Sent to their own communities

by Carolyn Ehrlich

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… but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel (Matthew 10:6).

Read Matthew 10:5–14

Jesus sent his disciples into their own communities – not to the Gentiles or the Samaritans but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Yes, there came a time later when he sent people to the Gentiles, but here he sent them to their own. In Australia, we live in a time where less than 50 per cent of the population identify as Christian. So, there are many lost sheep in our communities.

Are we (and if so, how are we) as Lutheran Christians being sent by Jesus into our communities? Being sent is to go. It is not to be stationary in one place and expect people to come to us. And there are so many places we can go. Into our families. Into discussions at family gatherings. Into workplaces. Into existing relationships. Into schools. Into hospitals. Into residential care facilities. And, yes, the Lutheran Church in Australia and New Zealand does that through its services and outreach arms.

But what is Jesus asking you to do? You are one of his disciples, too. ‘Go,’ he says. Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. But we must be careful here. The original disciples had a unique apostolic authority and scope given to them by Jesus that does not necessarily apply in today’s circumstances. So, although we can learn some principles from Jesus’ instructions, we must think carefully about how that applies to us today.

Nevertheless, we can still ‘go’ into our communities. We can pray for the sick. We can pray for miraculous healing. By our example, we can bear witness to the miracle of Jesus’ birth and resurrection. We can go into our workplaces. We can show Jesus’ compassion for his people as we go about our daily lives. We can encourage, support, empathise with, pray for and show genuine, authentic Christian love to our neighbours. Let us ask God about what he is asking us to do in our community – here, now, today.

Lord God, you are the Lord of the harvest. There are many people in our own communities who seem to be lost sheep. Show us what you are asking us to do. Direct our feet as we go about our work and lives today. Help us to speak your love and compassion into the lives of the people around us and be instruments of your peace. Help us to shine your light into the lives of the people we meet today. Amen.

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