The Roman’s passage started with “Therefore” which means pay attention to what came before. Paul is talking about Abraham’s faith being reckoned as righteousness. Then Jesus is the one who gives us access to grace. The grace in which we stand. The grace that holds us through suffering, the grace that strengthens us with endurance, the grace that builds character and ultimately the grace that leads to hope. Jesus gives us grace and God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit. I would say Paul is making the case for “Gracious Faith.”
Our gospel lesson also offers gracious faith when Jesus shows compassion to the crowd before directly calling and commissioning the disciples into mission. It is interesting to note Luke has Jesus calling his disciples after going up a mountain to pray (6:12-19). In Mark Jesus goes to a mountain to call his disciples who will be sent out in the future to preach and heal (3:13-19). But in Matthew, Jesus models the kingdom work, calls the disciples, then sends them out on mission immediately. It is a mission/calling sandwich. READ Matthew 9:35-10:8
M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E. Do you remember the Mickey Mouse Club? It first aired in 1955 and ran for four seasons. Every episode would start with a theme song for the day followed by a Roll Call with Karen, Cubby, Darlene, Tommy and Annette. Sorry if I left out your favorite Mouseketeer. Of course, we all wanted to be like them, follow them. The show aired five days a week with very high ratings. On Fun with Music Day, they sing, “The talents given to you and me, we must develop faithfully so we can be good Mouseketeers.” I guess thinking about how Jesus called his disciples, the naming of the twelve within different contexts, got me thinking about many contexts of the roll call on the Mickey Mouse Club. Always the same names, but each show was different. I grew up on the second iteration of the Mickey Mouse Club (77-79). Who’s the leader of the Club that made for you and me, MICKEY MOUSE. The beauty of that song was the lyrics, encouraging meeting new people all around the world. In a way, the Mickey Mouse Club was like calling youth into this positive, fun, musical world. When Jesus called his twelve disciples, they did not sing and dance, at least not that we know of, but they certainly had a calling.
Jesus called his disciples out of need. The crowds following Jesus needed healing and hope. The mission that Jesus had been doing so faithfully, needed more laborers. Jesus saw the people for who they were, sheep without a shepherd, harassed and helpless. The same way Jesus sees us for who we are, broken, hurting, in need of God’s love and grace. Jesus showed compassion to the crowd, the same way he shows us compassion today. Because Jesus is the access point to compassion and grace. Jesus embodies grace and shares it with us.
Gracious faith for Matthew starts with mission. Jesus preaching the good news, curing disease and healing the sick. Jesus doing the work God sent him to do. Did you notice Jesus commission his disciples to do exactly the same work. Jesus gave them instruction to preach the good news, cure the sick and heal the lepers, and raise the dead and cast out demons. So as one commentator wrote, “To be sent by Jesus is, in some sense, to be sent as Jesus. (Working Preacher, Colin Yuckman). God’s mission of loving the world is being expanded exponentially with the calling and commissioning of the disciples.
From twelve, the group grew to 120 by Ascension Day. A little over a week later, on Pentecost, it increased to over 3,000. By the end of the second century, this number had increased to almost a quarter of a million. Today, the number has grown to over two billion believers around the world. None of this growth would have been possible had Christians not been excited and supportive of missions or prayed to “the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest” (Sermons.com). I will admit that some of that expansion was tainted by less than gracious faithfulness. Yet the passion and love of Jesus have helped to share God’s love throughout the world.
There’s a wonderful legend about Saint Francis, the kindly thirteenth century monk, who one day informed his brethren that he planned to go into the nearby village on a preaching mission. He invited a novice to go along. On their way, they passed an injured man and Francis promptly stopped, saw to the poor fellow’s needs and arranged medical care for him. They went on and soon passed a homeless man who was near starvation. Again, Francis stopped his journey and ministered to the hungry, homeless man. So it went, through the day: people in need, Francis lovingly caring for them as best he could until the sun was low in the sky. He told his novice friend it was time for them to return, now, to the monastery for evening prayers. But the young man said, “Father, you said we were coming to town to preach to the people.” Francis smiled. Then he said, “My friend, that’s what we’ve been doing all day.” (Sermons.com, E. Carver McGriff).
That’s evangelism at its most faithful. Ministry to people in their need. That’s what Jesus did and that is what Jesus called the disciples to do. Gracious faith is sharing the love of God in concrete form among God’s people. When our gracious faith is shared, we care for those in need, we share the love of God and maybe, just maybe, we can add to the Roll Call of Christ. Jesus has already called your name, shown you love because we are in the club of Christ. While the harvest is plentiful, the laborers are few. Will you labor for Christ? Will you share your gracious faith, adding names to the roll call of Christ?
When Matthew names the twelve, “the list of names does not stand alone as a mere registry of the twelve but as an introduction to an apostleship ‘charter.’ (Our charter) part of Jesus’ own mission is to train followers to join the purposes for which his Father sent him. (Remember Jesus words) ‘as the father sent me, so I send you’” (Jn. 20:21) (Working Preacher, Colin Yuchman).
I will close with “the story of Mary and Harold who moved to Chicago many years ago. They had no friends in Chicago. Soon they were lonely. They were also irritable and unhappy with each other.
While seeking help from the Bible, they saw these words of Jesus: ‘You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide.’ (John 15:16) Somehow that passage became like light penetrating their darkness. They realized that much of their unhappiness was caused by self-centeredness. They wondered if Jesus was choosing them for some kind of unknown service. They also wondered what type of service they could possibly perform in such a big city as Chicago.
The first person they encountered after this discovery was the waitress who served them in a nearby restaurant. She apologized for giving them such slow service and said she was new in the city and miserable. They invited her to visit them in their apartment after work.
A neighbor who was a widower became the second person they befriended. Soon a dozen people were meeting once a week for conversation and prayer.
Out of these meetings grew a project called ‘Adventures in Friendship.’ Soon scores of people were involved in visiting the lonely and the shut-ins throughout the whole area. There was an interesting byproduct of this ministry. Mary and Harold became so absorbed in the needs of others that they soon forgot their own troubles. Their lives became immeasurably richer and fuller.
Probably Mary and Harold would never have thought of what they were doing as evangelism. It didn’t fit the cup that they pictured when they thought of that word. They were simply showing compassion to people in need in Jesus’ name. And, my friends, that is what the church of Jesus Christ is all about.
Jesus had compassion on the crowds. Harassed and helpless they were like sheep without a shepherd. And there were so many of them. Just like today. ‘The harvest is plentiful; but the laborers are few.’ Where are the laborers? Where are those who care enough to become involved in the lives of others? Where are those willing to take their time to show love to young people and old folks, to the substance abuser and the victims of broken families, to the down and out as well as the up and in? Where are the laborers? Christ asks even today. Can Jesus count on you?” (Sermons.com, Catherine Marshall). AMEN
