\u201cJesus went about all the cities and villages.\u201d \u2014 Matthew 9:35<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Scripture is replete with images and stories of journey. We could cite, for example, the epic journey of Abraham and Sarah from Ur in present-day Iraq \u2013 the center of ancient civilization \u2013 to what was to become the promised land of Israel. Later, the Israelites escape from slavery in Egypt, trekking for many years through \u201cthe wilderness of Sinai\u201d on their return to a promised homeland, which likely none of them had ever seen. And in the New Testament, Paul makes his way across the Mediterranean world, spreading the good news of the gospel and proclaiming, in the profound words of our second reading today, \u201cthat while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It sometimes must seem as if the people of the Bible cannot sit still. They are always on the road. But these are not tourists or sightseers on holiday. There is purpose behind each journey recounted in scripture. Each crossing comes with promise and proclamation. \u201cIf you obey my voice and keep my covenant,\u201d the Lord tells the Israelites in our first reading, \u201cyou shall be my treasured possession \u2026 a priestly kingdom and a holy nation.\u201d The journey will have a purpose. It will be worth the effort. Israel must only keep \u201call these words\u201d that the Lord has commanded. In response to the Lord\u2019s challenge, the people proclaim \u2013 perhaps a bit too enthusiastically \u2013 \u201cEverything that the Lord has spoken we will do.\u201d As the Israelites were to discover \u2013 and as we ourselves know only too well \u2013 that is often easier said than done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jesus is also on a journey in our gospel account today. He travels \u201cabout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom.\u201d There is a note of urgency in his travels, for our Lord knows the anxieties and helplessness of the people. \u201cThe harvest is plentiful,\u201d he observes poignantly, \u201cbut the laborers are few.\u201d And without the harvest to feed them, the people will starve. Jesus commissions his newly minted apostles to enter the harvest and to journey to the people with his message of the kingdom. His instructions to the apostles, direct and insistent, begin with one word: \u201cGo.\u201d No ifs, ands, or buts. Just go. And, \u201cas you go, proclaim the good news.\u201d Avoid, for now, gentile and Samaritan alike. Make a bee line instead for those in need of the Lord\u2019s comfort, \u201cthe lost sheep of the house of Israel.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To these \u201clost sheep,\u201d the apostles are to proclaim that \u201cthe kingdom of heaven has come near.\u201d To those who are infirm or anxious, they bring the healing and hope of the kingdom. And to those without means, they are to \u201cgive without payment.\u201d This is indeed good news. The apostles travel afar to proclaim that the kingdom \u201chas come near\u201d \u2013 not a kingdom of territory and frontiers, but a moveable kingdom accessible to those who yearn for it, a kingdom where the fearful are welcomed in, where everyone sooner or later belongs. No immigration problems ever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Unlike earthly kingdoms, which are subject to war and dissension, the kingdom the apostles proclaim brings reconciliation and peace. Yet this kingdom of the heart is not pie in the sky. It is the promise and proclamation made anew to each generation of God\u2019s people. It is the fulfillment of covenant. The kingdom is still near to those who seek its comfort today. It is not bound to this earth any more than we are. Its gates are opened wide in spite of \u2013 or perhaps because of \u2013 our sin and despair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We have a share in this kingdom, as God\u2019s people by adoption. If the crowds of Jesus\u2019 day were \u201charassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd,\u201d as our Lord describes them, the people of our world are hardly less anxious and fearful. Two thousand years may have come and gone, but the human heart has not changed all that much. Our communities are still fractured by mistrust and suspicion. Violence and war tear us apart. Diversity and distinctions among peoples and individuals do not bring joy and wonder at the greatness of God\u2019s work among and within us but become instead stumbling blocks to understanding and harmony. But in the midst of human misfortune and pain, the kingdom has still \u201ccome near\u201d to each of us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The harvest of which our Lord speaks is full and ready to be gathered in. Then as now, it is not so much a harvest of grain and grape as it is of spiritual nourishment and the sustenance found in the nearness of God. The laborers are still few. But \u201cgo, and proclaim,\u201d commands our Lord nevertheless. \u201cCure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons.\u201d No small task, but then we need not travel far to find those in need of the good news of the kingdom. They are as near to us as is the kingdom itself. In fact, they are the kingdom. For our part, we need only brave our fear, and with the Israelites of old zealously proclaim, \u201cEverything that the Lord has spoken we will do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This sermon was written by Frank Heged\u00fcs<\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cJesus went about all the cities and villages.\u201d \u2014 Matthew 9:35 Scripture is replete with images and stories of journey. We could cite, for example, the epic journey of Abraham and Sarah from Ur in present-day Iraq \u2013 the center of ancient civilization \u2013 to what was to become the promised land of Israel. Later,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":201212,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_tec_requires_first_save":true,"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_tribe_blocks_recurrence_rules":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_description":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_exclusions":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[43,52,33,3],"tags":[90],"class_list":["post-511940","sermon","type-sermon","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sermons","category-sermons-that-work","category-the-season-after-pentecost","category-worship-and-prayer-menu","tag-proper-6a"],"acf":[],"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":43,"label":"Sermons"},{"value":52,"label":"Sermons That Work"},{"value":33,"label":"The Season After Pentecost"},{"value":3,"label":"worship_and_prayer_menu"}],"post_tag":[{"value":90,"label":"Proper 6A"}]},"featured_image_src_large":false,"author_info":[],"comment_info":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sermon\/511940","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sermon"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/sermon"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sermon\/511940\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3475808,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sermon\/511940\/revisions\/3475808"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=511940"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=511940"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=511940"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}