Living in the Spirit
Living in the Spirit
July 2, 2022
Scripture Reading:
Luke 10:1-11, 16-20
July 2, 2022
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. 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. Go on your way. See, I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves. Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and greet no one on the road. Whatever house you enter, first say, “Peace to this house!” And if anyone is there who shares in peace, your peace will rest on that person; but if not, it will return to you. 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. Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you; cure the sick who are there, and say to them, “The kingdom of God has come near to you.” But whenever you enter a town and they do not welcome you, go out into its streets and say, “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.”
‘Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever rejects you rejects me, and whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.’ –Luke 101-11, 16
How do we take the word of God to the ends of the earth? I worked as a waitress when I was in high school and remember vividly waiting on two young men whose tip was a piece of paper fashioned after the dollar bill but with wording that said something to the effect that seeking a relationship with God is the best tip you will ever get. Now I have never thought I was materialistic, but it might have left a better impression on me if they had tossed a quarter or something with it. I now think we should do away with tipping. The minimum wage for people who receive tips today is $2.13. They have to verify that they received enough tips to make up the $5.12 difference between the tip minimum wage and the regular minimum wage which for most people is below the poverty level. Tip workers never know what their income will be.
I do not think my mother would have allowed me to make a spectacle of myself shaking the dirt off my shoes in protest against someone not welcoming me. I do think we need to be judicial about how we approach people and choose wisely the timing of our sharing our faith with others. I do not know how many funerals I have sat through when, at some point, the preacher said your time is coming and it is time for you to get right with God. At such times, the preacher may be doing more harm than good. I also think we need to recognize that this reaction described in this scripture was probably cultural. Opening one’s home to travelers and giving them food and water was the courteous thing to do in the first century. They did not have a Motel 6 or McDonald’s just around the corner.
Jesus commanded us to welcome the stranger. Thus, I do think it was very important to him. He did chase the money changers out of the temple, so he had no problem seeking justice. And the people being reproached were most likely Jewish and understood their faith and cultural responsibilities. How do we share the love of God in a society where people are leaving the church because they have lost faith in the institution?
Prayer: Lord, help us discern how to spread your love throughout the world and grant us the courage to love like Jesus. Amen.
All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.