Pattern all your calculating to: Christ will come again - Day 5
Thurs., Dec. 16 – Luke 10:1-11
10 After this the Lord appointed seventy 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. See, 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 anyone is there who shares in peace, 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.’
What a crazy way to do mission work. Take nothing extra, travel light. Upon arriving in town, go to the first place that shows hospitality and stay there. Even if the bed is hard and the food bad, don’t move to something better. Wish peace on the house and join the members of the household in what they are doing. The missionaries have two messages to proclaim. First, “Peace to this house” – but how are the missionaries to know if the people of that house deserve peace? The quick answer is that they don’t know. But it does not matter if the household deserved it or not – Jesus had told the missionaries to share peace. Second, “The kingdom of God has come near to you.” How is it possible that people who are in need – needing shelter and a bed, needing food and support – could be the people to announce that the kingdom of God has come near? How can the kingdom come in such a lowly way?
The tendency is to bring the message of the kingdom of God with a big show, drawing lots of interest and attention. The bigger, the better. The way Jesus has the good news being shared seems strange to our way of thinking. But what if the kingdom of God is best proclaimed in humility and lowliness. What if it is not about a great show, but rather a simple announcement of grace – “Peace to this house.” And a simple challenge to follow the kingdom of God which has come near. Human calculating is not needed to invite people to the kingdom, just simple direct speech. Who would have guessed that?
PRAYER:
Lord God, we often think we need to make the message of the gospel bigger and better, more eye catching. Forgive us for messing up the simple, clear speech of announcing peace and the kingdom of God. In Jesus’ name. Amen.