Larry E. Lenow
FUMC
6-15-08
Pentecost 5A
“A Big Job”
Text: Matthew 9:35-10:8
I have always felt a little sympathy for St. Joseph. You know, Joseph, the carpenter, husband of Mary, Holy Family, no room at the end, flight to Egypt, that Joseph. It just seems to me that Joseph never gets his fair share. In much of Christendom, Mary, his wife has a following only slightly less than Jesus: Notre Dame, the Ave Maria, there is a whole culture around Mary. And Joseph, what does Joseph get? When people want to sell their houses they bury little statues of Joseph upside down in the yard! I don’t mean to ridicule and make fun. By the way, the burying of statues is not sanctioned by the Roman Catholic Church, but you do know where that folk custom comes from? Joseph is associated with home sales and moving both because Joseph led the holy family in moving, fleeing to Egypt and later returning to Nazareth but even more because Joseph provided a safe and stable home for Jesus and Mary. The character of Joseph and the aforementioned disparity seems to me appropriate images for Father’s Day. Most Father’s are unsung, often underappreciated heroes. And most fathers that I know don’t crave the attention. In fact, quite the opposite seems true. “Man up, take care of business, get the job done” seems to be the attitude. Good fathers, with the strength, the stability, the responsibility they teach are critical in the lives of children. Now, it’s not just a gender thing, single mothers and military wives whose husbands are away on long deployments can and do step into that role. But Fathers are not an accessory, they are not an option. Fathers, as our society is once again learning, are important.
I’m actually not sure how most people mark Father’s Day because for me Father’s Day is the start of Annual Conference. At least it has been most years. For the uninitiated, Annual Conference is a yearly gathering of Untied Methodists. We are part of the Virginia Annual Conference so obviously ours is United Methodists from around the Commonwealth. But the Conference has about two thousand members, half are clergy and half are laity representing each of our churches. It is a time of worship and celebration, ordination and communion. But it is also a time of discussion and debate, decision-making and planning, long sessions and hard work. Clergy and laity, young and old, men and women we roll up our sleeves, take care of business and get the job done.
Those images, parents in homes, church leaders at Conference, those realities bring me to the gospel this morning. Matthew says that when Jesus was about all the cities and villages, teaching, proclaiming the good news, curing diseases and sicknesses. He saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. My friends do not let that image pass without notice. Watch the evening news tonight. Read today’s newspaper. Visit any school. Walk into your child’s bedroom. He had compassion on them because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
So what does Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh, the Eternal Son, Lord of Heaven and Earth do? He turns to his disciples. He turns to his disciples and says to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers in to his harvest.” Incidentally, if you take Jesus at his word, if you do ask the lord of the harvest to send out laborers into the harvest, do you have any idea how the Lord of the harvest usually responds? You. You do it. You go into the harvest. These disciples Jesus sends out with the following instructions: As you go, proclaim the good news, ‘The kingdom of God has come near’, cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the leper, cast out demons. Jesus teaches them, he instructs them, he charges them and empowers them to do exactly what he himself does. This is one of the deepest mysteries of the gospel. That the Eternal, omnipotent, omniscient Lord of the universe takes his mission and message and puts it in the hands of the likes of you and me. Things would work a lot smoother if God would just do it himself, but God is insistent on us doing it.
One must be very careful about your own children in sermons. So parents, I invite you to think back on your own experience of teaching your children to drive a car. I am guessing that it was not an entirely painless experience. I distinctly remember as fourteen year old shakily guiding a car in the country. At one point I slammed my right foot on the accelerator and my left foot on the brake simultaneously. My father calmly leaned over toward me and said, “If you use that left foot again, I’m going to break it.” My Dad has never been a violent man, but neither is he a man to be trifled with.” I never used the left foot again. How much easier it would be to hand a child a driver’s manual, sign them up for a class and hope for the best. How much easier it would be to simply drive them around. But would-be drivers need practice; they need that combination of patience and pushing, encouragement and growling; they need very close supervision; and they need a safety net wherein they can develop experience and confidence. And if you give that, if you provide that then you reach the gut-churning ordeal of letting them take a car out while you wait in fear and anxiety. Parenting is not for sissies. Now, knowing that can you even try to imagine how difficult, how painful, how gut-wrenching it must be for Christ to entrust his ministry to us? Like a loving and responsible parent God has put us behind the wheel of a very important and powerful vehicle. He saw the crowds and had compassion on them because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. And he sent out his disciples, and he sent out us to minister to the world God loves so much.
Fathers - and mothers – but today especially fathers, yours is a sacred responsibility. You can model for your children that there is a difference between right and wrong, that honesty and integrity and responsibility are not just old and obsolete concepts. You and only you can teach your children that real men worship God, care for weak and vulnerable, respect women and care about honor. Ask the Lord of the harvest to end laborers into the harvest which will lead right into the heart of your home. That is what God has entrusted to you. Don’t take that for granted.
This job is in the home but it does not stay in the home. When we gather for Annual Conference today, thousands of clergy and laity worshipping together it is an impressive experience, but it doesn’t mean much. It doesn’t mean much, by that I mean we’re not going to bring in the Kingdom all clustered in a Convention Center, wearing name badges and carrying packets. It only means something in so far as we, lay and clergy represent something much bigger, only in so far as we represent the church, you, every one of you a disciple, every one a minister, every one taking up that mantle God has placed on us.
Proclaim the good news, cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the leper, cast out demons. Right now I invite you think about tangible ways you can serve God. Visiting someone who is lonely, talking with someone going through hard times, getting your family to church, feeding the hungry, losing the attitude that it’s the job of the hired help, stepping up to offer your service, paying the bills, wrestling with the problems, committing yourself to changing the world, being an example. It’s a big job. Joseph did it. The disciples did it. Our fathers and mothers have done it through the ages. There’s little appreciation, no glory or fanfare. But it’s the job our God has entrusted to us. But God is counting on us. It’s a big job. Roll up your sleeves. Take care of business. Get the job done.