“Rags on His Feet”

Meditation on Luke 10:17-24

for the Seventh Sunday in Easter

     “The seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us!”

      And Jesus said to them, “I watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning. See, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing will hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice at this, that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

      At that same hour Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.

     “All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”

      Then turning to the disciples, Jesus said to them privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it.” (Luke 10:17-24)

   

     A businessman walks into a Kmart in Clark County, Kentucky.  The Kmart is going out of business and is just a couple of days away from shutting its doors.

     The businessman is just doing some shopping for his jewelry exchange store.

     On impulse, he asks the cashier what will happen to all the unsold items when the store closes.  The cashier lifts her shoulders.

    They will be sold to Kmart “power buyers,” she says.  Whatever that means.

     So the man decides that he will be a power buyer, though he is no Donald Trump.  He buys up everything that is left in the store.  It takes 6 hours to check him out.

    Clothes. Shoes. Coats. Office supplies. He buys it all.  He pays $200,000.

    And then he gives it all away to Clark County Community Services. The local charity provides food, clothes, and other help to those in need. There wasn’t room to store everything, so the man rented storage space for the charity, too.

   “To be honest with you, I could have made $30,000-$40,000 on it,” he says.

    But he has seen people struggling.  The people who frequent his jewelry exchange store. Needy people come in, he says, to sell their stuff so they can pay their bills. And survive.  

     “It's bad nowadays,” the businessman says. “I just told (the clerk) let's just give it away to charity.”

     It is the largest single donation the organization has ever received.

   “There won’t be any children in the county going without a coat this winter,” a representative of the charity says on a video clip, smiling.

     Some of the media are calling the man the “Summer Santa.”

     But that isn’t his idea.  The businessman isn’t seeking a lot of attention. He just saw an opportunity to help people in need.  So he did. 

      You see, he remembers what it felt like to be poor when he was a kid.

    When his family didn’t have money for shoes, and he tied rags on his feet.      

    

***

      In our Luke reading today, the “70” Jesus sent out in pairs come back all excited about the demons they cast out in Christ’s name, with Christ’s authority. 

     Jesus had equipped them for the journey by saying, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. 

     “Go on your way.  See, I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves. 

    “Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals.  And greet no one on the road. 

    “Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this house!’  And if anyone is there who shares in peace, your peace will rest on that person; but if not, it will return to you. ….

    “And whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you, cure the sick who are there and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’”

     But when the 70 messengers return from the mission, happy the demons submitted to them, Jesus rebukes them.

    Instead of rejoicing in their power over the demons, they should be rejoicing that “their names are written in heaven,” Christ says.  And that they have had the truth of the kingdom revealed to them, when it is hidden from so many.

     The 70 don’t fully understand this loving and righteous kingdom Jesus speaks of – the one that is coming near.  And their motivation for following Christ isn’t that they have a burden for those who are suffering. They are intrigued by the miraculous.

      Some Christians, even today, get caught up in spiritual warfare.  Movies like “The Exorcist” still draw the crowds.  But I think those who focus too much on the spiritual warfare piece can be distracted from the real message of the coming kingdom—when the battle has already been won for us and we are called to live in love.

       While casting out demons is an important part of Jesus’ ministry and it does reveal His divine identity, He does it to free people from the bondage of possession.  He casts out demons out of compassion—to give people new life. 

       Notice the 70 don’t speak of the lives and health restored to the people who were formerly demon-possessed.

        But it isn’t all their fault they don’t understand. The story hasn’t played out. No one understands the true message of the kingdom and Christ’s mission until after our Lord has been crucified and risen from the dead.  And the Spirit has been sent to dwell within the hearts and minds of Christ’s followers.

        As I considered this text this week, I wondered about us. If we have been good messengers—we who have heard and been witness to the full gospel through God’s Word and can testify to the truth about Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who came to take away the sins of the world. 

        Do we rejoice every day that our names are written in heaven? Or are we distracted and distressed by the evil we see in this world—and our longing for miracles and the power of God unleashed over the power of darkness that brings sadness, sickness, and pain?

        Then I thought, “What would it look like today to live out our joy in our salvation, in the coming kingdom, and our names being written in heaven?”

        And the story of the Summer Santa came to mind.

        Although I don’t know if he is a Christian, here is a man whose generosity shows his gratitude for what he has been given. Here is someone who wants to “give back.” His kindness and concern for the poor reveals a wisdom and understanding of the kingdom, when we are reconciled with God and each other. And we have learned to forgive, care for, and love as the Lord forgives, cares for, and loves us.

         Friends, may your gratitude to God stir you to acts of generosity and lovingkindness, like those of the Summer Santa.    

         The compassionate Kmart shopper who was moved to help others because he remembered when his family didn’t have money for shoes.

         And he tied rags on his feet.

Let us pray:  Heavenly Father, we thank you for revealing the good news of the gospel to us.  Thank you that our names are written in heaven and that we belong to you.  Thank you for your unconditional love and patience with us as we continue this journey, being messengers for the gospel but not always understanding the tasks you have given us. Forgive us when we fall into anxiety over the evil in this world and when we fear for tomorrow.  Give us faith to trust that you have already won the spiritual battle for us through Christ’s atoning death on the cross and His resurrection. Grant us a vision of our place in your peaceful, heavenly kingdom drawing near, a vision that brings us joy, purpose, and hope for every day. In Christ we pray.  Amen.