like they are going to face. It doesn't sound like a very easy thing. There are going to be many challenges and many, many places where they're going to find bumps along the way and they are going to feel lost. For they are told that the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. They're told to go not yet to all people, but go to first to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And they are asked to do, told to do, just a few simple things. Proclaim the good news, cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those with skin diseases, cast out demons, just a few things that they are told that they are to do. And then, this is again, I always, in my mind, I always think about what I'd like Jesus to say next. And I'd like him to hand them all their bag filled with the things that they're going to need for their journey so they'll be equipped and ready to go. And yet, not only does he not give them anything, but he tells them that they are to take no gold, silver, or copper in their belts, no bag for their journey, no tunics or sandals, no staff. If peace or worthiness is there, they can be there. If not, move on and get out of that place. And he lists, they are listed all by name. They are called disciples, and then they are called apostles because they're those who are being sent out. And then it's almost as if Jesus is saying, Well, good luck with that, and sends them on their way. How do you think they're feeling? Wait a minute, Jesus. We you've been the driver so far, and I thought I knew what was going on, but maybe I should have paid more attention. And I'm not sure I'm gonna know the way or what to do or what to say or how to say it or when to stay or when to go. I'm sure there were some feelings of being inadequate, there was nervousness. Maybe they're even questioning Jesus's choice of choosing them. Jesus, do you really know who you're picking? Do you remember where you found me? And this is your choice for being sent out and doing all these things that you have done before we have done. Because how many of them can actually do all those things without maybe messing up or somebody having an epic failure? But Jesus has this view that the disciples did not have and that we do not have as well. Jesus has this overarching view and knows why that they need to go out and why he is among the people. And they're forgetting that, and sometimes we do as well. He knows that he needs them and in turn needs us to reach out to all those who need to hear the good news, for he says, go and do likewise. All of those places and those people that need to hear that news. And I know there are times that I find myself maybe thinking of what I think the disciples think. Are you sure you've you want me, like you've called me to send me out? I feel a bit inadequate at times. So often the problem, Willeman writes about this text, the problem with Jesus is us. That we can believe in Jesus, but then we struggle, like the disciples, to think that Jesus believes in us that much to send us out. And yet Jesus did choose them and sent them out, and Jesus chooses me and chooses you and sends you out as well. We know it's difficult. There's all those difficulties listed in the gospel, and it's not any easier today to go out and share the good news. It can be easy to make believe in Jesus and love Jesus. It's another thing to love those that we are being sent out to, our neighbor. It's one thing to love and help the neighbor that we like. It's another to love and help the neighbor that we're not so sure about, the one who's pretty different than we are, the one that we don't agree with, the one that we'd rather not sit next to, and yet Jesus sends us out not simply for one, but for all. See, he's building the disciples up. Go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel first, but just wait for it. We're gonna expand this sending to include more people as well. But here's the thing: Jesus does not set them up for failure, does not set us up for failure in that sending out, even though it sounds like we take nothing with us. It's not that Jesus says, oh, good luck with that, I'm out of here. Because the presence of Christ, the gifts that God gives through Jesus, the strength of Jesus through the Holy Spirit that is with us, that goes with us when we go out. And it's not that we're one apostle being sent out singular, but we're apostles plural being sent out. We have shared apostleship, shared discipleship, shared leadership, and shared responsibility when we go out into the world. This loving our neighbor and being sent out business is not a solo act. It is what we are doing all together. Called together as the body of Christ. Jesus calls you not because you're perfect and not because everything will go as planned, but Jesus calls you. And I think that is amazing and good news that Jesus believes that much in you as the people of God. So what do we do? What do we do in turn? There's one simple thing we can do. It's a powerful act of faith. We believe. We believe that God is here and God is already at work, and then we jump in and join that work. We believe that we are not alone, that we have one another, that we have this power in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit that goes with us. And we believe that we are all called to be sent out as the body of Christ, that it takes many members to be the hands, feet, voice, and heart of Jesus in our community and in our world. We don't have to complicate it. I know I do often complicate it. It's this simple act to be called and to go. And if it doesn't go well, we try again because we are God's people. And then we realize that it wasn't our idea. This is Jesus' idea. So Jesus has this idea that we will come together to follow Him and then to be sent and to go. And you have those gifts among you when we add us all up together. And you have the guidance of the Holy Spirit with you. You will be provided strength when you feel weak. And you will be provided with partners and faith when you feel like you are alone. So go and do and be the people of God because Jesus chooses you. Amen.