Bolstered by our baptisms – strengthened by the Sacraments - sent forth in faith! To the far off and the far flung! Off to every place where he himself intends to go -for there is no place where He isn’t!
He’s in our car drive, our food drive and our hard drive

Look at the fields! So ripe for harvest! There they are, peeking out through the unstable soils of these lost and disorienting times –
Did anybody really think a Russian spy might live next door?
That a high-ranking general would give the benefit of the doubt to Rolling Stone?
Or that Larry King would ever retire?

So there they are! Thrusting forth gentle shoots seeking truth and stability and a peace which passeth all understanding. Bearing a countenance of innocence - of the just-born, beaming with new inquiry reaching for the heavens – stretching and searching for nourishment, fulfillment and the answers to life’s most pressing questions.

“Off to the fields!” is the command, as we pair up, two by two – forming a community just like God’s - community personified, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

We cast off worries about where we will stay, what we will wear, what we will eat, and how we will ever be able to do such a thing – for the One who sends us knows what we need well before we do. Consider the lilies.

Then, surprise, surprise, success!
We are welcomed beyond our wildest dreams!
And when evil, doubt, and distress are sent packing our churches fill up, we break ground for another addition, and build a steeple that touches the sky. Then we are reminded that this is not our reward. For the One who sent us does not pay us with property or cash, always subject to foreclosures and Great Recessions. But we are paid back by something we already have.

The message is clear: rejoice. Cast off the worries, refuse to glory in anything more than the Promises, and keep our eyes peeled on those endless waves of golden grain.

Reading
Explosive Preaching - Ron Boyd-MacMillan
Healing Light - Agnes Sanford
The Slate Roof Bible -Joseph Jenkins