6^th Sunday after Pentecost – Year C

July 4, 2010    

(Isaiah 66:10-14, Psalm 66:1-9, Galatians 6:1-16, Luke 10:1-11, 16-20)

Grace and Peace be to you from God our Father and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  Amen

In the days following September 11^th 2001 I read through the book of Lamentations.  That book seemed to me to be just the right piece of sacred scripture that could give voice to the feelings of devastation and horror in those days.  And it sure did.  The book pours out to God the author’s feelings of despair and hopelessness in the face of Jerusalem ’s destruction.  The author, who traditionally is said to be the prophet Jeremiah, even goes so far as to say that God has willfully ignored the people’s prayers.  God has turned his back on them.  God has turned a deaf ear to their pleading.  Only briefly in the third chapter does the author speak any word of hope.  The rest of the book is pure pain and suffering. 

Not too long after I read and re-read Lamentations, the Lutheran Seminary in Gettysburg offered a class on Lamentations to be taught by Professor Brooks Schramm.  I signed up for it right away.  We delved into the historical situation of the book – the devastation experienced by the inhabitants of Jerusalem as the city fell to the Babylonians in the year 586 BC.  We explored the glorious note of hope that is expressed only once in the whole work.  And most interesting to me, we discussed how the middle chapters of the book of Isaiah speak to and answer the grief and anguish of Lamentations.  The Book of Comfort (Chapters 40-66 in Isaiah) responds to Lamentations.  The author of the second Isaiah chapters had obviously read or heard the book of Lamentations.  His response or rebuttal is contained in these glorious chapters extolling the beauty of Jerusalem .  He describes the city as a blessed woman, caring for her children in a time of prosperity. 

I love this concept of a sacred conversation being carried out within and among the books of the Bible.  Throughout history the people of God were inspired by God to write out their experiences in the context of the relationship they shared with God.  It was a lively discussion which spanned the centuries and which continues to this day.  The canon is now closed, of course, so no more books may be added to Scripture.  And that’s OK.  The whole of human experience and every human emotion is already there in Scripture.  God’s Word is alive and dynamic because we can see our modern selves reflected in those ancient people who struggled with the very same issues as we do, albeit in a different time and in a different place.  

On this holiday weekend, we ask God to bless our nation, the United States of America , and we wonder if he will.  Will our Lady Liberty, the personification of our nation, be described as an accursed woman who is so shamed and so desperate that she would eat her own children in order to survive? Or is Lady Liberty more accurately portrayed as a blessed woman, the mother of flourishing and happy children?

Today in worship, we are asked to broaden our viewpoint beyond just our own nation to see that God the Father created all the peoples of the earth and that to God belongs the praise of all nations.  In the midst of a summer exploding with nationalism (World Cup soccer and Le Tour de France) we are reminded here in worship that to God alone belongs the glory.  To him alone do we owe all of our praise.  He is the one true King.  So it doesn’t really matter if we are all Americans or if some among us still revere Her Majesty Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, of Great Britain , Ireland , and the British Dominions beyond the Seas, Queen, and Defender of the Faith.  None of that matters when it comes to worship.  We are all children of God.  We live out our lives in one particular nation, but we all belong ultimately to the Lord.

To be sure, some degree of nationalism is good and healthy.  It’s important because it spurs us to do our best for our nation and to care deeply about our fellow Americans.  But St. Paul reminds us that whatever we sow we shall reap.  This is true in our daily lives as individuals and together as a community. 

On this July 4^th weekend we are reminded of our true vocation.  It is not to make the most money.  It is not to crush our enemies under our feet with overwhelming might.  It is not to make ourselves blissfully happy while others around us suffer.  Christ gives us all a job to do.  Christ offers 100% employment.  We are called, gathered, and sent out into the harvest.  We are to work for the kingdom of God .

And we get this important job when we are baptized.  We go about doing as Christ directs – all the while trusting in him and assuming that whatever is required to achieve God’s purposes will be given to us by God.  We do not work alone.  We employ the buddy system as we are sent out to share the Gospel. 

Some of those whom we meet along the way will be receptive to the Word of God.  Others will reject it.  The word of God is not always pleasant, but it is still God’s holy word.  We must proclaim it faithfully.  Whether people accept it or reject it – that’s not our concern.  We are not to worry about the results.  We are to pay attention to our faithfulness in the mission placed before us.

We know that we will succeed because Christ has already won the victory for us.  Even those seventy disciples who were sent out before Christ’s Cross and Resurrection saw amazing results in their work:  Satan falling from heaven; the ability to face danger and squash it; and their names written in heaven.  But time is of the essence!   When harvest season comes, all hands are needed to work together with a common purpose in order to bring in the harvest before it is lost or spoiled.

For the sake of the Lord’s harvest we risk much and to be able to do just that, the Lord gives us grace to trust him and to be dedicated to him.  We function with the assurance of God’s grace poured out upon us so that we can be gracious as we work.  We expect to be well received, but are never surprised when we are rejected.

At the end of their assignment the seventy return with joy and make their report.  They have seen and done amazing things in their journey.  Even though Christ sent them out from him to go ahead of him – his power, presence, grace, and peace was with them the whole time.  And even though they appeared to be just a simple band of rag tag disciples wandering around the countryside – in fact they were fighting Satan and proclaiming the coming of the Messiah. 

Likewise, we too are working for the King.  We too are involved in a great work that has everlasting consequences.  We boast not in our own accomplishments, but it the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.  We boast not of what our nation had done, but instead we rejoice because our names are written in heaven.  We sing the praises of God who works for us, through us, and in us.  God enters into human history and acts to save us.  He has done this repeatedly in the past.  The biblical authors recorded it for us.  We immerse ourselves in scripture so that as God enters into history again we will be ready and able to recognize him.  We learn from the experience of our ancestors in the faith whether their experience was good or bad.  We praise God – the one King over all nations – the ruler of our hearts and all of our days.

This ongoing dialog of faith spans our whole lives.  It continues across the generations and is not limited to any one nation.  It’s also not controlled by human beings.  God has his own purposes that (for some reason) he wants to include us in on.  We work for him.  His work is faithfully carried on during times of desolation and during times of rejoicing.  We sing praises to the great high King.  We sing at all times and in all places.  We sing because the Lord gives us a peace that the world does not understand, but yet desperately longs to hear.  In Christ the kingdom of God has come very near to us. We feast on his body and blood.  We are called, gathered, and then sent out from here today to sing of God’s praises and to work for his Kingdom – even if it is a holiday weekend!

Thanks be to God!  Amen