for example, most of the summer is dull as all the kids and their families disappear as soon as the school year ends. and since our vbs is not til august, that means that numerous won't be around at all this summer.
but i have had a few really good experiences.
like a week-long mission trip. i and cory (the two chaperones) took four kids (3 boys and 1 girl) from bemidji to new london, wisconsin. we worked at a workcamp through TeenServe. it was a fantastic experience as we spent several hours each day working on various projects to spruce up homes in the new london area. my crew (one of 59) worked on a two story victorian house, scraping paint, priming and painting the four colors. it was quite the process. but it was a lot of fun to meet the other 5 members of my crew. we were from 6 towns/cities in 4 different states. and we enjoyed meeting our "residents" who were extremely hospitable and friendly: melissa and her mother jean, aka granny.
every evening was spent in worship and listening to a speaker. the band, fourth in the fire, was fantastic and perfect for the teens to get really into the music as it had times for both jumping around and for calming down meditatively. and the speaker, mike guzzardo, was phenomenal.
i really enjoyed the overall experience, even if the latest i woke up on any given day was 6:20 am and if lights out was 10:30 pm.
it was truly one of those mountain-top experiences that re-energizes you for coming back down the mountain to "reality."
sadly enough, whenever i have such experiences, i always seem to fall down cliffs. no gradual return but a steep drop-off.
like finding out sunday morning that the house i've been staying sold. which is great news for the owners of the house. i'm truly happy for them. but i'm also extremely irked that they didn't have the decency to call and tell me that they want me out of the house by the 15th of july. which will happen, but i'm still upset that they didn't tell me. even when i called to let them know that there was some mail at the house for them. no, they called and let the church office know. but since i wasn't there (they knew i was out of state), they were safe in not having to talk to me directly, which they have not done for quite some time. but no one contacted me. and pastor mark had thought they would have done so, so when he was talking to me before the church service yesterday, he assumed i knew. and i did not. which meant that i found out the disturbing news that i would have to be moving out of the house in 5 days. because i found out on july 4, went home for the 4th-5th, and leave for camp on the 10th. which means that i will be moving on friday, july 9. if it works. if it doesn't, then my landlords will just have to wait for me to move on the 17th-18th, which is when i am back from camp. ugh.
but i went back to the family to escape a bit for the holiday. and it was a lot of fun to be around my family once again. i also got a lot more info about what krissa is going through with her injury. from learning where she's still numb (which makes it weird to see your limbs moving despite not feeling them) to seeing her wounds and just how weak she is.
it's amazing how nice it is to just sit around and do nothing with people i love. now if only my spiritual recharge wasn't already emptied as i'm dreading the next couple days of craziness with packing and moving while still going to work...
here is my sermon from yesterday morning (yup, i had to preach the very morning after returning from my mission trip) without a few of the extra stories from the trip that i had included in with the sermon as i preached:
Today’s text has a great message for us all. I love how easy it is to imagine us in a similar situation.
So, picture Jesus standing around a large group of people ready and anxious to get out and do something.
Have you ever been part of an organized volunteer day?
Helped out with the census or some other poll?
Any situation where a group gathers around a focal person before receiving an assignment and being sent in a direction?
I remember times like this. At my college for our community service day the hundreds of volunteers would gather in the chapel before being commissioned out into the community for the day.
At camp, the staff or campers or volunteers would be told which part of the camp to go clean up.
Or, in the case of 6 of us from Bethel this past week, at TeenServe where hundreds gathered at a middle school in New London, Wisconsin to find out which crew we were assigned to.
There are countless other examples. So pick one that you remember and put Jesus in the leader’s role with you as one of the many followers awaiting instructions.
I can picture Jesus meeting with his followers in an open space to give them their instructions before they take off to all the corners. This large gathering is about to receive instructions that are both simple and challenging.
Here is basically what Jesus tells them:
Okay, disciples, here is your task: Today we are going to go out and cover the country. Pair up and start walking.
Don’t take anything with you. No snack packs, no coolers, no luggage, no travelers’ checks. I want you to receive what you need from the people you meet on your journey.
When you get to a town, you will find that there are two types of people.
The first kind will be friendly, hospitable and peace-filled. This is good. Greet them in peace and do great things in this town. Heal the sick, cast out demons, and do whatever else you can to help those in need.
The second kind is going to be closed-off and unapproachable. Greet them in peace, but if they do not respond in peace, don’t stick around to perform good deeds for skeptics. Now, when you are rejected, don’t be offended. Don’t take it personal since they are not really rejecting you, but they are going to be rejecting God.
But, no matter what the people are like, here is the message you are to deliver: The kingdom of God is near.
That is you mission should you choose to accept it.
And 70 chose to accept and went on their ways.
Put yourselves in the followers’ shoes. How would you feel after hearing such a message?
I think I would start panicking. There would be some hyperventilation as I hear that I can’t take anything with but a travel companion.
I admit that I tend to overpack, so taking nothing with is out of my comfort zone. And how can I travel if I’m not even allowed a small carry-on? And why can’t I take anything with? It’s not like I’m going to know anyone on my travels to stay with?
This would be a major leap of faith for me to believe that God will make sure I have what I need. To have faith in the kindness of strangers to provide housing and food.
But that’s not all that I would be worried about. Part two reminds me that there are both good and bad people out there. And that I will meet both types on my travels.
Remember hearing about Sodom? How about Ninevah?
On the one hand, we have Ninevah in Jonah’s story. This would be a good town for a messenger. A town that was so starved to hear anything about God that they are open to a messenger. An unexpected place for repentance.
But then there are Sodoms. Towns so closed in on themselves that no amount of preaching will reach the people. Where no amount of miracles would open their eyes. A town where people will scoff at you and remain skeptical.
But the challenge is that you never know what you’re getting into until you are there. So you greet the people and see what happens. And that is scary to think about. Getting into unknown situations. Cause I would prefer to simply go around a town like Sodom and head straight for the good places.
What really is exciting is the fact that the 70 return with stories of amazing experiences where they did good and were embraced by communities.
Their messages were accompanied by some amazing feats that no normal human being could perform without the help of God. They went out, performed miracles and delivered the message that the Kingdom of God is near.
Our speaker at TeenServe reminded us that Jesus told his followers that they would be able to do great things. In fact, that they will do greater things than even Jesus was able to accomplish. Part of this reason is simply because there are more followers than there are Jesuses. And when each follower has the same Spirit in them as Jesus, a lot of amazing feats will be accomplished.
These 70 are a prime example of just how much more can be done with many hands who follow God’s will.
Think about that. Each follower of Jesus will have the same Spirit dwelling in them. That Spirit that is the force behind miracles is in each of us. Which means that each of us could do greater things if we just open ourselves to that possibility.
We can be just as effective as the 70 if we just let ourselves do the work, trust God and deliver the message that the kingdom of God is near. Which is both challenging and simple at the same time.
God had a message that needed to be delivered right to people’s front doorsteps. And it was delivered by people just like us.
Picture the 70 as mail carriers being dispatched to all the corners of the countryside. They have letters to deliver, no matter what. They were to get their messages to all people, regardless of whether they were peace-filled or not.
Their job was to get the word out and to do good acts for those who greeted them in peace.
Jesus reminds the 70 that their experiences are not about them. Their assignment is not to test their own powers, but instead to do good works so that people would be able to hear and believe the message that the kingdom of God is near. The 70 were prophets, they were messengers of God, vessels that housed God’s spirit and spread the word of God.
Because it was God who was the driving force behind their mission.
My next question when receiving this mission would be: Why this message? What exactly does it mean that the kingdom of God is near?
I admit that I’m not sure. I hate trying to figure out what the kingdom of God is because every single time I think I get it, it slips out of my grasp.
I’m pretty sure it’s not your typical kingdom. I mean, think about it. Kingdoms are effective because you have a visible monarch overseeing everything that happens. And if God is the ruler of the kingdom of God, then the ruler is invisible. Which might mean that the kingdom is invisible. And since our faith in God as ruler is a spiritual issue, then the kingdom of God must be a spiritual issue.
Did everyone get that? It’s a bit of logic for you early in the morning. So let me sum it up: God’s kingdom is not of this world in a typical sense of how we understand kingdoms. God’s kingdom has a spiritual component. Which makes God’s kingdom a a faith issue.
I don’t think that it is just a coincidence that the 70 perform miracles and bring the message at the same time. I think that the miracles are tied into the kingdom of God. Because I think the kingdom of God involves the ultimate healing and restoration that comes with faith. That the kingdom of God will be ushered in when we have faith and let the Spirit of God do its purpose of restoring this world. When we remember that it is never about us, but that it is always about God’s will. We will be part of the kingdom of God when we are able to belong only to one ruler.
What is clear to me, and I hope even clearer for you, is that the kingdom of God is near. Whatever the kingdom may look like, it is near. We just need to be ready for it.
Amen.
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