Good
Morning All,
Luke 9:2; “and he sent them
out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal.”
I love to watch old movies
about the Medieval Era. I like the
stories about knights and jousting and rescuing ladies in distress. My favorites are the tales of King Arthur and
his court. The tales of Sir Lancelot, or
Sir Galahad or Lady Guinevere; I can watch over and over. It doesn’t matter if it is the fanciful Errol
Flynn ones or the darker newer ones. I
like knights and swords and suits of armor.
They are fascinating to me.
In our verse, we read where Jesus sent out
his disciples to proclaim the kingdom of God.
While most of us tend to think of the kingdom of God as a place; it is
actually an action. The kingdom of God
is the active presence of Jesus in the earth and in our lives. The kingdom of God is God at work; restoring
the creation back to its pristine condition.
It is the steady movement forward to recreate that which is corrupt into
what is pure and holy. It is God saving
you and me and fixing what is broken.
This is good news for us and for all of
creation. It is news that will lift the
veil of despair and lift the hearts of the downtrodden. It is the Word of God changing lives of men
and women who hear it and cling to that good news with its promise of
hope. This is a message which needs to
be proclaimed throughout the land. This
good news should be taken to all the downcast and the suffering. God has chosen you and me to fill this role;
we are God’s knights.
God gives to us the armor we need to fight
this battle. He gives us the Spirit to
lead us, to encourage us and to sustain us.
God invigorates us with his Word and Sacrament to refresh our soul and
to lift up our spirits. Even when the battle is fierce and the warfare long;
God is our everlasting and ever present hope and shield. He equips us to go out and to spread the good
news even when the devil tries to block us.
The devil will never win against the kingdom of God; it will always
fail.
Even when we are struck and knocked down,
God is there to pick us up and to make us whole with his tender love and
mercy. We may be struck but we will
never be mortally wounded by the devil.
He cannot get us. God has
promised to provide for us so no matter how bleak it may seem to us God is for
us. God is always there for us no matter
how it looks; he is using us to proclaim his kingdom and it is the force which
cannot be stopped.
So rise, Sir Knight, for you are part of
God’s great kingdom, cleansed by the blood of the Lamb and crowned as an heir
of his kingdom. Go with speed and
strength for it is God’s work which we do.
God is with you every step of the journey.
Father of all grace, we give
you thanks for the promise of salvation and the gracious gift of faith. Enable us to hold fast to your Word. Be with those who are lost and hurting. Be with those who suffer the pain of guilt
and fear. Use us as your hands to
proclaim you words of hope and salvation.
Use us to proclaim your kingdom.
In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.
God’s
Peace,
Pastor
Bret
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