Open Our Eyes: See All the People

Pause a moment here. Something significant is going on. According to Matthew, anyway, Jesus calls the 12 in order for them to be those laborers that are so few. The community isn't called together for their own sake. The 12 aren't called in order to just tend to their own souls, to make sure they are right with God. No. They are called to go out, to be the church that sees the crowds, that has compassion. As we work through the rest of this text, we can't help but wonder how that might apply to us today. [00:42:03] (54 seconds)  #CalledAndSent

But how do we rely on something other than our resources, our comforts when we seek to see the people? It must be exactly that, that we see first. We don't approach the other with our answers already and tie it up in a package with our preconceptions ready and waiting. We don't come to our neighbors because we want to fix them or threaten them or chastise them. We come to see them and to have compassion. We don't rely on our particular limited understanding of theology, on our preferences for worship, and our language for prayer. [00:43:31] (50 seconds)  #SeeFirst

What's the point of me showing you where's Waldo type pictures of where's Jesus? Right? Well, it's because he was there in with all those people. He saw them. He engaged with them. We know he engaged because of the phrase in the next verse. Not only did he see the crowd, but seeing it, he had compassion. His compassion wasn't disembodied thoughts and prayers, caring in the abstract, seeing problems, needing solutions. He had compassion because he saw the people around him. [00:39:29] (45 seconds)  #JesusAmongUs

But we try again and again to see those who surround us. Maybe we'll see them as harassed and helpless, but harassed by whom and helpless in front of what? And maybe we'll see them as resources of strength and grace that cause us to be amazed and to give the god they may not even know thanks for the blessing and seeing of them. What is most likely is that if we look long enough, we will see ourselves, and we will see Christ in them. [00:44:56] (42 seconds)  #SeeChristInOthers

So what does it mean to see the people, to really see them? Not to prejudge, not to categorize, but simply to see. To see them worthy of compassion and care. We might see the people around us are indeed harassed and helpless. Remember that? Harassed and helpless. Suffering from the lack of a savior or just plain suffering from the lack of food or water or rights or justice. But we won't know what it is we will see until we look. Sure. We can assume. But what do we see? [00:40:14] (46 seconds)  #SeeWithoutJudgment

By counting the days or the weeks all season long from spring through summer into fall, we are saying that we have a mission. We have a purpose. We don't just gather to worship for ourselves. We aren't just about taking care of our own souls. We are being shaped. We are practicing how to offer Christ to the world. The songs we sing to one another, to God and worship are the songs we sing to the world. The prayers we pray to God with one another in worship are the prayers we pray on behalf of the world. [00:32:21] (46 seconds)  #SeasonOfMission

We don't rely on our particular limited understanding of theology, on our preferences for worship, and our language for prayer. We come truly empty handed so that we can see our neighbor without the filters. That is how we can have empathy. That is how we can have compassion. Is this easy? Is it just a matter of saying, that's what I'm going to do? Is it just flipping a switch to turn off our prejudice? Of course not. But we try again and again to see those who surround us. [00:44:09] (52 seconds)  #EmptyHandedCompassion

As catchy as that phrase is, I'm not really going there. That is an assessment, an interpretation. There's probably some space for that in the sermon, but it isn't the best starting place. On the other hand, there's another famous phrase in this text, one that seems like it could be a starting place. The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Matthew nine thirty seven. Now that is another truth that we can't help but latch onto. This idea, this statement has launched all sorts of mission and ministry in the church, and rightly so. [00:34:22] (44 seconds)  #BeyondCatchphrases

As we work through the rest of this text, we can't help but wonder how that might apply to us today. Sure. We can name missionaries of history and even some of today who still go out like this, expecting payment, not relying on an abundance of resources, but relying on the hospitality of strangers. As we read on to the next verses, we see the austerity of the call, the danger, but also the radical call of the gospel. The laborers in the fields come to upset the status quo, and that is never an easy task. [00:42:47] (44 seconds)  #RadicalMission

Ask the lord of the harvest is something that needs to find a place in this proclamation that there is another starting place which seems to be lurking in this text. Well, not really lurking. It's it's really right there at the front where it belongs. He saw the crowds. That is our starting place. It is his starting point. Therefore, it should be ours. My starting point as preacher and our starting point as a congregation wanting to engage the community around us, wanting to live as Pentecost people, that is people filled with and sharing the holy spirit. [00:35:37] (50 seconds)  #BeginBySeeing

The prayers we pray to God with one another in worship are the prayers we pray on behalf of the world. The testimonies we share in worship are the stories we tell in our communities and neighborhoods the world. By counting the days, we are reminded that this matters. It is part of God's purpose in the world. We are part of God's purpose in the world. So our task is to bring the world into worship, to welcome it, to be reminded that we are preparing a part of what God is doing, already doing in the world around us. [00:32:59] (49 seconds)  #WorshipForTheWorld

Perhaps it would be helpful to stand in the place of the other for a moment, to consider what it means, what it feels like to be seen as opposed to the times when we feel overlooked or ignored or pigeonholed. To know that someone has seen the real self hidden underneath and still manages to love and accept us. What a profound difference that makes in our lives, in our hearts, in our self image. Can we do less when we seek to engage the community around us? [00:41:00] (49 seconds)  #StandInTheirShoes

Now that is another truth that we can't help but latch onto. This idea, this statement has launched all sorts of mission and ministry in the church, and rightly so. It is the reality that faces the church all the time. There is too much to do and not enough doers. There's too much need in the world around us and not enough resources to meet those needs. Except, maybe it isn't about resources. Maybe it is about something else that is lacking. [00:34:51] (43 seconds)  #MoreDoersNeeded

This week's theme is open our eyes, see all the people. So how might we see our neighborhood, our community? Matthew nine thirty six says, harassed and helpless. What a great descriptor, don't you think? If there is a phrase that seems to sum up the world around us right now, it is harassed and helpless. That would probably make a good sermon title too. Right? Great one. Harassed and helpless film at eleven. As catchy as that phrase is, I'm not really going there. [00:33:49] (38 seconds)  #HarassedAndHelpless

saw the crowds, which means he was within seeing distance. He was not removed. He was not behind walls or doors or hiding. It means he was approachable and accessible. He was where the people were. It means that he wasn't just passing through on the way to his next engagement, next meeting, next speaking opportunity. It means he was engaged in the world around him, paying attention. [00:36:29] (40 seconds)  #PresentAndApproachable