Just before the gospel (Matt 9:35-10:8) for June 18th begins, Jesus had assembled his band of twelve who were accompanying him throughout Galilee. In the first verses of chapter nine he had called Matthew, responded sympathetically to the mother of a girl who had died by raising her, cured a woman who had been hemorrhaging for twelve years, healed two blind men and driven daemons from the possessed. The people he healed were not in a position to lavish gifts of appreciation on him. He cured generously, out of compassion.

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The gospel for this morning opens,

Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. 

When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 

Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.

Jesus’ disciples had followed him, apparently without asking where they were going, what they’d be doing or why. Last week we heard the story of Jesus’ call of the tax collector, Matthew (Matt 9:9) who got up and followed. Others, such as James and John, had also responded immediately (Matt 4:21-23). 

When Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness Jesus’ mesmerizing teaching and the cures persuaded his disciples that they had made the right decision. 

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Jesus differed from leaders of his day, not only in the way he taught and healed, but by the fact that: When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. The Roman Emperor, his puppet king Herod and the procurator Pilate had little interest in the common folk of this small territory far from Rome. They were no more than a tax base…and not worth much at that. 

They were harassed and helpless. The prevailing theology was that God rewarded the righteous, and since these people were suffering they could not be righteous. The perspective did not involve compassion. Jesus’ care represented a marked difference. His power to cure and his willingness to do so, freely, set him apart in the eyes of those he met, but also in the view of his early followers, and drew the attention of those in authority.  

When he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few, he may have been reflecting on how the people of the towns and villages had been abandoned by their leaders. He may have felt their yearning for the savior. And while he addressed the needs for teaching and healing wherever he found it, the hunger was huge. It was not just the specific people of Galilee, it was the whole underclass of this society. When he said this, he was also signalling that his disciples would have to play a role in addressing the needs.

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These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. 

In the larger context of the gospels the restriction on visiting the Samaritans reads more like a guideline to help his disciples to avoid troubles. It is not a judgment against Samaritans. In John’s gospel, Jesus takes water from a Samaritan woman and by the end of the chapter …the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. And because of his words many more became believers (John 4:40-41) Jesus also made a Samaritan a hero of one of his parables (Luke 10:25-37) And when he cured the ten lepers Luke noted that only the Samaritan came back to thank Jesus (Luke 17:15-17). Jesus knew of enmity between Israelites and Samaritans and his instruction may have been because he wanted his disciples to sidestep confrontation and attend to the lost sheep of Israel.

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He told them, 

As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. 

You received without payment; give without payment..

Jesus transformed his disciples from spectators into participants in his compassionate mission. He gave them the power to proclaim… to heal the sick and raise the dead when he sent them out. But rather than exploiting these gifts for their own benefit he said You received without payment; give without payment.

You have probably had the experience of witnessing some magical musical, dance or athletic performance or heard someone speak with a lyricism that inspired you. It was thrilling and you replayed the sensation in your mind. Yet you never seriously imagined that you would be called to do the same. This must have been the experience of Jesus’ disciples when they heard him teach and witnessed how he cured the sick. They would have been impressed at his powers. But to be sent out to do the same must have come as a startling direction, nevertheless it was the full implication of last week’s call to Follow me. 

One of Jesus’ greatest, rarely identified miracles may have been his ability to transfer his abilities to his disciples. He removed their human limits and endowed them with the power to proclaim that the Kingdom of Heaven has come near, cure and raise the dead.

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  • When the gospel says ‘Jesus healed every disease and sickness’ one gets the impression that he cured not only aches and pains but also the chronic, disabling diseases, even death. We know from elsewhere in the gospels that he restored sight to the blind. How do you imagine the disciples responded when they saw these acts of healing? Did they react in puzzled excitement? Did they talk about them among themselves? Did they ask Jesus how he did it? Did they connect these powers with his relationship to God? Did they imagine that they could teach and heal like this, too?
  • You received without payment; give without payment, was part of ‘God’s economy’. Paying for healing would be normal. Giving freely reflected compassion for the harassed and helpless. It makes one wonder: what blessings did we receive and what do we give freely?  
  • What is the harvest in the phrase, The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few? It could represent the people who were waiting for the Messiah. Given that the sentence follows immediately after the words that they were harassed and helpless it might also refer to the physical and spiritual needs for healing, consolation and direction. What is today’s harvest that waits for workers?

Peace

Michael