In our gospel reading today, Jesus is praying for his disciples. We find that he is broadening the meaning and scope of the title disciple. It not only included those who surrounded him at that moment, and the many who believed in him but it appears to refer to all those who are beyond the Jews. The passage seems to refer to all believers of that time and the future. In other words, even us.
He prays for our protection from the evil one. That we can all appreciate. He also says that he is sending them as the Father sent him. A little closer to home, Christ is implying that we, you and me, are sent out to do the same things as Jesus. We are being sent to teach others about Christ and what he did and about true worship of the Father. You are sent.
Your first thought is that you are not interested in being a missionary. Although that is part of the sending, that isn’t the real thought behind it. The sending is a lot closer to home. Think of all the ways we can teach others about Christ. We have several great Sunday school teachers in the church. More and more in the church, Christians are discovering that once a child reaches seventeen, it becomes more difficult to win them to Jesus. The “seven to seventeen window” is what they call that time frame when a heart is still open and drinks in the knowledge of their faith. Therefore, we should look at that window as the most open time in a person’s life and then realize that a Sunday school teacher and youth pastor are on the front line of the battle for the hearts and soul of people.
Some people claim they have a calling to teach kids. According to this passage it is not so much a calling as a sending. They are sent to do what Jesus said. He is sending us as the Father sent him.
There are many Christians who have joined small group, home Bible studies. Although there is usually a leader in each study, there is also shared opinion, shared knowledge, and shared insights. It is the average church-goer teaching the other average church-goer. It is doing what we are sent to do - to teach one another.
Others have joined prison ministries and spend their time working with those that need redemption and hope. Others allow their hammers to bang out words as they travel and build homes. It could be the person who sits next to you at work. You see and hear their struggles and speak a word of encouragement. You are getting a sense of their needs and possibly a door will open when you can invite them to your house for a Bible study or just for dinner. God will take the conversation where it needs to go. He’s sending you. You just need to wait on him to open the doors.
Parents need to model this in the home. Start teaching your children about Jesus. It doesn’t have to be a sit-down family devotional time. That is a wonderful thing but families don’t have a central nucleus time together. This kid is in soccer, that one is in basketball, and yet another one is running to some club meeting. It is getting difficult but ask them questions about their Sunday school lesson or about the sermon. Allow an outside teaching source to kick questions and ideas into their minds. Be honest if you don’t know the answer. Then go find the answer and give it to them. That is a simple way just to keep the conversation open.
We are sent by Jesus, just as the Father sent him. We are sent to teach others. In many ways, that brings us full circle from that Ash Wednesday so many months ago. We started out needing a renewal in our hearts and minds. God has moved on us to a point where we are maturing Christians. Now it is time to begin our own mission to help others grow in Christ. He is sending you.
Let me end with a funny story. There were four men in an airplane. There was the pilot. There was a boy scout. There was a preacher (we like to be at the center of every story), and the world’s smartest man. He was so smart that every move the current president makes, he has to call the world’s smartest man and every president for the last twenty years has called him. In fact, every leader of every country calls him before they make a move. He is the world’s smartest man.
Suddenly the door to the cockpit flies open and pilot tells the other three, “I have bad news and I have worse news. The bad news is that the plane is going down. I can’t do anything to prevent it. Now for the worse news. There are four of us, and only three parachutes.”
The pilot continues, “I have a family that needs me so I am taking one.” He grabs a chute, opens the door, and jumps.
The world’s smartest man jumps up and says, “I am the world’s smartest man. The world can’t run without me. Everyone needs me.” He grabs a chute bag and jumps.
As pastors go, this preacher was typical. He wanted to get in his last sermon. He said, “Son, you take the parachute. I have peace with God. I know my Savior and I am willing to sacrifice myself for you.”
The boy scout waited patiently for a second, then, rolling his eyes, he said, “Cool it, Reverend The world’s smartest man just grabbed my backpack and jumped out the door.”
That is a perfect illustration of the world we live in. We have thousands and millions of really smart people jumping out airplanes with nothing but backpacks. And we, the ones Jesus has sent, have the parachutes they need. You are being sent to hand out parachutes to those really smart people that miss the obvious. Christ is sending you to pass out parachutes.
Amen.