Luke 10:1–12, 16–20

7th Sunday after Pentecost

¹After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. ²He told them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. ³Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. ⁴Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road. ⁵"When you enter a house, first say, 'Peace to this house.' ⁶If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; if not, it will return to you. ⁷Stay in that house, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house. ⁸"When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is set before you. ⁹Heal the sick who are there and tell them, 'The kingdom of God is near you.' ¹⁰But when you enter a town and are not welcomed, go into its streets and say, ¹¹'Even the dust of your town that sticks to our feet we wipe off against you. Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God is near.' ¹²I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town.¹⁶"He who listens to you listens to me; he who rejects you rejects me; but he who rejects me rejects him who sent me." ¹⁷The seventy-two returned with joy and said, "Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name." ¹⁸He replied, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. ¹⁹I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. ²⁰However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven."

We are the church of Jesus Christ. The church is not a building; its not an organization; its not an institution: it is people. The redeemed people of God in Jesus Christ. It is the sum total of all those who by faith in Jesus Christ have received the forgiveness of their sins. It is everyone, throughout the world and throughout all the ages whose names are written in heaven.

But sometimes during the life of the church in this world we become confused and lose our way. We become unsure of our selves and our mission. Especially at this time when our congregation is looking for a pastor and is charting out its course for the next few years, we need a guide. We need to understand who we are and what we are about. A guide to make a profile of our congregation and to develop a three year plan. All such planning must revolve around God’s command to the church.

And this is exactly what Jesus tells us here in our gospel reading this morning. Here we have the Lord’s instructions for us: his church. Here He lays out our agenda and our mission.

Jesus appointed seventy-two of his followers and sent them out into the harvest. He gave them a job to do, and he gave them the authority to do it. Notice that he sent out 72 of his followers. He had previously sent out the 12 apostles on a similar mission and with similar instructions. This is very important to understand, because since the time of Christ, the continuation of the apostolic ministry is the pastoral office of today. So by sending out the12 he was giving instructions to today’s pastors.

Here, on the other hand, he sent a large crowd of his followers. The instructions and agenda he gave this group of people is really his agenda for the entire church today; for all believers. These are his instructions to all who are followers of Jesus Christ. This is not just for pastors. This applies to everyone here this morning. So, let’s examine it.

First of all we notice that he sends us into the harvest. Yesterday, my family and I went to pick blueberries. We were field-hands laboring in the field. Our field was 40 acres of blueberries and our pay was all the blueberries we could pick. The field Jesus sends his church into is the world. The entire world is our field, for Jesus once said, “Go, make disciples of all nations…” Therefore Jesus spreads his church throughout the entire world, in every continent, in every country. Our work as followers of Jesus is not here inside the walls of a church building. It is out in the world. We come here to be washed of our sins; to nourish and refresh our souls with word and sacrament; but we serve God out in the world; out where we live, work, and play. The work of the church takes place in vocation; in the offices and stations God has called us to in our life.

“Go! I am sending you…” says Jesus. The word “send” used here in the Greek means to send a representative, an ambassador. A person sent in this capacity had the power of attorney. They were the legal personae of the person they represented. They had the authority to make decisions and act on their behalf. When Christ sends us, we act on his behalf and with his authority. We represent Christ in the world. In fact, We, the church, are the presence of Christ in the world today. In and through us Jesus Christ is present in the world.

That is why he told them to “heal the sick.” Wherever Jesus went, he healed the sick, cast out demons, fed the hungry, raised the dead and forgave the repentant sinner. This, then, is our vocation. In our vocations we are the presence of Christ in the world. We help supply the needs of others. We provide the food and clothing that is their daily bread. But are the presence of Christ in the world. When we heal the sick, it is Christ who heals. When we feed the hungry, it is Christ who feeds them. When we help the needy, it is Christ who helps. When we clothe the naked or visit the prisoner, it is Christ who clothes and visits. Our eyes are the eyes of Christ to see our neighbors need. Our ears are the ears of Christ, to hear our neighbor’s cries. Our hands are the hands of Christ to serve our neighbor. Our feet are the feet of Christ, to take the gospel to all nations. Our mouths are the mouths of Christ, to proclaim forgiveness to all men. For Jesus says: “He who hears you, hears me; and he who rejects you, rejects me.”

Then Jesus said “tell them the kingdom of God is near.” Where Jesus is, the kingdom of God is. If we are the presence of Christ in the world, then where we go, the kingdom goes. Our message is: “the kingdom of God is here.” Our gospel is; “repent of your sin and believe in Jesus Christ and you shall enter into his kingdom.”

Since the church is the presence of Christ in the world, wherever we go, Jesus goes. Where Jesus is, the kingdom of God is. And where the kingdom of God is, the kingdom of Satan crumbles. So, when the 72 returned, Jesus said, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.” For when the kingdom of God is proclaimed in the world, sin, Satan and death lose their grip on the hearts and minds of men. The kingdom of Satan is destroyed and men are released from their bondage. So as the followers of Christ proclaim the kingdom of God, Satan is losing his power in the world.

Then Jesus told them that when they enter a house they are to say: “Peace to this house.” This was not just their way of saying, “Hi, how are you?” They were giving a gift to the people: Jesus’ peace. The angels once sang: “Peace on earth to men of good will.” Peace is talked about here almost as if it was an object that they carried with them. After his resurrection Jesus breathed on his disciples and said, “Peace I give to you.” Peace was something Jesus had given them and they carried it with them to give away to anyone who would receive it. It is the peace of Jesus, and we, too, carry it with us wherever we go. We are to give it away to those we meet. If a man will receive it, it will remain with him; if not, it will return to us.

But what is this peace of Jesus that we give to the world? It is peace with God. It is not just an intangible, ethereal idea. It is a concrete reality, something we can carry with us and give away to others. It is peace with God that we have because we are justified by faith through our Lord Jesus Christ. When Jesus gave his peace to the disciples he also said, “If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven, but if do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” So Jesus ties peace to forgiveness. Peace is our relationship with God based on having been forgiven by the death of his Son Jesus. We receive the peace of Christ when we receive the forgiveness of our sins. Only in forgiveness is there peace. Only when our sins are forgiven do we have peace with God. Only when we forgive one another do we have peace with our neighbor.

It is a peace that passes all understanding, because who can understand the grace of God. We are by nature sinners and enemies of God. Who can understand that God would love us and send his Son to die for us? That is one of the deepest mysteries of God. We who by nature are children of wrath and the only thing we deserve from God is death and eternal punishment, have been forgiven because God slew his only begotten Son and punished him with eternal punishment in our place; for our benefit.

On account of our sin there is no peace apart from Jesus Christ. Without Christ, God is none other than an angry, vengeful judge yielding his terrible, swift sword to slay us. He is but a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the third and fourth generation of those who hate him.

But, on account of Christ’s death on the cross, God shows love and compassion to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments.

We receive the peace of Christ by forgiveness. We receive it in our worship when the pastor pronounces the absolution of sins; when we hear and believe the Gospel of forgiveness. We receive the peace of God when our sins are washed away in baptism and when we eat the body and drink the blood that Jesus poured out for us on the cross.

As Jesus breathed on the disciples and said, “Peace I give unto you,” so he breathes on us when through the mouth of the pastor he says to us: “The peace of the Lord be with you always.” And we obey the command of Jesus to give away that peace to our neighbor when we greet one another in the service saying, “Peace be with you.”

Then, as the Father sent Jesus into the world, he sends us into the world to forgive sins and give away the peace. He sends us with the power and authority to do this. This is our vocation.

And that peace remains with all whose names are written in heaven. On account of Christ’s death, even before he created the world, God wrote our names in heaven. Because of Christ God chose and predestinated us to be his children. These are the ones whose names are written in heaven. This too is a great mystery which he reveals to us in his Son, Jesus Christ. Before the foundation of the world God wrote our names in the Book of Life. All whose names are written in the Book of Life shall live in the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, where God himself dwells and is present with his people forever. There shall no tears be, no sorrow, no mourning, and no death. Sin and evil shall not enter in. This is our joy. Even as we pass through the sufferings of this world our joy is in the glory that is coming. As Jesus was the Lamb of God who was slain on a cross by wolves, so he sends us as lambs among wolves. We are the presence of Jesus in the world. We take on the life of Christ and share in his sufferings, his rejection, his pain and his death. We deny ourselves and take up our cross daily in order to represent Jesus and his cross before all men.

But in all our trials and crosses that we bear, there is joy. The joy of the resurrection. The joy that our names are written in heaven, in the Book of Life, and that all whose names are written there shall live forever in peace. Amen.