Devotion 6.13.26

Matthew 9:37 - 10:8

37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; 38 therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”

The Twelve Apostles

10 And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction. 2 The names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus;[a] 4 Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

Jesus Sends Out the Twelve Apostles

5 These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, “Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans, 6 but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 And proclaim as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay.

Jesus started his ministry and realizing the harvest needs, seeks and enlists help from his disciples, newly asked and then given instructions.

Today's reading is what is printed, but the lectionary (set of readings for each week) gives the option to go to verse 20 of Matthew 10. It's the interesting portion of the read because of what Christ says to his disciples about their reception as deliverers of the master's message.

Would you want to be a pastor in today's world? It's a rhetorical question because most of you already have answered that who are reading this because the list contains few pastors. I was once considered for the pastoral ministry by two pastors, one who confirmed me and the next who took the call after he left. I realized in college I had no desire to be a pastor.

Why would I want to serve a congregation like the one I grew up in? Divided easily over personalities. We had a great pastor when I returned from college to teach school in Houston, but the congregation divided. He left and did university work at one of our Concordia's (St. Paul). The next one came and worked diligently, but eventually left. The congregation folded at that point but the remnants of that group formed a new church that is still, to this day, easily divided.

We aren't good followers as people of God, much like Israel. We have our pride. We have our own set of expectations for church, to the point that there are many denominations and nondominations. Christ initially sends his disciples out to the people he was called to deliver, Israel (today's reading posted). Yet, as mentioned earlier, the passage continues into the kinds of receptions they can expect and how to deal with each one.

When Peter was warning Israel, who was dispersed throughout Asia Minor, he warns them to pay heed, be sober-minded, because Satan, the adversary is seeking to devour them (1 Peter 5). United through God's Word, we should seek God's council daily to make his church a force to share God's Word and guard against evil. Division makes it easier to let the church devour itself.

Pray with me...

Pray for your pastor, daily. Pray for God's Word to be rooted in the church and for his truth to be its focus. Pray that conflict sharpens, not wounds, the faithful. Pray that Christ protect us from Satan, who seeks division because it is easier to devour a divided body. Pray that we be bearers of Good News in our community. Pray that we seek and do God's Will in our short time here on earth.

Hope Men's Ministry is a ministry in service to Hope Lutheran Church and School. Our purpose is to grow, unite, and share God's Word to all men through meaningful activities. These activities center on fellowship, service, conversation, prayer, study and devotion as we seek to become men of God as He created us to be.