6 Pentecost, Year C

“THE ONLY BIBLE MOST PEOPLE WILL EVER READ”
(Sermon text: Luke 10: 1 – 12, 16 – 20)
Given by Fr. Tucker at St. Mark’s Church, West Frankfort, IL; and at St. James’ Memorial Church, Marion, IL;
also at St. Stephen’s Church, Harrisburg, IL (by Mrs. Linda Nelson, Licensed Lay Worship Leader)


“The only Bible most people will ever read is ______________.”

Ever heard that statement?

Can you complete the sentence?…..

”The only Bible most people will ever read is……us!”

Of course, the idea behind this statement is that our entire lives, lived out seven days a week and 24 hours a day, are to be a living Gospel or a living Bible.

Being a living Gospel or a living Bible is a matter of having our “insides match our outsides”, as our Bishop, Peter Beckwith, says. (When I consider much of what Bishop Peter says, I often think of him as an “armchair theologian”, you know, someone who is able to crystallize a truth about God in a simple, memorable, straightforward way….It is a rare gift to be able to express a truth about the Christian life in easy-to-understand - and remember - ways!)

Being a living Gospel or a living Bible is a matter of being God’s representatives in the world.

Now there’s a scary thought!

You may be thinking, “What? Who, me?....represent the Lord to other people?

Yes, exactly……you! And me!

For that’s precisely what’s taking place in this morning’s Gospel reading, from Luke, chapter ten….Jesus, having commissioned His original disciples in chapter nine,[1] now commissions another group of 70[2] to go out and to be His representatives to the places “where He intended to go”.[3]

This group is commissioned to be Jesus’ representatives, bearers of the image of Christ to new people and in new places. The Bible faithfully bears the message of who God is, and what God has done in Jesus Christ. So, too, are these human bearers of God’s work and work commissioned to faithfully bear the message of God’s work in Jesus Christ. Their job is to make the introduction between the hearers of the message and the Lord Himself.

So, let’s look a bit more closely at Jesus’ instructions, drawing lessons from these 70 people which apply to us. We can learn a lot about what it means to be “the only Bible most people will ever read.”:

Being a credible witness: The first thing we ought to notice is that Jesus sent these people out “two by two”.[1] In ancient times, traveling alone was a dangerous proposition. But beyond that, Jewish law required the witness of two or more persons to be a credible witness. And so, Jesus sends out credible witnesses to the Good News of the Kingdom of God.

Jesus’ instructions translate well into our situation today, for we are also called to be credible witnesses. It might help to think of it this way: if a person who does not know Christ encounters us, he or she might think we were a little “odd” in our ways and in our thinking. But encountering other Christians lessens that possibility. When people encounter groups of Christians, it’s often easier to see God moving among God’s people.

It will not be easy!: “See, I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves.”[5] Jesus tells his appointees that theirs will be a dangerous mission….Not only that, there will be rejection: notice Jesus’ comments about a town that does not welcome you (verse 10).

I suspect, as we live out the Christian life in the 21st century, there is more likelihood that we will encounter rejection and indifference than danger. The reality is the same, however, for us and for that group of 70….in some places, there will be no welcome for the message of Christ.

Travel light: “Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals, and greet no one on the road”, Jesus says. Jesus’ instructions in chapter ten mirror very closely those that were given to the original disciples’ commissioning in chapter nine.[6]

There’s a modern paraphrase of the New Testament floating around called The Message, by Eugene Peterson. Peterson renders Jesus’ instructions for us 21st century Christians this way, “Travel light. Comb and toothbrush and no extra luggage. Don’t loiter and make small talk with everyone you meet along the way.”

It’s not “all about us” (Part I): “Remain in the same house, eating and drinking whatever they provide, for the laborer deserves to be paid. Do not move from house to house”,[7] Jesus says. The net effect of this instruction is to prevent these emissaries of Jesus from personally benefiting from their mission, by seeking out better places to stay with better food.

Jesus does not expect His original appointees – or us – to lack what we need to carry out the mission. But neither are we to benefit personally, either, using our status as modern-day disciples as a lever. (Modern-day televangelists who live in mansions and drive expensive cars, take note!)

It’s not “all about us” (Part II): Being a Christian can easily become a “power trip”….Notice that the 70 came back, telling Jesus, “Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us!”[8] Jesus’ reply, in essence, describes the defeat of evil (for that is the probable symbolism behind the “snakes and scorpions”). But Jesus’ response immediately transfers the focus to God’s eternal purposes, saying, “Nevertheless, do not rejoice at this, that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

It might be tempting to allow our focus to settle on the great things that God is able to do, using us as His emissaries. However, as we go about being a “living Bible” or a “living Gospel”, we are playing only a small part in God’s great and eternal purposes. We are to be engaged in bringing about the Kingdom of God, both here on earth and also in heaven.

The focus remains on God, and what God is doing in the person and work of Jesus Christ to bring in the Kingdom of God.

So, we are living Gospels, living Bibles. We are the only introductions to Jesus Christ many people will ever have….Chances are, they won’t crack the book (that is, the Bible), but they will crack open our lives, reading carefully what our values are, what our lives are like. They will look carefully to see the transformation of life that knowing Jesus personally brings about. They will look closely to see the image of Christ that we bear, for the image of Christ is unmistakably different from everything else in the world, and when it is encountered, there’s no mistaking it.

We are part of God’s eternal plan of salvation, representatives of the power of Jesus Christ to save human beings from sin, and from ourselves.

So, it’s “all about God, and not about us!”

Thanks be to God, that we are appointed to be “living Bibles” in God’s service.

AMEN.

[1] Luke 9: 1 - 6
[2] Some manuscripts show the number 70, and others show 72. The manuscript evidence is about evenly divided between the two numbers. Some commentators note that the number 70 (or 72) equals the number of the nations of the world which are accounted for in Genesis, chapter ten (verses 2 – 31), where the Hebrew text lists 70 nations, and the Septuagint (Greek) text lists 72 nations. If the connection is deliberate, the symbolism might be that the appointing of this group of emissaries represents the spread of the Good News of Jesus Christ into all the world.
[3] Verse 1
[4] Verse 1
[5] Verse 3
[6] Luke 9: 3
[7] Verse 7
[8] Verse 17