8^th Sunday after Pentecost at Epiphany on July 26, 2009

Mark 6:7 Calling the Twelve to him, he sent them out two by two and gave them authority over evil spirits. ⁸ These were his instructions: "Take nothing for the journey except a staff-- no bread, no bag, no money in your belts. ⁹ Wear sandals but not an extra tunic. ¹⁰ Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that town. ¹¹ And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave, as a testimony against them." ¹² They went out and preached that people should repent. ¹³ They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.

The Second String

The second string is never as exciting as the first string. When Tiger Woods plays in a golf tournament, attendance and excitement go up. When he isn’t there, the fans are disappointed. Preseason football games are never as exciting as the games that count. Fans want to see the stars. Minor League baseball is okay, but we know it’s not the real thing. When the understudy in a play on Broadway gives the star a night off, it’s just not the same. The second string is never as exciting as the first string.

On His third tour through Galilee, Jesus brought His good news to the smaller towns and villages. In order to multiply His ministry, Jesus sent out His twelve disciples, two-by-two, into the towns and villages. Up until this time Jesus has been the One going out and doing some pretty miraculous things! He cleanses lepers, heals fevers, and enables the paralyzed to walk again. He forgives sins, heals a man with a withered hand, and calms a storm on the Sea of Galilee. He heals a woman after she simply touches the hem of His garment, has demons begging for mercy and He even raised to life a little girl who was dead. Yes, if you lived in Galilee in those days and heard that Jesus was coming to your town, you were excited! The first string, all-star champion was coming your way! You would be ready!

But how, then, would you react when you looked down the street and saw that it wasn’t Jesus coming after all, but only a pair of His disciples? A pair of guys just like yourself? Ex-fishermen, ex-tax collectors, ex-who-knows-what-else, guys you saw at the market just the other day! What a let down! What a jip! We were really hoping for the real thing. We were really hoping for Jesus.

The second string is never as exciting as the first string.

Isn’t that the reaction of some people … many people ... even us … when we come here, into the church? We heard this was God’s house. We heard the people here were “spirit-filled.” But the guy in the pulpit? He’s just a guy who grew up on a farm and didn’t want to do physical labor any more. He’s an ordinary guy. He’s one of us. And the people in the pews? Nothing special. People who can’t sing very well, but they sin pretty well. Normal people who go to work every day and do their jobs and take care of their families. It all looks pretty ordinary. And when we entered the heavy doors to the church this morning, we were really hoping for the real thing. We were really hoping for Jesus. This isn’t really what we were looking for. Not really what we had in mind. Thanks anyway.

As Jesus sent out His disciples, He told them some places, or many places, would not receive them. Many would not listen to them. People just aren’t going to want to hear the proclamation that they should repent. They didn’t want to hear it from Amos or the other Old Testament prophets, and they were not going to want to hear it from them – especially from a bunch of uncultured, unsophisticated, second-string disciples who themselves needed to repent!

People in the pews will go home and commit the sins that the pastor just railed on a few hours ago from the pulpit. Married couples in crisis will do exactly the opposite of what their Christian marriage counselor instructed them to do to save their marriage. Coworkers caught in a downward spiraling sinful lifestyle will continue to refuse your invitations to come and worship with you at church. Dying family members will continue to reject your persistent pleas to get to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

If you receive that kind of reception (and you will) – Jesus says don’t worry about it. Shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them, and move on. Don’t get bogged down. Move on. Keep proclaiming. Keep going. There are others who are longing to hear the Gospel. There are many more whom God wishes to save. They aren’t rejecting you. They are rejecting Jesus. They aren’t refusing the messenger. They are refusing the Message. I know that’s easy to say, but remember, the disciples were going out without anything except a walking staff and the shoes on their feet! Their food, water, clothing and shelter depended on these people to whom they were going and telling that they needed to repent! And all without Jesus there to help them!

Ah, but that’s the thing – Jesus was there to help them! Before they left, Jesus gave them His authority. They were able to drive out many demons. They were able to heal many sick people. When they spoke, it was as if Jesus Himself were there speaking! And we find out they weren’t the second string after all! Rather, it was as if Jesus were multiplying Himself, so that His authority was being spoken in many places at the same time, instead of just in one place. It was as if Jesus was going out to all the crowds, instead of all the crowds coming to Him. And so the twelve disciples weren’t going out as themselves, but as representatives, as ambassadors, of the One who sent them, with His full authority and power to speak His Word and to speak in His Name. When they arrived, it was as if Jesus Himself arrived.

There is nothing special about the man you called to be your pastor or about the people you called to be your grade school teachers. Remember the other messengers God has used? He used a donkey to speak to Balaam. Surely God can speak through me then. God used a drunken sailor to preach repentance before the Flood. He used a murderous, adulterous king to write beautiful psalms to sing in church. He used deniers and doubters and persecutors to spread the Christian Church throughout the Middle East and southern Europe. Surely God can use any of you in His Gospel ministry. He can use you in the public ministry as a pastor, teacher, staff minister or missionary. He can use you in the private ministry as a Sunday School teacher, VBS volunteer, pianist, organist or accompanist, choir member, evangelist or as a daily Christian witness to your friends and family. 

Remember, God doesn’t need you and me to do His work. We are expedient messengers, ambassadors by His kindness, not by our cleverness. It’s not about us. Our message is about Someone else. We have this treasure in jars of clay. In fact, you could say that some of us are “cracked pots.”

Yet we preach and teach and share a powerful message. We take nothing with us – not provisions or possessions, wit or worldly wisdom. We go with the authority of Jesus Christ.

What started with the disciples is still going on in the Church. It is as if Jesus is still multiplying Himself, so that His authority is being spoken in many places at the same time. It is as if Jesus is going out to the crowds, in many places and countries, all at the same time. Jesus has given His Word and authority to His Church, to speak and act in His Name. And when the called ministers of Jesus speak and act in His Name, it is not the second string! It is as if Jesus Himself were speaking and acting!

So when you hear the words of Absolution spoken to you – “as a called servant of Christ and by his authority, I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” – your sins are forgiven. Those are not mere words! They are, as Martin Luther wrote in the Small Catechism, “just as valid and certain ... as if Christ our dear Lord dealt with us Himself.” His Words, His authority. That is God forgiving your sins. And when you hear “I baptize you in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” that is a baptism done not merely by the hands of men, but by the One whose Word and authority are poured out. That is God pouring out His forgiveness on you. His Words, His authority. And when you hear “this is My body ... this is My blood” the bread and wine don’t change because of the power of the one speaking those words, but because of the power of the One whose words they are. His Words, His authority.

When you are disciplining your rebellious child or sharing your faith with a lost soul or testifying to God’s truth to an unbeliever or consoling a loved one in the hospital, you may have no idea what to say. But Jesus reassures you, “Do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.” (Matthew 10:19-20) His Words, His authority. When you come in for counseling, the words and advice the pastor give you are not his own, but He is speaking for God. It is God who is repairing your broken marriage, healing your hurting body, comforting your grieving soul. His Words, His authority.

In every instance you are giving or being given Jesus. You are not being short-changed or second-stringed. You aren’t being let down or jipped. The incarnate, crucified, risen, and ascended Christ is here for you – speaking to you, forgiving you, healing you, cleansing you, adopting you, touching you, exorcising the demons of your sins and your past, and making you His own. The Church may not look that impressive, the pastor may not be the most eloquent, the people may stumble over their words and the building is full of sinners. That’s all true. But the presence of Christ depends on none of that! No, He is here because this is where (in His wisdom) He has chosen to be and promised to be.

Jesus is here for us. And now we go for Him. Keep going. Keep preaching. Keep teaching. Keep proclaiming. There will be rejection, yes. But our strength comes not from those to whom we are sent – whether they like us or receive our message or not. Our strength comes from Him who has chosen us and sends us and has made us His own. His Words, His authority, His presence.

What was true of those first disciples is also true of us. When the disciples’ stomachs began to growl or they were looking for shelter for the night, it simply was not an option to tone down their message to make it more palatable and get what they needed. These were not their words. What these twelve disciples spoke and what they did was to give the people Jesus. And if that meant that they would go wanting, if that meant that they would be persecuted, or if that meant that they would be rejected – they had to be ready for that. This was no small thing the disciples were doing!

And this is no small thing, what we are given here, and what we are given to give here! These are the things for the life of the world. These are the things through which our crucified and resurrected Christ gives Himself to the world, to us. His Word, His washing, His Supper. His flesh and blood giving life to our flesh and blood. His Word raising us from being dead in trespasses and sins. His water cleansing us from the leprosy of our sin. His Supper strengthening us to stand against the assaults of this world. Your Lord is here. This is no pale comparison, no second string! He is here, to give you all that you need and exactly what you need. To give you Himself. Amen.