The Rev. Carol S. Wedell  
June 15, 2008

Next Saturday afternoon our mission team of 10 youth and two adults (a total of 12 - imagine that!) will leave for Wheeling, West Virginia.  For the past few months they have been preparing - largely by raising funds which will enable them to pay for our lodging, transportation, food, etc...  Your generosity and their hard work will enable them to go with no financial concerns - thank you!

We've also had a couple of team meetings to help us get to know each other better, and to begin to get an idea what we'll be doing on the trip.  We had one meeting with parents to answer basic details of location, means of transportation, safety, etc...  Our last meeting was to get to know one another and to prepare our hearts, minds and spirits for the trip ahead of us.

Not surprisingly, the team members had lots of questions.  "What time will we have to get up?"  (These are teenagers, after all!)  "Will there be anyone else there with us?" "Where will we be sleeping?"  "What kind of clothes should we bring?" (Lots of girls on this trip.) "Are the showers inside or out?" (This from a veteran of our first Gulf Mission Team!)   A cheer went up when they learned that not only were the showers inside, but they had recently been redone!  They couldn't believe their good fortune when they learned that the building in which we would be sleeping was air conditioned.  And most of them were actually pleased to learn that we would be making our own dinners.

But the most basic question was simply "What will we be doing?"   That answer is rather straightforward.  We'll be working under the direction of Laughlin Memorial Chapel, who states on its website, "Our mission is to care for and empower families and others by working cooperatively with existing community groups so that the standard and quality of life in the greater Wheeling are enhanced and reflect God's love."

We will serve in the Chapel's summer program, which includes a literacy program for students K-12, at the Catholic Neighborhood Center next door serving meals, as well as doing needed home repair and rehab.  Given that West Virginia has one of the least educated populations and among the highest poverty rates, it is clear that all of these services will meet real needs of real people.

What will a day look like for us?  We'll get up around 7, and either eat breakfast on our own, or with those who are coming in for the literacy program.  Then depending upon the day, we'll be deployed to one of the three tasks I've mentioned.  We'll eat lunch with those we serve, and by dinner time, we'll be on our own - to eat, to reflect, to shower!!!, and to relax together.  We've already agreed on who is bringing which games -- I don't think I'll be playing Twister!

Our gospel lesson this morning is a type of job description for the 12 apostles, as they are sent out on their first mission trip.   First Jesus tells them what an average day will look like for them - cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers and cast out demons.  Wow!  Our mission trip days sound pretty tame by comparison, don't they?  I've never even heard any pastor, elder or deacon charged to do those things!

As Anna Carter Florence notes, "It isn't language we use to describe our work life ("How was your day, honey?"  "Oh, you know, the usual:  cured the sick, raised the dead.  You?") (Lectionary Homiletics Vol XIX, #4, page 30).  It is, however, what those early followers were called and empowered to do.  And I would suggest to you this morning that such a job description was not only for the first century.  The basic human needs they encountered are not a great deal different than the human needs we see around us:  illness, hunger, poverty.

After their task is set before them, we are told exactly who they are - and the list, truthfully, isn't all that impressive. Each one called to serve, each one sent out in Jesus' name comes with significant liabilities. These aren't the cream of the crop.  They don't have impressive resumes.  They definitely would not get into the select colleges - this year, or any year! One of my online colleagues, The Rev. Ruth Innis suggests a letter that Jesus might receive in our day, should he present this list:

Dear Sir:

Thank you for submitting the CVs of the twelve men you have picked for management positions in your new organization. All of them have now taken our battery of tests.

We have run the results through our computer, and also arranged personal interviews for each of them with our psychologists and vocational aptitude consultants. The results of the tests are included, and we advise you to study each of them carefully.

It is the opinion of the staff that most of your nominees are lacking in background, education and vocational aptitude for the type of enterprise you are undertaking.

Besides, they do not have the team concept. We have found ample evidence of jealousy and rivalry among them. Therefore, we would recommend that you continue your search for persons of experience and proven ability.

Simon Peter is emotionally unstable and given to fits of temper - definitely not the man you would want to head your organization. Andrew has absolutely no qualities of leadership. He is just a follower. The two brothers, James and John, are too hot-headed.

Besides, they place personal interest above company loyalty. Thomas demonstrates a questioning attitude that would undermine morale. Matthew, the tax-collector, is undoubtedly a man of ability, but would project the wrong image for an organization such as yours. James, son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus have radical leanings. Hence, their unsuitability.

There is one of the candidates, however, who shows great potential. He is a man of ability and resourcefulness, good with people, has a keen business mind, and has contacts in high places. He is highly motivated, ambitious and responsible. That man is Judas Iscariot. We recommend him as your controller and right-hand man.

We wish you ever success in your new venture.

Sincerely yours,

Jordan management Consultants

Yet those are precisely the 12 that Jesus empowered to carry on his work in the world!  Ordinary, flawed individuals - just like us.  Which is good news for the 12 of us who are heading to West Virginia next Saturday --- in fact, good news for all of us here this morning.  To be Christian is simply to be someone who is willing to assist Jesus.  And that isn't confined to the first twelve apostles, to the 12 of us going on a mission trip, or to those who are ordained to church office.

The true essence of the church is to be a gathering of people who seek to follow and assist Jesus 24/7.  Every one of us is called to teach and to heal.  And we're given a few hints to help along the way.

When Jesus saw the crowds in such need, he had compassion on them.  He didn't stand in judgment of them, he wasn't patronizing.  He called them brothers and sisters, not numbers on a list or the "disadvantaged."   The twelve of us heading to West Virginia will have the opportunity to sit at table with individuals who come from situations very different than our own.  Will we take the time to really get to know them, to learn their names and hear their stories? Can we have the kind of compassion that Jesus did? Can each one of us, when we see those in need, stop and let compassion lead the way?

The disciples were sent out together - this wasn't a solo venture.  Any of you who have ever been a part of such a group mission know that working together is both easier and harder.  It's easier to share the work load, more meaningful to reflect together on what you've experienced, more fun to chop up salad and mop floors with someone else than by yourself. 

But people are people.  They get hot and tired and crabby and "need some space."  Living in close quarters for a significant period of time it's not unusual for tempers to flare and sparks to fly.  As one of our sons said, "There is always something or someone irritating on a mission trip - it's just a part of it!"  But that hasn't stopped him from going on three such ventures - and to find in those trips the very essence of being a follower of Christ.

The disciples were also told, in not so many words, to be flexible.  In the verses that follow our reading this morning, they are encouraged not to spend their time where they aren't appreciated but to move on.  I've been telling our team for months when they ask what it will be like or what we'll be doing, that flexibility is the key.  We truly may not know from one day to the next what we'll be up to.  For folks used to scheduling every minute of every day that may feel a little strange.

But as followers of Jesus we are often called upon to improvise, to take a detour, to trust that God will give us enough grace to do what needs to be done, when it needs to be done.  One team member was worried that she wouldn't have the skill to do what was asked of her.  Surely all of us have been in situations where we didn't feel up to the task.  Turning to your teammates, being willing to see it in a different way, being willing to tackle something you've never done before - it's all a part of day in the life of those who want to assist Jesus.

The disciples were also later instructed to pack lightly - mission team, did you hear that?  Think about whether you really need your ipod or if there is music we could listen to together on the trip.  Dressy clothes - not needed.  Named brand items?  Out.  One suitcase, one sleeping bag or sheets, one air mattress, one small backpack.  We also need to leave behind being bound to the way we do things, and to leave space to learn from those we'll meet.

Teach and heal.  That's what the early disciples were called to do - to put actions behind their words.  We too are called to assist Jesus in addressing the very real needs of a hurting world.  Friends, we have all the skills we need.

Thom Shuman, a Presbyterian pastor who writes beautiful materials for worship, also writes poems.  He shared this one this week:

ordinary gifts

i long to lay hands

on my loved ones

lying in the hospital,

and see them get up and walk,

healed and restored:

    but you call me

    to sit by their bed

    and hold their hand

    through the sleepless night.

i would give almost anything

to make a paste out of dirt and spit,

to rub it on the eyes

of my neighbor who is sightless,

and witness her joy

at seeing sunrise for the first time:

    but you call me

    to read a book

    with a child

    who stumbles over the words.

i would like to win the lottery

so i could give the money away

to improve the lives

of all those

saturated with poverty:

    but you call me

    to help frame walls

    for a Habitat family.

may i take all the ordinary gifts

you have given me,

Exuberant God,

and use them

where you send me.

Amen.

(c) Thom M. Shuman