Zion Lutheran

 Seventh Sunday after Pentecost

June 29, 2008

GOSPEL

Matthew 10:40–42

When Jesus sends his disciples out as missionaries, he warns them of hardships and also promises to reward any who aid his followers and support their ministry.

40Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. 41Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward; and whoever welcomes a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive the reward of the righteous; 42and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple — truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.”

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GOSPEL Matthew 10:24-39 Jesus warns his disciples that their ministry in his name will meet with opposition, requiring absolute trust in God and an unswerving commitment to their Lord.   ²⁴A disciple is not above the teacher, nor a slave above the master;  ²⁵it is enough for the disciple to be like the teacher, and the slave like the master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household!  ²⁶So have no fear of them; for nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known.  ²⁷What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops.  ²⁸Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.  ²⁹Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father.  ³⁰And even the hairs of your head are all counted.  ³¹So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.  ³²Everyone therefore who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven;  ³³but whoever denies me before others, I also will deny before my Father in heaven.  ³⁴Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.  ³⁵For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; ³⁶and one’s foes will be members of one’s own household.   ³⁷Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me;  ³⁸and whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me.  ³⁹Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.

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GOSPEL Matthew 9:35-10:23 The mission of Jesus’ followers is to continue the mission of Jesus himself. Here, he instructs his first disciples how they might proclaim the gospel through their words and deeds.   ³⁵Then 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.  ³⁶When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.  ³⁷Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; ³⁸therefore 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.  ²These 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;  ³Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus;  ⁴Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed him. ⁵These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans,  ⁶but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.  ⁷As you go, proclaim the good news, ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’  ⁸Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. You received without payment; give without payment ⁹Take no gold, or silver, or copper in your belts,  ¹⁰no bag for your journey, or two tunics, or sandals, or a staff; for laborers deserve their food.  ¹¹Whatever town or village you enter, find out who in it is worthy, and stay there until you leave.  ¹²As you enter the house, greet it.  ¹³If the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it; but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you.  ¹⁴If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet as you leave that house or town.  ¹⁵Truly I tell you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.¹⁶See, I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.  ¹⁷Beware of them, for they will hand you over to councils and flog you in their synagogues; ¹⁸and you will be dragged before governors and kings because of me, as a testimony to them and the Gentiles.  ¹⁹When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say; for what you are to say will be given to you at that time;  ²⁰for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.  ²¹Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death;  ²²and you will be hated by all because of my name. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.  ²³When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next; for truly I tell you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.

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GOSPEL Matthew 9:9–13, 18–26   Matthew’s gospel presents Jesus as a healer of the sick and sinful. Through him, God’s mercy overcomes exclusivism, prejudice, disease, and even death.   ⁹As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth; and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him.              ¹⁰And as he sat at dinner in the house, many tax collectors and sinners came and were sitting with him and his disciples.  ¹¹When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”  ¹²But when he heard this, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.  ¹³Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.”              ¹⁸While he was saying these things to them, suddenly a leader of the synagogue came in and knelt before him, saying, “My daughter has just died; but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live.”  ¹⁹And Jesus got up and followed him, with his disciples.  ²⁰Then suddenly a woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his cloak,  ²¹for she said to herself, “If I only touch his cloak, I will be made well.”  ²²Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, “Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And instantly the woman was made well.  ²³When Jesus came to the leader’s house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion,  ²⁴he said, “Go away; for the girl is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him.  ²⁵But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl got up.  ²⁶And the report of this spread throughout that district.

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Third Sunday after Pentecost   June 1, 2008   GOSPEL Matthew 7:21–29   Jesus concludes the Sermon on the Mount with harsh words for those who call him Lord but do not do the will of his Father. The wise person hears his words and acts on them.   ²¹Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.  ²²On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many deeds of power in your name?’  ²³Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; go away from me, you evildoers.’              ²⁴Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock.  ²⁵The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on rock.  ²⁶And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand.  ²⁷The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell — and great was its fall!”              ²⁸Now when Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were astounded at his teaching,  ²⁹for he taught them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.

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