Isaiah 66:10-14 Psalm 66:1-8 Galatians 6:(1-6), 7-16 Luke 10:1-11, 16-20
On July 2, 1776 the legal bonds between the United States and England were broken when the Second Continental Congress approved a resolution of independence from Great Britain. Two days later, the Declaration of Independence was passed. It was not until August 4th, that many of the delegates actually signed it. I find it interesting that in the minds of the American People our freedom was established on July 4th, the day the Declaration of Independence was passed, not the resolution that passed two days earlier. I remember only one sentence from this historic document:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
The members of the Second Continental Congress believed that we were all created equal and we were endowed with certain rights. They believed these truths to be self-evident – so much so that they did not have to justify these statements because they were that obvious. And, the Declaration goes on to list the violations of these rights that led them to declare their independence from England.
Our newly declared freedom eventually became a reality, but at the cost of thousands of lives. For over 200 years now people have given their lives for our country’s independence and for our life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. We have a great deal to be thankful for today as a result of the men and women who have made our independence possible.
In our lives together, we are sometimes called to do what is contrary to the will of God. God’s will for us is peace – and, I dare say that peace is to be experienced as equals. God intends for us to live in freedom, and to pursue happiness. We are created in God’s image that we might create such a world – that we can experience God’s Kingdom here on Earth. Yet with freedom – or free choice comes the ability to chose evil and over and over again in life we are forced to chose between the lesser of two evils.
War is not, nor will it ever be what God desires for us – but it may be necessary. Our celebration today is not a victory celebration. We do not celebrate our independence on the day the war ended, but on the day we declared it. It is a celebration of our freedom. It is a celebration of the birth of this great nation. We celebrate our ability to worship as we choose, not as the state dictates, and we give thanks to all who have served their country so that we have the opportunity to pursue happiness.
As Christians, we pursue happiness through our relationship with God – which includes providing service to others. Our gospel reading today is rich with information as to what God calls us to do. In the best of times, in our pursuit of happiness, we often go astray. We need God’s messengers to come to us, to share God’s peace and heal the sick. So today’s gospel teaches us about spreading the Good News, or evangelism – a word most of us Episcopalians don’t like to use let alone practice.
First, I want you to notice that Jesus sends his disciples out in pairs. There is strength in numbers. He warns them that he is sending them out as sheep among wolves. To live an authentic Christian life by ourselves, in isolation from other Christians is nearly impossible because of the temptations all around us. Being Christian requires us to continually refocus our attention on the power of the Holy Spirit that is present within us. Prayer and fellowship gives us strength by maintaining our focus on God’s will for us and others. Jesus sends the disciples out in pairs because of the very temptation Christ warns them about in the final verse of today’s reading: “Do not rejoice . . . that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” We are not to rejoice in what we have done in Christ’s name, for it is God who deserves the credit. What we do in life, what we accomplish is possible because of the gifts we have been given by God – like the unalienable rights – they are gifts we have received.
I want you to notice something else about this gospel reading. We hear a great deal about the apostles – the chosen twelve, but in this story Jesus sends out 70 of his disciples to do what he has been doing – to heal the sick and cast out demons. This story serves as a reminder that there is so much more about the life of Jesus that we don’t know. The Gospels are like the Cliff Notes of old, and Spark Notes of today. They are the Readers Digest version of Christ’s life and teaching – and clearly the people who followed Jesus did more than just listen. In this story they performed miracles in Jesus’ name.
From this Gospel, then, we need to remember that we are most effective when we are not alone. We need each other for support and strength. We also need to remember that we draw our strength from Christ and that when we focus our attention on God’s Kingdom, we can accomplish miraculous things. Have you ever heard some people described as having a healing presence – or a calming presence? People who have this gift shine forth God’s love – it is not something they can accomplish alone. You can be that presence to someone – you are called to be that presence to someone, for that is what all Christians are called to do – to share God’s peace with others.
Let us pray.
Loving God, we ask you to guide us here at St. Andrew’s that together we might serve our community in mission. We ask you to help us invite others into our fellowship, welcome all who enter, to include them in the life of our church, and to share your peace with them. Draw us nearer to you, we pray, that we might grow in our faith and be better stewards of the gifts you have given us. All this we ask, in the name of one God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit we pray. Amen.
