"Pass it on!"

Matthew 98: 35 – 10: 8

June 15, 2008

Grace, mercy and peace to you this day in the name of the one in whom we find our true identities, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

I am sure that all of us identify traits and characteristics within ourselves and our children and our siblings which have been passed on from one generation to the next. Eye color, skin color are simple observable traits which are "passed on" in families. But what about some of the other traits – those familial tendencies which fortunately or unfortunately make up our character and affect of life and the lives of others?

Within my own family tree the perchance for the women to have tenacious, stubborn personality streaks come from long before my maternal grandmother. People who know the women from my maternal side comment on this trait as both bane and blessing I know of family members who share an almost identical commitment to community service and have all sought out careers which allowed them to use these "familial" traits in the greater world. Most importantly, I have known many families whose love of God has been passed on with such fervor that the next generation love and God and commitment to God’s people continue far into the future.

Passing on is not just a term that refers to what our DNA sequences look like. For the Christian "passing on" is a term that is used to describe how the Good News of Jesus Christ moves from one generation to another. As bearers of this message something earth moving has been passed on to us first through Christ so that the world might know our Lord. God has passed on all authority on heaven and on earth to Jesus. We’ve been returning to this concept for several weeks now. I an not trying to redundant of one idea for lack of good sermon material but rather to bring home our need to recognize this authority because……guess what gets passed on to each of us as bearers of the Good news?! Jesus authority funds our own authority in this world – his compassion defines our compassion – his mission is our mission - it ALL GETS PASSED ON!

In today’s Gospel Jesus does 2 things; one, he identifies the field to be harvested – the call to care for ALL the world not just those in a few comfortable sections and two, he passes on his authority so that our mission in the world continues his mission in this world. His traits and characteristics become ours. We become defined as Christians through our acts of love.

Matthew 9 is a text of scripture that is so clear! "Here is the harvest my children, here are your traits which I have passed on to you with my authority now, go and do likewise." The twelve apostles are named here as the first to receive the authority and which Jesus passes on. It does not stop here my friends. Each of us has been called to the harvest and to pass it on – the love of Jesus to a starving world.

The mission Jesus sends us on is reflective of God’s own grace filled mission to humanity in himself and is made clear in the saying, "You have received without payment, give without payment." God passes on in us the greatest compliment by including us in God’s amazing mission – the call to tell, love and serve. There is only one catch to passing on the love of God in this world. The more you do the more you see needs to be done. The tendency to become "heart weary" for the task is a common occurrence. When this happens my friends, remember who has passed on his authority to you and in whose authority ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE. Keeping this truth in mind go out and seek the harvest in Jesus name!