Sermon for the Sixth Sunday after Pentecost
Lectionary 14C   Proper 9C
July 4, 2010
Texts:  Isaiah 66:10-14; Psalm 66:109; Galatians 6:1-16; Luke 10:1-11,16-20

There’s a new day dawning. 

If you were in Philadelphia 234 years ago,
You would have known that something was up,
And you would have known that there was a new day dawning.

You would not have yet heard the words of the Declaration of Independence,
As it was not publically read,
Until four days later on July 8.
At which time there would have been no mistaking the new day.

The bell, now known at the Liberty Bell,
Along with church bells across the city rang out.

There were fireworks and bonfires
To announce the news that the colonies
Were declaring their independence from Great Britain.

Those celebrations are the origin of our own festivities
On this beloved holiday. 

If you were present in Philadelphia on July 8, 1776,
When the Declaration of Independence was made public,
You would have known that nothing would ever be the same again. 

But this day did not just happen.
It required the vision, genius and bravery
Of the delegates to the Continental Congress.

And the promised independence did not happen
Without sacrifices from people from all walks of life.

Some of the leaders present in Philadelphia that day
Went on to spend months and even years away from their families
Either fighting on US soil
Or negotiating in Europe for support for the newly formed nation.

Farmers left their farms
Trades people left their shops,
And the educated left their studies
To fight for independence.
The women left at home managed the farms and stores
Without the support of the men. 

The original July 4th signaled a new day dawning.
However years of fighting and sacrifice were necessary
Before freedom from Great Britain was finally assured.

We hear of another new day dawning
In our Gospel text today,
Another day that requires commitment to experience.

Jesus makes quite clear
That a new day is dawning.
Not the US Independence Day,
But the day of the kingdom of God.

To announce this new day,
Jesus sends the 70 out in pairs,
To go to towns and villages before his arrival,
To share peace and cure the sick
And otherwise reveal
That the kingdom of God has come near.

In this new day of the kingdom of God,
Those who accept the visitors,
And the message they announce,
Will be visited with God’s vision
Of peace, health and wholeness.

Likewise, those who reject the visitors
Will also find out that the Kingdom of God is at hand,
But their experience will be one of judgment and woe.

Unlike the soldiers who fought for our freedom throughout the years,
These 70 are sent out with little in the way of provisions.

Properly outfitted soldiers carry amazing loads.

A fully provisioned revolutionary war soldier would have had a uniform,
With a hat, shirt, coat and pants.
Along with some kind of knapsack
For carrying provisions.
He might also have had a flintlock musket or a smooth bore musket,
Along with a powder horn, a shot mold, a tinder lighter, and a cartridge box.
For closer combat,
He might also have had a bayonet or sword.

While John and I were in Washington DC last weekend,
We had a chance to visit the Vietnam Memorial.

Although the statue of the three soldiers was being restored,
We could still glance at it through the protective encasement
To get a sense of these greater than life figures. 

The most memorable features of this statue
Are the look of intense determination on the soldiers’ faces,
And the camaraderie they share.

However, another notable point is the amount of gear they are carrying.

They are weighed down with heavy boots and uniforms,
Along with automatic rifles, bullet belts, canteens and pack vests.
Soldiers are equipped and carry a load so they will be self sufficient.

In contrast, the corps d’ Jesus traveled much lighter
No packs, no spare sandals, and no food.

Jesus’ 70 followers were not to believe
That they were independent and self-sufficient.

Traveling light forced a dependence on God
And the generosity of those whom they visited.

They were not to be picky travelers,
Searching out the best accommodations
And the best meals.

Rather they were to accept the hospitality
Of whomever welcomed them.

While visiting they were to extend God’s peace and well-being
To their hosts,
And to heal the sick in any town where they found a welcome. 

Their actions, as well as their words
Are designed to put people on notice
That a new day is dawning,
And the kingdom of God is at hand.

Their work not only announces the nearness of the kingdom
But prepares the people for Jesus’ own visit. 

If Jesus’ followers were not welcomed in a town,
They were to shake the dust off their feet
As a sign of protest against the lack of hospitality they found.

For the inhospitable, the approach of the kingdom
Does not mean peace and wholeness, but rather judgment.

When townspeople reject one of the 70,
They are also reject Jesus,
And the God who sent him.

Rejection of God,
Is a rejection of the grace that God makes freely available
A rejection of the trust and dependence on God.

For us, today a new day is indeed dawning.

We, who are dual citizens,
Citizens of the US,
And citizens of Christendom,
Have two new days to celebrate.

Each day when you awake,
As one of Christ’s followers in this time and place
You remember that you are baptized,
And because you are baptized,
You awake to a new day,
And a new you, made whole in the waters of baptism.

This morning, on July 4, when you awoke
As a US citizen,
Perhaps you remembered that you are free to celebrate
The new day and the new nation
That our forefathers had the genius to envision
And the courage to fight for.

Sometimes these overlapping dawning new days
Reinforce one another.

For instances, the religious freedom granted to us in this country
Gives us the chance to follow Christ without fear of martyrdom.

We are able to go out like the 70
To proclaim Christ, the Word of God
Without persecution.

The peace and well being promised as part of the approach of the kingdom
Finds a realization in the peace and well being we experience
As citizens of a free country.

Yet sometimes, being dual citizens is harder than it seems.
Sometimes our lifestyle and our culture,
As free and often affluent Americans,
Causes us to forget that Jesus came to proclaim the kingdom
To the marginalized and the outcast.

Sometimes, too, our wealth and our power
Cause us to behave in ways
That are not very Kingdom of God like.

As Luther would tell us in his two kingdoms theology,
God gave us our government
As a surrogate for God’s power here on earth.

In this country,
Where we experience an amazing amount of freedom,
It is easy to think of our government as God given,
And to recognize our freedoms as a blessing from God.

Luther also reminds us that we are to obey the government
As an extension of God.
However, he also stresses that the exception to governmental obedience
Is when following its decisions would cause us to disobey God’s Law.

Most times the dawn of the two new days,
The day of US freedom
And the day of Kingdom of God
Are in sync for those of us
Who hold dual citizenship in the US and as baptized Christians.

However, we cannot be so comfortable
Or so lulled into complacency
That our 21st century US lifestyle
Causes us to do something which is a rejection of Jesus
Or the God who sent Jesus.

We also have to remember that Christianity is a universal religion,
With baptized Christians in nearly every country of the world.
For many of these Christians, the dawn of the new day of God’s kingdom
Is not associated with a new day of personal or political freedom.

In some countries, being a follower of Christ in the 21st century
Is nearly as dangerous,
As it was in the first century Rome.

We must be ever mindful
Of our Christian brothers and sisters,
Who yet await the coming of the kingdom,
The day when according to Mary’s song,
The poor will be lifted up
And the hungry will have good things to eat.

Yet on this day when you remember
The vision and courage of our forefathers
As they established “free and independent states,
With a reliance on the protection of Divine Providence,”
You can thank God for the blessings of this new day of independence

At the same time you can recognize the new day
Of the approach of God’s kingdom,
In the words from Luke’s Gospel.

The 70 speak to you, just as certainly they spoke to the people
Of the towns of  Jesus’ homeland,
With the good news,
Of shalom: peace, wholeness and well being to your house. 

This shalom is yours to experience
As long as you hear and respond to God’s words.

God comes to you,
You need only be receptive and welcoming to the word of God.

As you listen to the words,
Peace be to this house
You listen to Jesus, himself,
And to the one who sent Jesus.

Today you can rejoice and remember not only the new day in a new nation,
But also in the promise of God’s good gift
Of a new day,
A new kingdom,
And peace and prosperity
For all of God’s children.

Amen