July 9, 1995	No Purse, No Bag, No Sandals	II Kings 5:1-14

Galatians 6:1-16

Luke 10:1-11, 16-20

Sometimes we forget how important and ongoing the building of the kingdom of God is. Indeed, once we have our own church built and we find ourselves sitting together within its walls, it may be easy for us to become complacent, even to begin to think that perhaps we have finished the job God has called us to do. So there is a warning here as I begin this morning's message. And the warning is this: We must never forget that the day we begin to think that our job is done, the day we begin to believe we have done all that God wants us to to do, the moment we begin to think that our part of building God's kingdom is completed, is the moment that our own church begins to die.

The very mission of the church, you see, is not to be complacent and to think only about itself, to minister to its own needs, and to constantly look inward. Rather, as our Gospel lesson for this morning tells us, the mission of the church is to grow; to think about others, to minister to the needs of the world, and to look outward to those who have yet to hear the good news of Jesus Christ. And, believe me, you don't have to go very far from these doors to find people who need to hear that news.

One of the questions I always seem to hear from churches is: Why is it that more people, especially young people, don't visit our church on Sunday morning? I guess what strikes me most when I hear this is the fairly presumptuous nature of the question. Indeed, we are making the presumption that people, especially young families, should want to flock to our church in droves. But the fact of the matter is they don't. And we need to face that fact honestly and openly. You see, most young families aren't busting down the doors of most churches on Sunday morning. "Why?"

First, of all, many of the young families that are searching for churches these days are looking for churches that put on a big musical production every Sunday morning and have preachers with white fluffy hair, wearing white robes, white shoes, looking and talking like God. Today, most people who go church shopping are looking for churches that do everything: Churches that have to have a nursery, that are handicapped accessible; that have a bell choir; that have a huge pipe organ and a huge parking lot and a picnic pavillion and a gymnasium for the kids and maybe even a swimming pool. Such churches have humungous youth programs and youth choirs and educational events going on seven days a week. People are looking for a church that looks like Robert Schuller's Crystal Cathedral and when they find it they want to be able to quickly find a niche within that church where they feel comfortable and needed and known. They want a church where they can get active quickly if they want to be active, or be left alone if they want to be left alone.

So, indeed, people are asking a lot from churches, these days. And, to be sure, there are only a few churches that are prepared to meet these needs. And such churches will grow dramatically in the years to come. But those churches that will not prepare themselves to meet these needs will continue to struggle for their very life.

And, yes, I know. It doesn't seem fair. It doesn't seem right that a church should have to cater to the market mentality of the baby boomer generation, or even of generation X, as it has been called. But, if we are going to be true to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, if we are going to keep in mind the towering urgency of proclaiming Christ to the world, perhaps it is we who have some changing to do. Indeed, if the world isn't beating a path to our doorway in our attempt to present the gospel of Jesus Christ, we have to find out why.

Still, I am reminded of the story of Naaman in this morning's Old Testament lesson. In spite of the fact that he was the commander of the army of the king of Syria, he was a leper. And he heard that there was a cure for his leprosy. He had been told that if he went to the prophet Elisha he would be healed. So, Naaman went to Elisha's house, accompanied by his horses and chariots and men. And before Naaman could even get down out of his chariot Elisha sent a messenger out to Naaman with instructions on how to be healed. The messenger said: "Go, wash yourself seven times int eh Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed."

But, the story goes on to say that Naaman was angered by the words of these messengers. He was very dissappointed. He had thought that the least Elisha could do was come out to him and call upon the name of the Lord, and wave his hand over the leprosy and cure him. He was dissappointed that Elisha only told him to wash in the muddy old Jordan river. For, infact, he knew that there were greater rivers in the world than the Jordan river. Why couldn't he go wash in those rivers and be cleansed? So, he went away angry.

Nevertheless, when his anger cooled he decided to give it a try, afterall. And, so, he went down to the River Jordan and dipped himself in its waters seven times, just as Elisha had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy.

The moral of the story is simple. It states that you don't need the big show and the fancy facilities and the preacher that looks and talks like God in order to do the ministry of Jesus Christ. You don't need a lot of mumbo-jumbo and huge parking lots and lights and dazzle and programs coming out your ears to be effective witnesses for Christ. But, it helps. For the world is full of Naamans in need of healing for their souls. The world is full of lepers who want to know the healing touch of the master. And it is we who can offer that healing touch. And it is God who calls us to such a ministry. All we have to do is find out how to do it in the most effective way possible. For, remember, the work of sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ is seriously urgent work, indeed.

Our gospel lesson for today talks about the urgency of sharing Christ's message to the world. In those days there were no newspapers or radios or televisions. So, the only way to spread a message to a community was to send out messengers. And that's what Jesus did. He sent out 70 messengers across the countryside. And because he wanted them to travel quickly he told them to travel lightly, taking with them neither a purse, nor a suitcase, nor even an extra pair of sandals. They were to take only the clothes they had on their backs. He told them to travel quickly, not even taking time to chat with people on the road. Instead, when they got to a town they were to spend their time sharing the good news there, where the largest number of persons could hear it. And if their message was rejected they were to leave the town quickly so that they could make their way to another town to share the message there.

To be sure, Jesus' method was fairly radical. It probably raised some eyebrows. There may even have been some followers who criticized him for such unusual methods; persons who even said, "Hey, we've never done it that way, before!" But remember that such words as these are also the last words of a dying church – "We've never done it that way, before."

Yet, the task that God asks us to do seems huge, doesn't it? Just like Jesus sent out the seventy messengers to the countryside of Galilee to spread the Good News, so God sends us out, as well. And as Christ wanted those persons to spread the news as effectively as they could and as quickly as possible; so Christ calls us, today. And so it is up to us to decide, no, to discern, how that might best be done. And it is an amazingly huge task that God has called us to. But the scriptures offer us hope as we consider the task.

As the seventy came back to Jesus they were amazed and joyful, saying, "Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name."

And Jesus replied, "I saw Satan fall like lightening from heaven. I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy.

I do believe that God wants this church to grow. And certainly there are times when the task looks daunting and discouraging and impossible. But, just as those seventy went forth obediently, so can we, together. And we shall see the demons submit and Satan fall.

Finally, in our gospel lesson for this morning, Jesus told the seventy messengers who had returned that they should rejoice because their names are written in heaven. What does this say to us? It says that when we respond in faith to Christ's call to minister that act of faith, itself, seals our relationship with God. By faith in Christ our names are written in heaven. And so we are obedient to him and gladly go into paths unknown for Jesus' sake.

Amen.