7-6-25.    Luke 10:1-11, 16-20

1 After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go. 2 He said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. 3 Go on your way; I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves. 4 Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals, and greet no one on the road. 5 Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this house!’ 6 And if a person of peace is there, your peace will rest on that person, but if not, it will return to you. 7 Remain in the same house, eating and drinking whatever they provide, for the laborer deserves to be paid. Do not move about from house to house. 8 Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you; 9 cure the sick who are there, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ 10 But whenever you enter a town and they do not welcome you, go out into its streets and say, 11 ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest against you. Yet know this: the kingdom of God has come near.’
  16 “Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever rejects you rejects me, and whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.”
  17 The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us!” 18 He said to them, “I watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning. 19 Indeed, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will hurt you. 20 Nevertheless, do not rejoice at this, that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

May the peace of the Lord rest on you and your house as you welcome the Lord through the door.

We are given another instance in Jesus’ ministry where a major component of his message is one of offering peace. Imagine two strangers showing up at your door, having walked there barefoot, carrying no backpack. What might be your first thought? Yet, their greeting is one of peace. You have heard and shared a request for peace to be given to each other many times in this building. I would have you do so now, especially offer it to those you do not know so well.  [Share the peace]

Let’s go back to the experience of these followers of Jesus, who were paving the way for him, by sharing this peace. They were the heralds announcing the one who would soon be arriving. The promotional message used to prepare the people was one of peace. The response that was sought from the recipients, was one of acceptance and hospitality, which would be a demonstration that peace had come and was welcomed by them.

This experience was to teach those 72 exactly what Jesus meant when he spoke of a plentiful harvest.  It is like Paul wrote to the Galatians: “You reap whatever you sow…Let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up. Whenever we have an opportunity, let us work for the good of all, and especially for those of the family of faith.” (Gal 6:7,9-10)  We hear that when they returned from this adventure they were very excited by the responses they had received and by the authoritative power that they were able to utilize.

The source of that authority is important to understand. It is not dependent on anything we have achieved, gained by knowledge, or purchased. We hear Jesus bid them to make clear to those who accepted the peace, and also to those who rejected that gift, “The kingdom of God has come near.” So, it is God’s rule which is the source of the authority that offers the peace and healing. It was also the very authority of God that was being rejected by those who did not welcome his ambassadors.

The peace you shared with each other this day may seem to be a different matter – more of a friendly hello, how are you, sort of greeting, with a religious flavor added. Well, my friends, it is to be much more. We share this peace by the very authority of our Lord and Savior. We offer peace by the power of the Holy Spirit. We acknowledge the God and Father of our Lord as the source bringing a peace that is meant to deliver the assurance the “your name is written in heaven.”

The acceptance of this peace, a recognition that it is indeed yours to experience and utilize in your life, is dependent upon your trust in that word. We hear about that concept of trust in this story when Jesus tells the 72 that they were to carry no purse, no bag, and no sandals, for they were being “sent out like lambs into the midst of wolves.”  Hardly a comforting image! Yet it is apt because to trust is to return to an innocence and dependence that leaves us vulnerable, rather like a lamb. And that lamb has to depend on its shepherd and the flock to survive.

At camp, at group training events, and other instructional occasions, there is a demonstration used to help teach about trust. Perhaps you have participated in such an event. The group forms a tight circle facing the center. One volunteer is in the center. They are told to hold themselves in a stiff stance, not fold up, and to fall backwards. The person then falls toward one in the circle who is to catch them and then also to toss them on to another, in the circle. That volunteer then is passed around being caught and bounced to others who also catch them and pass them on. That is true and works well, but only if that volunteer trusts the others and they live up to that trust. For teams it can be very necessary to develop that sort of trust, for firefighters, law officers, sport teams ....  For the volunteer in the middle, it can be very scary. You must give up that personal control and put yourself into the very hands of others. Yet, trust really is exactly that – giving yourself over into the hands, the ‘handling’, of another! 

We are to learn here that peace, the peace that flows from Jesus, which ushers us into the very kingdom of God, is there for us. God would have you know and live in peace.  For you to make use of that peace, for you to recognize that gift, is dependent on your trust. The kingdom of God is near, may you know the peace which that truth brings to you.