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Pray to the Lord of the Harvest
A sermon based on Luke 10:1-12,16-20
Sunday, July 11, 2010 -- Pentecost 7C -- Gethsemane Farewell
A little over a week ago as I was loading my stuff on the moving truck, getting nervous that it might not all fit, I was thinking of how I came to Raleigh in the smallest U-Haul available. But now I am leaving with more stuff than I think a family our size should probably have. In our text for this morning, Jesus says "The worker deserves his wages," and you've certainly seen to that, providing for our needs and for so much more.
I and my family been tremendously blessed by you. And not just by the stuff we've accumulated. That's the least of our blessings. During our time here at Gethsemane, our faith has increased, our resolve to proclaim the truth of God's Word at all costs has been strengthened, and not only have our kids grown up a bit here in Raleigh, but I feel like I've grown up as a pastor (at least a bit).
And I hope that the blessings have been mutual, that you too have grown in your faith during our time spent together, that you too, have grown in your resolve to serve your Savior, come what may! We can rejoice in our time spent together and in all that we've done together. But we have even greater reason to rejoice: That through Jesus and his work for us, our names are written in the book of heaven.
And yet, while our salvation is secure, there may still be some apprehension right now: over what Alaska will be like for me, or what the new pastor will be like for you. And at times of such apprehension, there's only one place to turn... to God. So, as we part ways today, eager for our reunion in heaven, my final word of encouragement to you is that of Jesus himself: Pray to the Lord of the harvest. Listen to Jesus encouragement in Luke 10....
10 After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. 2 He told them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. 3 Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. 4 Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road. 5 "When you enter a house, first say, 'Peace to this house.' 6 If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; if not, it will return to you. 7 Stay in that house, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house. 8 "When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is set before you. 9 Heal the sick who are there and tell them, 'The kingdom of God is near you.' 10 But when you enter a town and are not welcomed, go into its streets and say, 11 'Even the dust of your town that sticks to our feet we wipe off against you. Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God is near.' 12 I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town... 16 "He who listens to you listens to me; he who rejects you rejects me; but he who rejects me rejects him who sent me." 17 The seventy-two returned with joy and said, "Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name." 18 He replied, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. 20 However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven."
I. The Workers Are Few
How blessed our time together has been! Every week, with one snowy exception, we've had the opportunity to come together and hear of God's grace to us! Every month we've had the opportunity to kneel side by side and receive our Savior's body and blood for the forgiveness of our sins! We've shared each others sorrows and cried together. We've shared each others joys and laughed with one another. What blessings our God has given!
But we haven't deserved these awesome blessings! Jesus said, "The worker deserves his wages," yet we haven't always worked our hardest for the kingdom, have we? We haven't always been faithful to our calling to serve him. We've grown selfish and let our self-interests crowd out what God would have us do. We've grown tired, or lazy, or complacent and thought, "I'll just let someone else do the work that needs to be done." We've grown scared by the opposition we've encountered (as we go "out like lambs among wolves") and sometimes kept quiet in sharing the truth with others. And I do have to include myself in that charge. We haven't always been workers, but sometimes bystanders. How true it is that at times, "The workers are few."
No. We don't deserve the blessings we've received because of our own unfaithfulness. Instead we deserve to face the same fate as those towns that would not receive Jesus: "I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town..." For when we reject Jesus' command to go, we reject God the Father who sent him. We sin. We rebel. And we deserve hell.
So, pray to the Lord of the Harvest... your prayer of repentance. Confess your sin to him and turn to him for help. For, "The kingdom of God is near." And when we do he does not abandon us in our sins. He does not call down fire from heaven to destroy us, but saves us and forgives us...
We can rejoice in our time spent together here at Gethsemane and in all the times we "saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven." Those times when children were Baptized, when the Lord's Supper was administered, when a new member joined us at Gethsemane. And we can pray to the Lord of the Harvest our prayer of thanks for those times. But as exciting as those times were, we have something to be even more thankful for...
Jesus said, "Do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven."
When we were lost in our sins, unable to work our own salvation out by our own efforts, when there was no one able to save, God's own arm worked salvation for us. Yes, the workers were few. In fact there was only one who could do the work required. Jesus did the real work for us. Jesus did the real work of living a sinless life in our place. He did the tough work of carrying our sin to the cross. He did the horrible work of enduring hell in our place on that cross to take our sins away.
Now, in spite of our unfaithfulness, our sins are forgiven! By his faithfulness, we're perfect, sinless, and holy in God's sight! Yes, rejoice in our time spent together, but all the more rejoice that Jesus paid for our sins! "Rejoice that your names are written in heaven." In spite of all the uncertainties of this life, you have this absolute certainty: That you have reservations in heaven that no one can take away! So pray to the Lord of the Harvest... your prayer of thanks as you rejoice that our names are written in heaven!
And now, in thanks to him, for that great gift, we eagerly get to work for him! For the workers are few, but the workers are you...
II. The Workers Are You
Right now, your obvious concern is over your new shepherd. "Will the pastor we've just called take the position? Will we need to call again? Who will come and serve our congregation?" Right now, with a vacancy, it might really seem like, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few." So what do you do about it? Jesus tells you: "Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.
Pray to the Lord of the harvest... for a new shepherd. Pray that he would send you a pastor who will faithfully preach and teach only what God says in his Word. Pray for a man who will afflict you with the law when you feel comfortable and who will be quick to comfort you with the Gospel when you feel afflicted. Pray that he would send out a servant to faithfully administer the sacraments, baptizing your children and giving you that life giving spiritual food and drink of the altar.
And when God answers that prayer -- and you can be sure that he will, since he tells you to pray this prayer and promises that whatever you ask in his name, according to his will, he will grant -- then take care of your new shepherd and his family as you have taken care of me and mine. Provide for the needs of the new man as you have provided so well for me. "For the worker deserves his wages." But do this, not because you must, but because you long to serve him as he serves you and you together serve your Savior.
And remember that he is not the only worker here at Gethsemane. The workers are few, but the workers are you. Jesus told his followers, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field." But then, in the very next verse, he answered that prayer: "Go! I am sending you...!"
Jesus didn't just send out the Twelve, but seventy-two! (That's roughly our average attendance at Gethsemane!) You too are called to go "out like lambs among wolves" and boldly proclaim the message to those who like or like it not.
But you can do it boldly knowing that you're not alone! For starters, you have each other. Jesus sent the seventy-two out in pairs, not alone, that they might encourage each other, build each other up, when their pastor, Jesus, would not be physically with them. You too, encourage each other, build each other up by the Word of God, now, in the absence of a resident pastor, and always!
But even more comforting than having each other, is knowing that you can trust God. When the seventy-two went out, Jesus told them, "Do not take a purse or bag or [extra] sandals..." because they could trust that he -- through the charity of others -- would provide for their earthly needs. They could go "like lambs" even "among wolves" because they wouldn't trust in their own strength, but in him.
You too can trust that God will take care of you, now and always, as you carry out your task, trusting in him. So pray to the Lord of the Harvest... asking him for help and for focus and for the strength to carry out your task of serving him and one another faithfully here in Raleigh.
Yes, dear friends, you can rejoice in our time spent together these past six years. You can rejoice that God will provide another shepherd to faithfully serve you with his Word and Sacraments. And you can rejoice even more that by his grace, our names are written in heaven. Now, keep the Main Thing the main thing, and then, while we may be sad that tomorrow we go our separate ways, we can rejoice that don't need to say "goodbye," but only "see you soon." For we know we will see each other again, because our names are written in heaven! So pray to the Lord of the Harvest, your prayers of thanks and praise! In Jesus' name, dear friends, amen.
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