June 14, 2020 – Matthew 9:35-10:23
Matthew 9:35-10:23
Making God Credible in the World
Lectionary 11A – June 14, 2020
First Lutheran Church – Winnipeg, MB
When we say that Jesus was “God incarnate” or “God in the flesh,”
what are we really saying?
We are saying that Jesus made the love of the Triune God visible, and real, and tangible.
He put flesh on the notion that, as First John has it, God is love.
God. Is. Love.
Wherever he went, people experienced the love of God.
When he healed the ill, they experienced the love of God.
When he fed the hungry, they experienced the love of God.
When he forgave the sinful, they experienced the love of God.
And when he included the excluded, they experienced the love of God.
In this way, the love of the Triune God was made real and tangible.
As it says at the very beginning of the Gospel reading today,
Jesus went about curing “every disease and every sickness.” (Matthew 9:35)
And so people believed that there was a God of love at work in the world.
In her column this week, Debie Thomas relates a story told by former Archbishop of Canterbury
Rowan Williams in his book, Tokens of Trust: An Introduction to Christianity.
It concerns a young Jewish woman named Etty Hillesum during the occupation of Holland
by the Germans in the 1940s.
She was not a religious person but as her world descended into tragedy and death,
she became deeply aware of God’s presence in her life.
Eventually she was shipped to the gas chambers at Auschwitz.
Along the way, she wrote these words:
There must be someone to live through it all and bear witness to the fact that God lived, even in these times. And why should I not be that witness?
Williams goes on to describe how Etty Hillesum decided to live in light of this:
She decided to occupy a certain place in the world, a place where others could somehow connect with God through her. She took responsibility for making God credible in the world. She took responsibility for God’s believability.
This is very like what Jesus is asking the disciples to do in the Gospel reading.
He is asking them to take responsibility for making God credible in the world,
for making God believable.
He is asking them to continue and expand his work,
his work of giving flesh to God’s word of love.
What does Matthew say that Jesus sends them to do, after all?
He sends them to “cure every disease and every sickness,” (Matthew 10:1)
the exact same words used to describe Jesus’ ministry just a few verses earlier!
They are called to make God and God’s love credible, believable.
As Etty Hillesum might say, Why should they not be that witness?
Why not, indeed.
I don’t know about Etty Hillesum, but the group of disciples Jesus addressed
was not particularly promising.
They are regular people, with their own shortcomings and limited abilities.
They do not have M.D.s and they do not have nursing degrees.
They don’t even have M.Div.s!
And how equipped are they even spiritually?
They will doubt, they will be lazy at times and they will be fearful.
One of them will lose his integrity and betray Jesus to the authorities –
yet Matthew records that even Judas was given the ability and gifts for healing.
No a promising bunch, really – they are not that different from us!
And yet – what happens?
They cure the sick, feed the hungry, forgive the sinful, repair relationships –
They even raise the dead.
They do what Jesus does.
They are not only sent “by” Jesus – in a sense they are sent “as” Jesus.
It is not easy.
In the second half of the reading, Jesus will give them some good advice – hard won, no doubt.
He expresses to them the urgency of the task – many are suffering,
many are in need of healing and of God’s justice right now.
He expresses to them that it’s fine to expect receive compensation in food and lodging for
their work – nothing else is needed and may well be a distraction.
He tells them not to worry about those who do not want what they have to offer –
if there are people who do not want the wholeness you are offering,
shake the dust of that town off your feet – and head on down to the next one.
As many of you know, I often quote this saying of Jesus when there are those in your life who
do not want to be reconciled, or who do not want the love and care you offer them.
You can’t make them want to receive it – it is okay to let it go – and head on down the road
and offer it to someone who does.
Finally, Jesus assures them . . . that although it will be hard – very hard –
God will be with them.
And God will enable them to make the Triune God’s love credible.
They have what they need for the things God is calling them to do.
Last week we heard the very last words of Matthew’s Gospel:
Go, Jesus said to them, Go make disciples from among all peoples, nurturing diverse, loving
communities that reflect the Triune God and participate in its work.
I mentioned that the disciples’ response was not recorded.
And that maybe the reason is that it doesn’t matter what the disciples way back then did.
But it does matter very much what we do.
Friends, we are in the middle of a dark time.
COVID-19 has devastated communities and families across the world.
Isolation and physical distancing has wreaked havoc on personal finances and
the global economy.
Systemic racism has led to murder and racial tensions have led to violence and distrust.
But it is just such as time as this when we are called – just like those disciples long ago –
to take responsibility for making God credible in the world.
That responsibility can take many forms.
Many of us are taking responsibility for checking in with one another at a time when
we cannot physically meet.
Many are taking responsibility by continuing to ensure that our ministries are fully funded
even though they cannot put a physical offering on an offering plate.
Many are taking responsibility by ensuring that our food banks are funded and can
continue to be the places of inclusion and welcome and Christian hospitality
they are intended to be.
Many are taking responsibility by ensuring our ministries to and with refugees,
immigrants, and New Canadians are effective and nurtured.
It’s all part of making God credible in the world.
It’s all part of making God believable in the world.
It’s all part of being a witness.
Etty Hillesum asked herself why she should not be such a witness.
Perhaps we should be asking ourselves on this day:
Why should that witness not be us?
Let us continue to take that responsibility together.
Amen.
Pastor Michael Kurtz
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