This morning we’re going to start off with a little confession time. It’s good for the soul. Every once in a while, do you wish you could call in “sick” to work and have a day to relax? There’s an old term that is used for skipping out of some obligation, like not going to work or school when you’re supposed to. It’s called “playing hooky.” It comes from an old Dutch term for the game “hide-and-seek.” So a person who is playing hooky from work is hiding from their boss for the day. (1)
It’s a good thing that more companies are offering personal leave days, even mental health personal leave days, so that employees can take time to relax and relieve their stress. I read a news story from the Associated Press a few years ago about an Arizona man who must have needed a few extra personal leave days. The man, Brandon Soules, faked his own kidnapping in order to get out of going to work.
When police officers in Coolidge, Arizona, found Soules, he appeared to be the victim of a kidnapping. His hands were tied behind his back. A bandana was stuffed in his mouth. He claimed that two men had knocked him out, and when he woke up, he was lying beside the water tower where police found him.
But in their subsequent investigation, police could find no other evidence of the kidnapping. Finally, during a police interview, Soules admitted that he faked his own kidnapping in order to get out of going to work. (2)
We all need a day off sometimes, but that’s an extreme way of dealing with it. On the other end of the spectrum are people who may not be ready to take on a serious job yet. Andrea Barger, head of Public Relations for the website Snagajob.com asked employers to share what behaviors they saw in interviews that immediately disqualified a person from getting a job offer.
The employers mentioned the following behaviors that they had witnessed in real-life interview situations as red flags:
- bringing family members or pets to job interviews
- showing up unprepared for the interview with no knowledge of the company or the position for which you are applying
- engaging in distracting behavior such as texting or painting your fingernails during the interview
- wearing unprofessional clothing, such as swimsuits, costumes, or t-shirts with messages like “Psycho” or “Lazy.” (3)
It’s just my opinion, but if someone wears a t-shirt with the word “Lazy” across the front of it to a job interview, that person may not be the best choice for the job.
In our Bible passage for this morning from Matthew 9, Jesus is sending out his twelve disciples to do the work that he is doing, the work of the kingdom of heaven. And this is not a job for folks who are lazy. He warns them that the mission is overwhelming, and so few workers are ready and willing to do the work. How can he keep them from getting discouraged? Jesus starts by helping them see the world through his eyes. It’s vitally important for us too, that we catch Jesus’ vision and sense of mission. Because people who are on fire with a vision and a mission are unstoppable.
Our passage begins, “Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness.” This is a glimpse of the restoration, the redeeming of creation, that will occur when God establishes God’s kingdom “on earth as it is in heaven.” His teaching, preaching and healing bring the truth and power of God to the people. And now he expects his disciples, a bunch of average guys, to do the work he is doing? It would be impossible for them—and for us—to do what Jesus is asking. Unless Jesus somehow equipped us with his own spirit and power, we could never fulfill our calling as his followers.
So the first thing Jesus does is equip us with his spirit of compassion. Our Bible passage continues, “When (Jesus) saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.’”
The Bible tells us that there is one distinguishing mark that proves someone is a follower of Jesus: their love for others. Just before his arrest and crucifixion, Jesus says these words in John 13: “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
A spirit of compassion changes our priorities. It gives us a mission in life, an overarching purpose that makes everything else in life secondary. It gives us courage. Authentic compassion will always translate to action.
Pastor William Thomas McElroy tells of a traveling evangelist who was holding a series of worship services at a prominent church. One night before the service, the pastor mentioned that he had spent twelve years trying to convince one man in his congregation to become a follower of Jesus. As the pastor said, “. . . I have preached to him so long that I sometimes find myself doing it almost unconsciously.”
“From the pulpit?” asked the evangelist.
“From the pulpit, yes.”
The evangelist leaned in and asked, “How many times have you gone to him with the love of God in your heart and said: ‘I want to see you become a child of God’?”
We all want to share the truth and hope of God with others, don’t we? But we think others will catch our faith through osmosis. We invite people to church. We have Christian bumper stickers on our cars and Christian symbols on our keychains and our t-shirts and ball caps. We live lives that model the example of Jesus Christ. But we don’t have the compassion in our hearts that compels us to speak to people face-to-face. We don’t have the courage to say, “I want to see you become a child of God.”
That night after the service, the pastor met the man at the door of the church and had a conversation with him. It was not a long conversation, but it was intentional and full of love for this man and his need to know God. The next evening, that same man, with tears running down his face, prayed for Jesus to be his Lord and Savior. All because someone finally came to him with the love of God in their heart and said, “I want you to become a child of God.” (4)
The second thing Jesus does is equip us with his divine authority. Matthew 10: 1 reads, “Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.” Jesus has both divine power and authority over all of creation. He can calm the storms, turn water into wine, heal every sickness, restore sight to the blind, and raise a dead man to life. Nothing is impossible for him.
So don’t think he chose you because of your skills, intellect, strength, great credit score or sparkling personality. He may use all these facets of our life for his glory, but he doesn’t need them. He needs only our obedience to him. Jesus equips the faithful to do his work, especially work that seems impossible under our own power.
In 1955, a young man from Holland developed a passion for sharing God’s word in countries where Christians were being persecuted. The young man, who went by the name “Brother Andrew” began smuggling Bibles into Communist countries in Eastern Europe, such as Yugoslavia and Poland. Brother Andrew founded Open Doors, “the oldest worldwide ministry to persecuted Christians.” Open Doors provides Bibles, emergency relief and other help to persecuted Christians in 60 countries around the world.
Their work is difficult and dangerous. In 1981, a crew from Open Doors loaded one million Bibles into 232 packages. They traveled by night into waters just off the coast of China, where they floated those 232 packages to waiting Chinese Christians, who then distributed the Bibles to members of the underground church.
Before his death at age 94, Brother Andrew traveled close to one million miles across 125 countries, smuggling Bibles and providing other help to Christians who were under threat for practicing their faith.
After Brother Andrew’s death, the president of Open Doors USA said of him, “Brother Andrew was an ordinary man who chose to go to hard places and do amazing things for one reason: He was following Jesus.”
Brother Andrew accomplished amazing work in his lifetime, work that lives on after him, only by the divine authority and equipping of Jesus Christ. As he once said about the organization he founded, “Our very mission is called ‘Open Doors’ because we believe that all doors are open, anytime and anywhere. I literally believe that every door is open to go in and proclaim Christ, as long as you are willing to go and are not worried about coming back.” (5)
Where does that commitment and courage come from? I think we find our answer in verses 7-8 of our Bible passage. Jesus tells his disciples he is sending them to the “lost sheep of Israel.” And then he says, “As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.”
The final thing Jesus does is equip us with the good news of the kingdom of heaven. And this good news is both proclamation and power. It is truth and transformation. It is a present reality and our future hope. Freely Jesus gave his life for us so that we could receive all the blessings of citizenship in the kingdom of heaven. Now we have the opportunity to share those blessings with others.
Rev. George Anderson took his youth group on a mission trip a few years ago. On the way to their destination, they stopped for the night in a small town where members of the local church housed them. Rev. Anderson ended up in the home of a well-off couple. This couple welcomed him into their home and told him of their own daughter’s experience on a church mission trip to Mexico.
It had been their daughter’s first mission trip, so she wanted to be prepared. She had packed her largest suitcase with as many clothes, shoes, and cosmetics as she could stuff in it. When she arrived in Mexico, she was shocked by the poverty she saw. She had never known hunger or suffering or injustice.
God planted a deep sense of compassion in this young woman on the mission trip. He awakened a new sense of calling in her life. When her parents picked her up at the airport afterwards, she wasn’t carrying any luggage. She’d given everything away except her toothbrush and the clothes on her back. She no longer cared about fashion and cosmetics and possessions. Her values and priorities had been transformed by her time doing kingdom work. Now she was planning a future around her desire to work with those who are suffering and in need. (6)
Last Sunday we talked about the graciousness of God and God’s plan to usher in His kingdom through imperfect people like the disciples. And you. And me. It doesn’t make sense, does it? But Jesus never expects us to accomplish kingdom work under our own power. First, he equips us with his spirit of compassion, with seeing people as God sees them. Then he equips us with his divine authority. And finally, he equips us with the good news of the kingdom of heaven. We have been given the calling and the authority to do the work of the kingdom right here, right now, in our own communities and throughout the world. Will we accept that calling? Will we trust in Jesus’ power working in us? If so, we can have the joy of seeing God transform lives through our obedience.
1. https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/play%20hooky.
2. “Arizona man accused of faking own kidnapping to evade work” by Cydeni Carter, Associated Press, Posted February 19, 2021, updated February 24, 2021. Copyright 2021, Scripps Media, Inc. https://www.abc15.com/news/region-central-southern-az/casa-grande/arizona-man-accused-of-faking-own-kidnapping-to-evade-work.
3. “Don’t Take Your Mom to the Interview (& Other Tips)” by Andrea Barger, Snagajob.com, August 3, 2021. https://www.snagajob.com/blog/post/dont-take-your-mom-and-other-tips-for-your-first-job-interview.
4. William Thomas McElroy in Biblical Illustrator,
5. “Open Doors Founder and Famed Bible Smuggler ‘Brother Andrew’ Dies at Age 94” September 29, 2022. https://ministrywatch.com/open-doors-founder-and-famed-bible-smuggler-brother-andrew-dies-at-age-94/.
6. From a sermon by George Anderson in Lectionary Homiletics, November 1995, p.25. Cited in “Good Excuses,” Dr. Greg Jones, Westminster Presbyterian Church, Wilmington, Delaware http://www.wpc.org/sermons/2005/w050828gkj.htm.