Friday was my sister’s birthday,
and we went out to dinner with dearly loved friends at Anthony’s.
We chose the place and the time so that we could linger over dinner
until the Fourth of July fireworks began,
seated on the deck where we had a wonderfully unobstructed view.
It was perfect!
And then only seconds into the display the fireworks stopped,
and then we saw people running, heard sirens
and knew that something had gone terribly wrong.
The manager of the restaurant called those of us on the deck
to come back inside the restaurant
and then he locked the doors.
Those of us in the lock down speculated about what had happened.
a fireworks malfunction? an active shooter? a bomb threat?
Everyone was checking their cell phones.
The atmosphere was tense; people were edgy and afraid.
I prayed for the first responders and that no one was trampled.
And I thought to myself,
this fear and threat of violence has reached even here.
While I am very grateful that the incident and the panic it created
did not cause damage or injury,
I also experienced my own upset internally.
Some of those around us were in shock.
Just viewing this caused trauma.
This is a time that seems precarious, an unsettling time
full of confusion, uncertainty, fear and even despair.
What had been loved, what we had relied on and counted on
seems to be slipping away
and society itself appears to be breaking down.
But here we all are, here within the walls of this church building
as our gathered faith community.
We come for comfort, for hope, for discernment and guidance,
and for strength to meet new challenges in our daily lives.
So here is some comfort – in the scripture readings for today.
We have everything we need right here, right now
for dealing with the world around us.
The passage from Isaiah is what Richard Rohr in his book,
The Tears of Things, calls the third stage of the prophet’s mission.
The first is to see the problem and exclaim over it. Woe to us!
The second is the lament, the grieving over the catastrophe,
the tragedy of what human sin has caused.
And the third is comfort and hope, the assurance of God’s steadfast love.
And in the Isaiah passage for today,
we find a tenderness of love, like a mother for a precious child,
showered on a people traumatized by the Babylonian exile and captivity.
The nature of God is revealed to us as abundant in mercy,
never giving up on us.
Now the Gospel reading – I want to bring out something that perhaps
may seem like a new reading of it,
but, trust me, I believe it is there.
This is about Jesus sending out 70 of his followers,
not just the 12 who were specifically called
and commissioned later to become the Apostles.
Jesus is sending them to places where he himself was about to go.
The Greek does not say “where Jesus intended to go,”
but “where Jesus was about to go.”
Here are the instructions in preparation for their mission.
“You will be like lambs sent to wolves.”
In other words, you will be vulnerable,
but you will also be food/nourishment for those you meet.
How can I say that? Because the word for lamb here
means specifically the lamb that will be sacrificed and eaten.
This is the only place it appears in the Gospels,
so its use here was deliberate and specific.
His instructions continue about traveling without provisions,
not even sandals! barefoot?!
That means that when you arrive at your destination,
you are going to enter that town as a beggar.
The people there will have to take care of you and provide for you
as though you were children.
As though you were children!
That is a cue to look at what comes before today’s text in Luke’s Gospel.
Luke 9:46-48
It is about the argument that arose among the disciples about who is greatest.
Jesus takes a child,
“Whoever receives this child in my name, receives me…
the least among you is the greatest.”
So they are to present themselves like children, the least,
so that when the townspeople receive them,
they are receiving Jesus.
What’s the connection?
The instructions from Jesus continue: when you arrive say,
“Peace to this house!” as they enter it.
The translation gets too loose here,
and therefore misses a key point in the passage.
“…if anyone is there who shares in peace,
your peace will rest on that person…”
rather “…if there is [the] son of peace there,
your peace will rest on it [the house]…”
Who is this “son of peace”? - Jesus!
Jesus is going ahead of them by the Spirit;
he does the work of preparing hearts, opening the way.
So in actuality, if we are to follow up with this passage,
to engage in sharing the Good News that the Kingdom of God is at hand.
it will be done by the Spirit of the Risen Christ.
Jesus goes before us and is present in each of our attempts
to proclaim the Kingdom/the Reign of God at hand.
It’s his work, not ours, BUT we are to be like life-nourishing lambs.
I am talking about this because now more than ever
those of us who call ourselves Christians need to be those
who are channels of life-giving sustenance for a desperately hungry world.
Where we go, Christ goes ahead,
the Holy Spirit, the Resurrection Presence of Christ precedes us.
But now, what about us being fed, being strengthened?
It is now more important than ever before
that this house of God be a sanctuary of peace.
May our homes be grounded in peace.
May our conversations be motivated by peace.
This peace is NOT quiescence, being inactive or submissive.
This peace is a sense of solid grounding in what is unshakeable:
which is God’s love for us,
God’s presence with us
that empowers us for Spirit-led action for the good of ALL persons.
There is no enemy to fear or hate,
only that agape love, that perfect love that casts out fear,
that calms the soul, that delivers realistic hope in a time of unrest.
A good source of this Peace that passes all understanding
is in the Eucharist. Come eat peace here at this table.
The source of Peace is also in our daily prayers and spiritual practices,
and it comes in caring for each other – now more than ever
so that people will say, “See how these Christians love one another.”
Now, if you need more instructions on how to care for each other,
you might want to re-read the Epistle for today. (Galatians 6:1-16)
That’s your home work.
