In the today’s reading, Jesus sends 70 disciples into the world. From this passage, we can find Jesus' Peculiar calling towards us. I believe that Jesus' Calling is not only for pastor like me but also for everyone here today.
I grew up in an Asian family. It may be different from the background you are living with, but I was living in severe competition. Asian society put tremendous pressures on their children to study. When I was in high school, I went to the school around 8 am and got back from it around midnight. There is a fun story. A kid got A grade at school. The Kid was glad and wanted to show this to his parent. However, the parent replied that A is just normal and said, ‘the kid living next door also receives A and everyone can get it.’ Asian family has Asian Grading Scale. A is ‘average,’ B is ‘below average,’ C is ‘Can not have dinner,’ D = ‘do not come home,’ F = ‘find a new family.’ Isn’t it fun? Sometimes, we also found ourselves in severe competition. We are told that we have to have a good job, earn a lot of money, and have to be better than anyone else. We heard so many time these sayings, "Be ambitious, take whatever you want." We all know that there is an unseen scale in our society. The world demands us to make more money, demands more consumption, and says that having more than others is a virtue. A few months ago, there was an admission scandal in Stanford University. A family donated 6.5 million dollars to put the daughter to the school. The family wants her to pass the social scale very easily. When we ponder upon this issue, we realize that this is just one example the broken world produces. This is how the broken world works. But the important thing is that unless pass the social scale, we become a loser, excluded and isolated by society. There is another side effect. When we see those who made success, we get jealous of them, but we never look around and find those who failed and did not pass the social scale. Society seems to push us on an endless treadmill, and we must run until we are exhausted. This is calling from society for us. However, Jesus in the today’s passage does not call us to be rich or a winner of the world. It is important for Christians to be successful in the world. However, ahead of that, Jesus calls us to be his faithful disciples. He urgently calls his disciples by saying “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest”(v.2) Like this, God calls us to do God’s work together. Why does God call us urgently? And what does God want us to do? It is important question. Also, Jesus tells them not to carry a purse, bag, and sandals. It is ironic when you go far in order to do some works, you need them! Then, what does it mean? Sometimes no all the time, we rely on our own will and power, and our possessions. But here Jesus wants us to rely on only him radically. The place they are sent is Samaritan village we can guess it from chapter 9. The place was regarded as dangerous and filled with hostility and hatred. Also, Samaritans are abandoned by Jewish people. From the perspective of Jews, they are sinners and they are not people who they want to hang out together. But, here the disciples have to proclaim the Kingdom of God to them. What is the nature of the Kingdom of God? Jesus requires them to share peace whenever they visit someone’s house and heal them. I want to epitomize these works with triple C. 1. C: Create the Community First of all, they make a new community where disciples welcome all of the people, including outcasts and even Samaritans. They share peace with all of them. Even though nobody wants to share peace with them, disciples share God’s peace to them and affirming they are also children of God. Even though they have no purse and money, they can do this work if they have love for them. In this community, all are welcomed and they are no longer losers of the world but they are beloved children of God. Their identity changes here. 2. C: Care People( Heal people) When the identity changes, healing comes to them naturally. They become ill because they have few who takes care of them and loves them. Mind and body are closely linked to each other. When you are not affirmed by society or your family, your mind gets ill and it affects your body too. The Samaritans were regarded as sinners. Who cares for them? Now, disciples do take care of them, not only their body but also their souls. 3. C: Challenge the Society Finally, the new community challenges the status quo. This community is not made of secular value and power but virtues of Kingdome of God. the new community can say no to the society which excludes and isolates people and produces losers. I believe this is what God urgently wants us to do and calls us to participate in. I want to proclaim the Kingdom of God. As we pray in Lord’s prayer, I early want to bring Kingdome of God on the earth and God’s will be done here. This is the peculiar calling for all of us. Have you watched a movie named Silence (2016) directed by Martin Scorsese? Andrew Garfield and Liam Neeson are the main characters in the movie. This is a great movie about Christian mission. The author of the movie is a famous Christian writer in Japan. His name is Shusaku Endo. There is another book named, Deep River. In this Book, one of the main characters who wants to be a clergy introduces Jesus like this, “Please understand Jesus as ‘love.’ If you feel this is too outdated, please call him ‘warmth of life.’” This gives me a deep echo inside of my heart. I’d like to call Jesus the warmth of life. Anyone who encountered Jesus experience the same warmth hugging their heart and their being. I like the warmth of Jesus Christ. And Jesus calls us to be like him, to be the warmth of life too. Jesus wants you to share the warmth you got from God to someone through your life. Sometimes, I just look back at my life and question myself, why do I want to be a pastor. It is because of the warmth passed on me. When I was a teenager, my parents were divorced. My mom fed my sister and me alone. You know it is never easy for a single mom who has no special skills to raise two kids. Even though my family was broken, my memory at that time was not that miserable because I had people who shared the warmth of Jesus Christ. They were my new family. Even though the society around me called me a loser and poor family, my church members call me I am a child of God, even a prince of God. Because of this love, I decided to become a pastor. They are visible hands and foot of invisible God. This is God’s urgent calling for us. Before making much money, becoming famous, (yet, Christian can be rich and famous) God primarily calls us to be disciples of Jesus Christ who shares the warmth of life and peace, and heal those who are sick. Amen
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