Matthew 9: 35-10:8 June 14 2020 “Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and curing every disease and every sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.

Then Jesus summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to cure every disease and every sickness. These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon, also known as Peter, and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed him.

These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. As you go, proclaim the good news, ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. You received without payment; give without payment.”

I remember when I was a little boy and in school we were learning about time. We were learning about how clocks and calendars worked, what a year was etc. And this may be no big deal to us now, but for a little boy eager to learn this was like giving me the keys the universe. I understood how time worked… I knew my how many hours in a day, how many days in a week, I’m still working on which months have how many days, that one is a great mystery still… but I also learned how many weeks and months are in a year. This was all very liberating.

When we had completed that unit and I felt I was truly master of time, I wanted to put it to the test. One of the great challenges of this unit was telling what time it was on a watch or clock. So I got home from school one day at my grandmother's house and I was thrilled to show off what I learned, and i rushed in “grandma grandma, let me see your wrist let me see your wrist! Grandma always had a nice watch on, even when she was out in the garden… she loved her watches… she extended her arm I pulled back her sleeve and to my horror and confusion, she had a watch on, but there were no numbers… There were no markers around the sides telling me where the long minute arm, and the shorter hour arm were pointing. It just looked like a compass.

Where are the numbers grandma I asked, without them how can I tell what time it is? Grandma laughed and said it’s 3:45 honey , once you’ve been telling time for a while you won’t need the numbers anymore you just know how to read it as it is.

Well do you know what time it is? For the last several weeks we’ve been talking about “living the text”. How these ancient christian holidays are more than just excuses to change the colors of the paraments, they are signs, markers in time that remind us who God is and who we are called to be.

Ascension tell us that not only has God come to be with us, but that we can be with God. Pentecost the church's birthday, reminds us that we are a spirit led people, called to translate the message of the gospel into language it can be heard in, and this will send us out to all kinds of people. Last week was Trinity Sunday where we talked about the nature of God, as a dynamic life giving relationship, God in God’s nature is love, and that we are created and sent out to be this love in the world. To make disciples by baptizing them, teaching them, and remembering that Christ is with us.

But do you know what time it is today? My grandma said once you’ve been telling time for a while you can just read it like it is… That’s why we keep coming to church in some ways, to learn how to tell time God’s way. There are a lot of clocks out there, a lot of calendars, and schedules to keep up with. But on sunday mornings, when we gather together, the celebrate the resurrection of Christ (which is what every sunday is) we learn to tell time a different way. We learn to pattern our life after God’s telling of time.

So what time is it? The Christian year is broken up into three major cycles, the cycle of the incarnation, the coming of Christ to us in advent, Christmas, and epiphany. This is followed by the Paschal cycle or you could call it the cycle of redemption which is lent, easter all the way to pentecost.

Today begins our journey in the season of kingdomtide. This is also sometimes called ordinary time, and it’s marked with the color green, to represent that this is a season of growth, and new life. Another way to think about it is that 2 parts of the year tell the story of Jesus, and now this season of Kingdomtide tells us our story.

The text for today tells us plainly that Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom. That’s what Jesus did, and as we can see in the text we too are called to proclaim the good news of the kingdom. What Jesus does, so we go and do likewise… And that’s what we’ll be exploring in one way or another for the next few months.

What is the good news of the kingdom, and how do we proclaim it . Every Sunday we pray the lord’s prayer where with one voice we pray thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. This season, is when we try to let this prayer shape our life. Because that’s what time it is.

This text we’re given today to kick off the season of Kingdomtide tells us what the kingdom life looks like. It’s one where we are sent into the world It says “As you go, proclaim the good news, ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. You received without payment; give without payment” Now not many of us probably feel up to the challenge. It’s been a few months since I cast out any demons, raised the dead, or even helped my wife get over a cold! And I don’t know about you but I don’t know many lepers living here in Elkton.

But just because this seems daunting, it doesn’t get us off the hook. I believe what this is challenging us today and during the whole season of kingdomtide is to go into the world. Go to the broken, the poor, and the hurting, to go into the worse situations and proclaim the kingdom of God has come near .

A few years ago, a homeless man Stephen Jones, 35, was sleeping near Manchester Arena when he heard a loud bang, which he initially believed to be fireworks. This attack at the Ariana Grande concert left 22 dead and many more injured. When Jones and his friend saw everyone screaming and running, they began to run with the crowd. But when they realized what was happening, they ran back and saw women and children leaving the arena with "blood throughout the stairs" and victims lying on the ground. Instead of running away Jones ran into to help.

There were a few counts of homeless folks and others around who instead of running away ran in to help. Some said “we had to, it’s what you do when people are hurting when women and children are bleeding, you help.”

Jones himself said "If I didn't help, I wouldn't be able to live with myself for walking away and leaving kids like that. What time is it church? It’s Kingdomtide, when those who are hurt and afraid hear good news from unlikely candidates.

Our church has felt its share of pain and loss in the last year. Even now During this crazy season of the virus, we see friends and neighbors who are sick and afraid… What time is it church? It’s kingdomtide, when we as a family rise up to go to the hurting, the poor and the powerless and offer ourselves in healing.

Stephen Jones said “If I didn't help, I wouldn't be able to live with myself for walking away and leaving kids like that”... What if this season we sought out those who are hurting, in our church, in our community and beyond. What if we had that kind of conviction, IF we don't go, if we do not follow our christ, how could we live with ourselves.

That’s our job friends… to look out. Look into a hurting broken world. To seek the lepers, the lame, and losers of our world, and proclaim with our lives, the kingdom of God has come near.

JUNE 14 2020 - PRAYER GUIDE AND DISCUSSION Opening Prayer Call us to this place, call us to this time, call us O God to live in the Kingdom. AMEN

Call to worship Tell us what time it is Lord, that we may live accordingly This is the Day that the Lord has made let us rejoice and be glad

Song of Praise - Find a hymn you love or sing along with “Seek Ye First” on youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1Y8Naj3RFk

Scripture Reading and Sermon Matthew 9:35- 10:8

Questions for discussion What did you learn today from the sermon and scripture? Anything new or interesting? Did anything stand out?

Do you remember learning to tell time? Was it liberating or contraining?

What events mark the seasons of changing times for you?

How do we live in the kingdom of God here and now?

Closing Prayer Our father in heaven may your kingdom come in us, now and forever! AMEN