I've Got Some Good News and Some Bad News Matthew 9:35-10:15 June 12, 2005, Year A, Proper 6 The Rev. William V. Livingston, Rector Church of the Resurrection, Starkville, Mississippi I've got some good news and some bad news. The good news is that at this point in the church year, we should know all we need to know about Jesus. In Advent we learned about his second coming; in Christmas about his birth; in Epiphany about who he really was; in Lent about his struggles with temptation and death, culminating in his crucifixion; and in Easter about his resurrection, ascension and sending the Holy Spirit. The bad news is that the season of Pentecost is about what it means to be a follower of Jesus; it's about us. So, today we hear from Matthew. After Jesus has traveled through the cities and villages, he sees through what many of us may only see on the surface when we look out on our own world or read about it in our newspaper - what a mess! People are "harassed and helpless" by the weight of the garbage they are having to deal with day in, day out. It was more than he could respond to individually. To be sure, somebody ought to do something about it. He told them to do what we most often do when we encounter what seems an insurmountable task: he tells them to pray: to pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers to help clean up this mess. Then, I imagine Jesus said to his apostles, "I've got some good news and some bad news. The good news is God has answered your prayers. The bad news God's sending you out to help clean up this mess." Since we are today's apostles, then they probably weren't much different than us. So, they're probably thinking, "We prayed for God to send somebody to help clean up this mess, but surely that somebody is not us." Yes. They are to go and mirror what Jesus had done. What had Jesus been doing? When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them. "Com-passion." "Feeling with." Feeling another's pain, another's suffering. This work was not religious in the sense of leading people to prayer and good works, but it was very religious nonetheless. The apostles were charged with feeling the pain and suffering in others' lives and changing people's lives, removing the obstacles that kept people from living full lives. Their task, in other words, was to be more than just followers but mirror Jesus: to make a difference in people's lives. "Okay, Jesus," they probably said with great reluctance. "We'll give it a try, but surely we can't do this as well as you." To which Jesus, said, "Oh, I've got some more good news and bad news. The good news is that, 'yes' you'll be able to do it because I give you authority over unclean spirts. You can cast them out. You can cure every disease and every sickness." This was pretty heady stuff, and so the apostles' hat sizes are starting to grow substantially. "Oh, I almost forgot the bad news," Jesus adds. "This is such important responsibility, you don't want to be slowed down or distracted, so you don't want to take a wallet full of money, no suitcase full of clothes, not even a cell phone. You can't feel compassion unless you get close to them, so accept their hospitality. You'll be preoccupied if you hold resentment toward those who don't welcome you. So, just let go of your anger and resentment just as you would shake dust off your shoes." Well, brothers and sisters, I've got some more good news and some bad news. The good news is that because these twelve mirrored Jesus, there is a church around the world today, witnessing in every nation to the Good News of God in Christ. The sun never sets on the Christian hope, the faith that proclaims the good news even in the darkest hour, the ocean depths of the love of God. All because the disciples, imperfect as they were, answered the challenge of Jesus to be sent out to proclaim the good news: "The Kingdom of God has come near." The bad news is that we twenty-first-century Christians have stepped into their shoes, and Jesus still says, "Help me care for them. Have "com-passion" on them. Feel with them. I can't do it all by myself. The task is too great to be done alone, even by me. And it's not God's purpose that it all be done by me. You're in this, too. We can't do it without you. It's time to be more than just a follower." So we, too, are called by our baptismal promises, with God's help, to have compassion, to mirror Jesus and to proclaim the good news of the kingdom. We too are not to be preoccupied with the money in our wallets, weighed down by possessions that do not give us life but use our time and energies maintaining and protecting them, nor distracted by lingering anger or resentments. We, too, must begin by praying to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers. We, too, must understand that it's easier to let our prayers be only words and that's it's easier to let sick people die, to keep outcasts in their place, to let the hungry fend for themselves, than it is to lift a finger. For we, too, have enough harassing problems to make our lives helpless. It is easier to avoid this, especially in this season of summer siestas. However, the bad news, once again, is that prayer must be a prod. The answer may be, and often is, "You." If we only pray for the poor and suffering and do not see ourselves as part of God's compassionate answer, what kind of prayer is that? If we are not willing to be the anser to our prayers, then our prayers are hot air and have no sense of integrity or authenticity. If the suffering and dying are not better off, if the hungry and homeless are not finding their lives improved, if children do not have a brighter future because we follow Christ, then why should the world care whether we or any one else follows Christ? Like it or not, despite what self-proclaimed evangelists or politicians tell us, Christ's compassion is more than about reproduction, same-sex-unions or posting copies of the Ten Commandments in courthouses. The message is that we apostles today in all our activities, both individual and corporate, are to seek to preach and act in ways that lead to greater justice for all people, to cease neglecting the violations of human rights resulting from racism, poverty, poor housing, inadequate education and health care, widespread apathy and indifference, and a lack of freedom. We cannot offer the prayers and not expect to be part of the answer. We cannot claim to be twenty-first-century Christians and not have compassion. The bad news is that we can no longer practice typical Episcopal evangelism: that is to build a really attractive aquarium next to the ocean and then wait for the fish to jump in. Instead, Jesus is sending us out to do the work that springs from a heart filled with compassion, with empathy, with doing our best to experience another's pain. We can never reach this ideal, of course; each person's pain is unique. But the heart of the compassionate Christ, which is and must be our own corporate heart, has no place for criticism, for judgment, even for merit. We help those who need help, not those we deem worthy of our help. It is not our own help we offer, of course; we are merely mirrors of Christ's healing touch, his saving grace, his Word of hope. Now, I have some bad news and some good news. The bad news is the idea seems terrifying, and no one promises it will be easy. The good news is that as harvested and harvesting healers we grow into that mirrored image of Jesus. Changed by God, strengthened by the Spirit, empowered by Christ, we have all the tools we need to be laborers in the world and our lives are changed also. Freely we have been given, not deserving. Freely and with compassion we are called to give. The harvest is plentiful, and we are the laborers today in a field filled with weeds and hungry for the harvest. Shake off the dust and let's go!