SUNDAY SERMON: Learning the Hard Way
By Rev. Stephen Baldwin
NT: Luke 10.1-11, 16-20
Yesterday, I spent a long time getting ready for a trip we are taking after church today. We are heading out on a family vacation. Which is exciting–see new places, do some fishing and golfing, and most importantly, sleep in!
But getting ready for a trip is not exciting, am I right? Packing is only a notch or two above moving in the list of un-pleasant chores. What’s the weather going to be like? What kind of clothes do I need? Is it going to rain? Umbrella rain or jacket rain? Did I forget the sunscreen and bugspray? Do we have enough snacks and entertainment for the car ride? Where’s the tackle box? Did we put the golf balls and shoes in with the clubs? And that’s all for a road trip! If you’re flying, forget about it.
I much prefer Jesus’ strategy for traveling–don’t take anything. No purse, no luggage, no extra shoes, and don’t stop to talk to the guy from Michigan waiting in the bathroom line at Buc-ee’s, for heaven’s sake.
Instead, Jesus says: Go with the clothes on your back and the shoes on your feet. Nothing else. Depend on the kindness of strangers. Eat what is placed before you.
Jesus gave this instruction not just to his best leaders. Not just to the twelve disciples. He sent out 70 people in teams of two to villages all around. Without money or plans or contacts or provisions. They took the clothes on their back, the shoes on their feet, and the promise of a kingdom coming.
Why would he do such a thing? You would never travel to Myrtle Beach without a place to stay, a credit card, and your beach clothes, even if half the population are West Virginians, would you? Why does Jesus send out 70 followers with nothing?
If it’s anything like usual, it’s probably to teach them a lesson. Imagine you are in one of those pairs. You travel a long way, your feet are tired, your belly is growling, and when you finally get to the place Jesus sent you, you are in need of hospitality. Jesus promises someone will take you in. If they don’t, go on to the next village. Someone there will.
I suspect the lesson he’s teaching them is how to receive hospitality. Because they were already good at providing it. Like us, I’m sure they had memorized the story of the Good Samaritan and knew how to take care of others in need. But what about when the shoe is on the other foot?
A good friend of mine went on a road trip not too long ago. He doesn’t have extra resources. Going on a trip, a meager one at that, was already a stretch of his finances. He traveled via Greyhound, and at one bus stop he met a man who was hungry. He not only shared the snacks he’d packed for the road, but he also used some of the little money he had to buy the man a full meal.
Why would he do such a thing? Because he knew what it was like to be that man, to be in need of hospitality. And even if it was hard for him, he didn’t have to think twice about whether he should help. Because he’d learned the hard way that God’s grace is always sufficient.
Most of us who go to church in America today are among the world’s most fortunate people. We have everything we need, and if we don’t have it now…we can usually get it. And this passage is for us who live so well.
Pack light, friends. Jesus is still on the way to Jerusalem, marching to stand against the powers of this world proclaiming a new kingdom to come. He still calls us to follow him along the way, relying not on what we have but on all he can give. We don’t need the stuff. We need him. And once you feel like you’ve got that figured out, he will put you in a position where you have to rely on only what he gives you. It will feel like it’s not enough, but it will be sufficient.
God’s gifts are always sufficient. Sometimes we just have to learn it the hard way. Amen.
