Daily Bread

After this the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go. He said to them, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest. Go on your way. See, 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. Whatever house you enter, first say, “Peace to this house!” And if anyone is there who shares in peace, your peace will rest on that person; but if not, it will return to you. Remain 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. Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you; cure the sick who are there, and say to them, “The kingdom of God has come near to you.”But whenever you enter a town and they do not welcome you, go out into its streets and say, “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.”

‘Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever rejects you rejects me, and whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.’

The seventy returned with joy, saying, ‘Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us!’ He said to them, ‘I watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning. See, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing will hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice at this, that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.’

We often think of Pentecost as being the 'birthday of the Church' but before Jesus was executed there was a large following of disciples and a growing network of believers.

In today's Bible reading, Jesus sends out the 72, and the thing I'd like us to notice is how the mission and ministry of the disciples is very different to how we typically do mission and ministry today.

The disciples were sent out poor and hungry. They had no money, no shoes, and were to be focused in their task. They were to be totally dependent on their hosts, eating and drinking only what was provided for them. They brought nothing to the table in terms of physical blessings, but they were to bring spiritual blessings.

How different this was to how we do 'mission' today! Missionaries (including parish priests) are funded to go to new places. In the UK, church teams go to rough housing estates and buy or rent a house to be a presence in those communities. Now, I'm not saying this is a bad thing, but what would it look like to go with no provisions, trusting in the Lord to provide? Would us missionaries be humble enough to rely on the generosity of strangers?

This model of mission, as described in today's passage, fostered hospitality, and valued what the community — those whom the missionaries sought to reach — had to offer. The disciples made themselves 'lower' than those they came to serve and this model raises questions for all of us, especially for those of us in professional paid ministry.

FAB Church is a gathered church and also a 'sent' church. We know to whom we are called, and each of us has a role to play. A priest and friend prayed this prayer over me yesterday, and so I pray it over you.

"May the Holy Spirit to enable you to seek out the lost, the rejected, the lonely, the marginalised and everybody who has been bullied by the vocal noise of the traditional church."

Today, Helen and I, along with some members of FAB Church and our local parish church will be serving at the Pride Worship. We are stepping into the rainbow community with nothing physical to bring however, our hope and prayer is that we will value what they bring to us, and that we will extend God's loving presence and welcome. Do pray for us. x

The church is a 'sent' church, and many churches have special words at the end of their gatherings as we commit to a life of love and service. Today's prayer uses some of these words.

Holy God
Send me out
in the power of your Spirit
to live and work
to your praise and glory.
Lead me to the places
and peoples you long
to reach with your love.
With Christ, through Christ
and in Christ.
Amen.