Sent Out in Pairs – CPE Sermon – Luke 10:1-11, 16-20 – July 7, 2013

This is my first Sunday morning sermon! It was given at Rochester Methodist and St. Marys Hospitals at Mayo Clinic, in Rochester, Minnesota as part of my summer CPE (Clinical Pastoral Education) chaplaincy internship.

Sisters and brothers in Christ, grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Batman and Robin. Abbott and Costello. Wallace and Gromit. There are lots of great duos throughout our history. Bonnie and Clyde. Adam and Eve. Since I’m in this place, Charlie and Will, the Mayo brothers. What is it about these pairs of people? And what do these pairs have to do with today’s Gospel reading from Luke?

In this story of Jesus sending out his followers, I want to focus on a particular element of the story: the idea of companionship. Luke writes, “After this, the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs.” Jesus sent them on ahead of him in pairs.

Why? Clearly, there is a lot of ground for them to cover. The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Jesus knows there is a lot to do. Wouldn’t it be more efficient to send out the disciples one by one to cover as much ground as they could?

And yet, Jesus sends them out in pairs, with a companion. There is an important message for us today in this idea. People are not made to be alone, but to be in relationship with others and with God. The Christian life is not meant to be lived alone. Maybe that is why we are here today, to catch a glimpse of Christian community. To be reminded as we gather here today, in this community, that we are not alone, that we are part of a great cloud of witnesses transcending time and space.

When Jesus sends these disciples out, he doesn’t expect it to be an easy task. This isn’t going out on a picnic. Jesus is pretty blunt with them. He calls it sending them as “lambs into the midst of wolves.” That’s a pretty bleak picture. And the disciples don’t seem to have very high expectations. In the second section of the reading, in verse 17, Luke writes that the seventy returned with joy. Actually, it sounds like they were surprised with how well things went on their journey. Perhaps as they went out, they were questioning what they were going to accomplish. I picture them going out timidly, not sure what they had to offer. And yet, God was with them. God used them.

It’s interesting, that when they come back, they’re all excited about how well things went. “Even the demons submit to us!” And I picture Jesus smiling and nodding at how excited they are. But then he gently corrects them, saying, “Nevertheless, do not rejoice at this, that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” It’s not about the great stuff that they accomplished because God was with them, it’s about God’s presence. Having your name written in heaven, being with God. That is what’s worth rejoicing about, not that everything went well for them on their journey.

This is especially true when it is hard to see God’s presence, when everything seems to be going wrong in life. Maybe it’s a difficult diagnosis. Maybe it’s not getting a job that seemed like it would be such a great fit. Maybe it’s just being here in the hospital, away from home, away from family and friends. Is God still here with us when we don’t feel it? Where is God when we feel alone?

There’s a famous poem that you may be familiar with called “Footprints in the Sand.” It talks about a person looking back through his life, and noticing that there are two sets of footprints in the sand that represents his life, but in the lowest points of his life, there is only one set. And he turns to Jesus and says, “You promised me that you would walk with me always. How come in the hardest parts of my life, there is only one set of footprints? Why weren’t you there for me when I needed you the most?” And Jesus answers, “The times when you see only one set of footprints, those are the times when I carried you.”

Even when it feels like we’re alone, even when it seems like everyone has abandoned us, Jesus says, “I am with you.” Here in the hospital, it’s all too easy to feel alone or abandoned. But we’re never alone. That’s the gift of being a follower of Christ. God comes to us in many ways, often through the people around us, our companions sent with us on this journey.

Jesus doesn’t send us out alone. Even when we don’t see it, Christ comes to us in the person of others, our companions. One of the greatest gifts that we can be given, and that we can give to someone else, especially here in the hospital, is to simply be present with others.

Like Jesus sending out the seventy, God does not promise that our journeys will be easy. But God gives us companions for the journey. As we gather in community here at the table for the Lord’s Supper, let us be reminded that we are not alone. God is with us, and God has given us each companions for the journey.

Amen. And may the peace of God which passes all understanding keep our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.