Heaven on Earth

It is common when considering Jesus’ ministry, to call him an itinerant preacher; a man with no fixed plan, wandering with his disciples from village to village, spreading his message.  But our gospel today gives quite a different picture.  We see Jesus the organiser, Jesus the manager, Jesus with a game plan. 

Jesus picks 72 followers, other than the disciples – please note that, because that means there were others following Jesus with some consistency other than the twelve apostles – Jesus picks 72 men, puts them into pairs and sends them out to 36 villages – at least – possibly more.  One of Jesus’ instructions is not to move about from house to house but to stay in one place, suggesting that these disciples were in the first instance to stay in one village – unless the village would not have them. 

Imagine planning this from here.  Sending out two missionaries to South Harrow, North Harrow, West Harrow, Wealdstone, Harrow Weald, Stanmore, Ruislip, Pinner, Eastcote, Preston Road, Sudbury, Wembley.  That is only twelve places and they are all relatively nearby on foot.  Jesus sent his disciples to 36 villages – and they were all places he was intending to visit.  Imagine training these men in readiness for this work.  We are told of some of Jesus’ instructions but I am sure there was more to it.  Jesus would have had to discern who had the gifts for the work, possibly interview them – not formally as we would expect nowadays, but to come alongside each one individually.  The task Jesus set himself before the disciples went out, was immense – planning, choosing, teaching and sending.   

The instructions from Jesus according to our text are very few, 

⁴Go on your way; I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves. ⁴Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals, and greet no one on the road. ⁵Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this house!’ ⁶And if a person of peace is there, your peace will rest on that person, but if not, it will return to you. ⁷Remain in the same house, eating and drinking whatever they provide, for the labourer deserves to be paid. Do not move about from house to house. ⁸Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you; ⁹cure the sick who are there, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’^[b] 10But whenever you enter a town and they do not welcome you, go out into its streets and say, ¹¹‘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. 

“I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves.  Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals, and greet no one on the road.”  These are hardly comforting words or confidence-inducing instructions.  How many of us set out on any lengthy journey without money, and a bag containing a few basic necessities.  The disciples are instructed to carry nothing.  They go out simply in what they are wearing to places they do not know and people they have never met.  No wonder they feel like lambs among wolves. 

Why does Jesus ask this of them?  Possibly the clue is in these words, “Cure the sick and say the kingdom of God has come so near you.”  They are to say, “The kingdom of God has come near you, whether the village has accepted or rejected them. 

When the disciples return, they are full of joy and excitement at what they have achieved.  Even the evil spirits have obeyed them. Jesus is joyful with them, too, but he says, “Nevertheless, do not rejoice at this, that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” 

The 72 are sent out with no material, confidence-giving support.  They are sent out vulnerable and utterly dependant on the generosity of others.  They come back full of joy at all they have achieved but Jesus tells them, however, that what they should rejoice in is that now their names are written in heaven. 

What is the kingdom of God that has come very close to people on this journey – some of whom accepted it, some of whom possibly rejected it?  What does Jesus mean by saying the disciples’ names are now written in heaven? 

I want to tell you a couple of stories.  Way back, when I was in my 20s, I went on a road trip with a Canadian boyfriend from Vancouver, through the Rockies to Alberta on the other side of the mountains and then back through the Rockies another way.  It was, as you can imagine, an amazing trip.  But one Saturday afternoon our car broke down badly.  We managed to limp to a campsite but knew we would not be able to get the car to a garage until Monday.  We managed as best we could and the next day, Sunday, we decided to find the local Episcopalian church.  We were invited for coffee after the service in the same way we invite people here, and got talking to a middle-aged couple.  When they heard our breakdown story, they immediately invited us to Sunday lunch.  I am not sure how they stretched the food but I do not remember feeling hungry.  The next day the man came around and helped us get in touch with the garage and just gave us support.  By Tuesday the car was mended and we went on our way.  I will never forget the generosity of those people, their kindness, their companionship, their willingness to feed and support us. 

The other story belongs to my husband, Richard, but I don’t think he would mind me sharing it.  Richard was a very good artist and when he was sixteen, he won a monetary prize in an art competition.  He decided he would use the money to go to Paris.  He was very sensible and very careful with his money and most importantly he had his ticket home.  But on the day he was due to travel back by train and boat, there was some sort of delay and Richard had no money left to buy food or a drink to sustain him on the long journey home.  He just stood around for hours at the station waiting for his train. Standing on the platform, an English man with a family noticed Richard and after a while came up to him.  He said, “I hope you don’t mind but I notice you don’t seem to have had anything to eat.”  He gave Richard £1.00 – worth a lot more then – we are talking the 1950s.  Richard was very grateful and started to blurt out that his father would send the money back to him when he got home, if the man would give Richard his address.  The man said, no that was not necessary.  One day Richard would see someone else in need and he could then help that person.  Richard has never forgotten that man or the lesson he learnt that day.   

Both the stories I have told are about receiving materially from others.  But they are about so much more.  When we give or receive, we actually receive back more than we first had.  When we receive from others something is opened up between us, between the giver and the one receiving.  The person who gives experiences sharing what they have first been given, realises that something deep within them is released, freed, that this is how life should be.  The person receiving also realises many things beyond simply the food or the money – that they have value, that this a is caring human relationship and is how life should be.  But perhaps the most important thing about giving is that there is a mutuality about it.  The ones who give materially received spiritually and the ones who received materially give spirituality. 

The disciples went out without extra stuff to support and protect them, so that they could experience the joy of mutual giving.  They came giving the villagers what they needed spiritually, the story of Jesus.  The villagers gave the disciples what they needed, food and a place to sleep.  The love and mutuality experienced as people spoke of who Jesus was and what he was teaching, shared perhaps around a meal table, released the love and power of God – possibly released the ability to heal – who knows – empowering the disciples with confidence.  The disciples were ambassadors of the kingdom and in them and through them the kingdom of God came very near. 

But also, in those relationships developed in those villages; in experiencing gratitude, in realising their utter dependence on God and that God would sustain them always despite outward appearance, the disciples now knew heaven on earth.  Heaven is not a place.  It is a relationship.  The most powerful relationship we ever have: the relationship we have with God the Father through the Son.  When Christ is released into the heart of our human relationships then we can begin to taste moments of heaven on earth.  The kingdom is so, so close.