The Mission
Fourth Sunday After Pentecost (July 6, 2025)
Psalm 66:1-9 and Luke 10:1-11, 16-20
We all probably learn to work at some point in our lives. Whether we want to or not, right?
At a very early age, I was taught to work by my parents. During the week, my siblings and I had daily chores like washing dishes, feeding our pets, main our beds, keeping our rooms tidy, for example.
On Saturday mornings, we knew that after breakfast there would be yard work, gardening, and taking care of animals.
We might be allowed to watch a few cartoons after breakfast; however, as soon as my Daddy called us to the yard, we knew to turn off the television and head outside for whatever tasks he had lined up for us on this particular day.
Once we were given our assignments, we knew there would be no time for lollygagging, and we were on a mission to get the task done as soon as possible so that we could enjoy our free time after completion.
That upbringing, I believe, is why I still find it hard not to work. I am realizing, however, that as I get older, I may not set out with as much vigor as I once did, but I know there are things to get done and things that are expected of me.
Many days I leave my house with a list of tasks that I need to get done for the day, and I set out on the mission that I have been given.
This is where the 70 that Jesus sends out find themselves in our Luke passage. His disciples are clearly given a mission and are sent with very detailed and direct instructions by Jesus.
Jesus has just announced in the previous scripture his coming rejection by the religious leaders and his death and resurrection. He has proclaimed his mission to go to Jerusalem.
Our scripture then picks up with him sending out the 70 disciples ahead of him where he intended himself to go.
I find this a bit fascinating that he would send these disciples ahead of him. What was the purpose?
There could be many reasons why he sent the disciples, and one is to teach them so that they could learn the power of God that was being given to them, or maybe more appropriately stated, that was being used through them and their actions.
Jesus tells them to go and admits that he is sending them as lambs in the midst of wolves.
Whenever I think about this statement, my first thought is that he is sending them into danger; however, another thought is that he is sending them into a den of people who are hungry for salvation. No doubt, it is surely both whether these people yet realize their need for salvation or not.
He tells them basically to go empty handed. “Take nothing with you and greet no one on the road.”
This is where my phrase that I often say comes to mind, “I’m on a mission.”
For me, this means nothing can get in my way of needing to get done those things that are set before me. I cannot let anything interrupt my train of thought until the task is done.
As much as I want to stop and talk to the person at my door who has great things to tell me, I cannot stop until I have completed what I have to get done; otherwise, I will fail in accomplishing what has been set before me, and in so doing will let others down.
Jesus is basically telling his disciples to not get side-tracked or distracted. Don’t go lollygagging. Don’t get burdened down with possessions and things to carry because I am giving you everything that you need to get the task done.
Keep your eye on the mission.
Now the instructions keep coming. Jesus tells them before you enter a house say, “Peace to this house!”
And if a person of peace is in that house, peace will rest on you, and if not, your peace will return to you.
What I love about this statement is that Jesus is telling us that our peace cannot be taken from us. When we get anxious about something, it is on us when we allow the peace that we have been given to be disrupted. No one can take away the peace that has been placed within us by the Holy Spirit.
Then Jesus gives them permission to be hosted and to receive the gifts for their labor that they earn.
And don’t feel as if you need to move around from house to house because you are not being a burden on the one who greets you with peace. Remain there where you are met with peace.
Jesus continues, “When a town welcomes you, stay there, cure the sick, and say, “The Kingdom of God has come near to you.”
In this act of peace and healing, God has worked through his disciple to provide for the one in need. The Kingdom of God is near. God is near. God is with us.
However, when you enter a town that does not welcome you, go out into the streets…notice they are not saying this within a house of peace, they are out in the streets of the unwelcoming town.
There the disciples were to say to those who are unwelcoming, “Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest against you. YET KNOW THIS! The Kingdom of God has come near.”
Whether they are welcomed or not, God is with them. God is in the midst of the mission for which the disciples have been sent.
This brings us back to the old saying, “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink.”
Our mission is the same as the disciples. We are tasked to bring peace to people, to dine with them, to cure the sick; yet if someone or a group of people rejects us, it is not on us, it is on them.
They have not only rejected us, but they also reject God who has sent Jesus who sent out the disciples.
Today, we are still sent to carry on the mission to bring our God of peace and love to all we meet.
After the 70 returned to Jesus, they were rejoicing. We are told that they returned with joy! It’s important to note here that Jesus sent 70 and 70 returned. Not one disciple was lost.
Jesus doesn’t hold back by telling them they have been sent out in danger; however, they are also protected by the power of God.
We can rest assured in knowing that when God sends us out, he equips us and gives us what we need to fulfill the mission.
Let us remain humble and rejoice in knowing that our names are written in heaven for the Kingdom of God is near! God is with us.