When I was just barely into my teens, I went through a period of time when I wanted to be someone else. I didn't like the way I looked. I was self-conscious about the spaces in my teeth. I hated that the veins in my hands stuck out. I wanted to be just like my friend, Marilyn. She was perfect — in everything — and, the boys liked her. I used to stand in front of the mirror and practice smiling like Marilyn. For a while, I dressed like she dressed, walked like she walked, and laughed like she laughed. But, I couldn't pull it off. I couldn't be Marilyn. I was still me. And the boys still liked her better.

My lack of self-confidence wasn't helped very much by my high school band director. I can still remember the look on his face every time we got to a place in the music where I had a bassoon solo. He would cue me in with such a worried look you would think he had suddenly gotten ill. It was as though he knew I was going to blow it. And I did, about half the time. I figured the band director must be a Christian. He was praying hard each time he pointed his baton at me.

Then I went to college and everything changed almost over night. What really made the difference was the college band director. There was something remarkable about him. He had charisma. He had authority. And, he believed in me. When he was directing the band and it came time for me to play a solo, he pointed at me with confidence. So I played with confidence. His faith in me changed my perception of myself and made me a better musician.

I think something like that was going on with the disciples. Jesus had come to a turning point in his ministry. He knew that he would not be around much longer to lead the disciples. It was time for them to get started. So, he sent them out on their first mission. They were probably lacking self-confidence. After all, they had just come from Jesus' hometown where he had been totally rejected. So what did Jesus do? Well, he didn't sit down with his followers and complain about the narrow-minded people of Nazareth. Instead, he gave his disciples a pep talk and some basic instructions. Then he gave them his authority and sent them out to do the miracles of healing he had already been doing. He could have done something very different. He could have reminded them that they would always be only his helpers. He was in charge. He was the Son of God, after all. He had to be in charge for their own safety and so they wouldn't be sued if something went wrong. He could have had them waiting on him, running and fetching, carrying messages, acting like general factotums for the boss. He could have done that, but he didn't. What he did was to transfer his power and authority to them. He trusted them. He sent them out with very little training to heal the sick, and they actually did it.

What happened? What happened between that depressing visit to Nazareth and this first successful mission? Something sure changed. Did the disciples suddenly lose their fears and self-consciousness? Did they get massive doses of vitamin B-12 or an injection of steroids? No, of course not. What probably happened was something like this. Jesus called together this group of men who had been his friends from the start and he said to them, "I need you. The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. I need you. I cannot do it by myself. It is time for you to get started." Then he probably looked each one of them in the eye, put his hands on their heads, and said a prayer that gave them the shivers. Then he gave them his authority so they would have power over diseases, over demons, even over death. When he had finished with them they knew that something had changed forever. They could feel it in their bones. So they went out and they healed people and cast out demons. They surprised everyone, perhaps most of all themselves.

Imagine that happening here. Jesus looking you in the eye, touching you, praying over you, giving you his authority. Then he starts calling out names. "Dorothy, I'm sending you downtown to Brooksville. Bob, you're going all the way to Saint Pete. Mary, I want you in Dunedin. And Joe, you head off for Dade City. Travel light. Folks will give you what you need when you ask. People will help because they will see that you rely on God rather than the stuff in your suitcase or in your laptop computer. Just preach about the kingdom, clean up the outcasts, cure diseases, and raise the dead."

I don't know about you, but if that happened here, I'd be in a state of shock. "Who, me?" I'd say. "I don't think I can do this. I don't have enough self-confidence and I skipped the class in school where they taught the art of healing." But then I'd imagine how it would feel if he looked in my eyes and touched me with his hands, and I feel the tingling up and down my backbone all over again. I might not be any smarter or braver, but I'd certainly know I had been blessed. I wouldn't be interested in standing in front of a mirror practicing someone else's smile. I'd have a new self-confidence because Jesus believes in me and gives me his authority. I just might begin to think maybe I can do this after all.

Of course, it doesn't usually happen that way here. But it does happen. Every Sunday you are sent. At the end of the worship service, we say, "Go in peace. Feed the hungry." Or words like that. Can you hear those words coming from Jesus to you? Do you feel shivers up and down your spine when the power of his authority comes to you? You might even feel his touch. He believes in each one of you. He sends you out into the world. He knows you can do more good for the kingdom than you ever imagined. I dare you to let it happen. Amen.