Adult Bible Study February 3, 2008

Lesson Text: Luke 10:1-12; 17-20
By George Epp
E-mail: g.epp@sasktel.net

“The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” Luke 10:2 TNIV

In November 2007, my home church—Eigenheim Mennonite, Rosthern, Saskatchewan—sent three of our members to Uruguay for 10 days of visiting Mennonite colonies and Spanish-speaking Mennonite churches. We wanted to learn about them and foster a relationship with our brothers and sisters of faith there. Our members returned enthusiastic about what they had seen and learned. Their enthusiasm was shared with us at a special Sunday morning service.

On July 16, 2008, a Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) delegation will be sent to the San Lucas Mountain region of Colombia where many people depend on small-scale gold mining for a living. In this area the Colombian armed forces are said by CPT to “increasingly [commit] human rights violations, as they ‘secure’ the zone for multinational investment, including that by Canada’s Kinross [Gold Corporation].” (See www.cpt.org/taxonomy/term/8.)

Christians are missional. They see going out to bring good news and assistance to those in need as central to their faith. Mennonite Disaster Service has sent out hundreds of men and women to the Gulf of Mexico area to help rebuild following hurricanes Katrina and Rita in August and September 2005. The mission arms of the Canadian, European, and American Mennonite churches have always had missionaries traveling to distant lands. Mennonite Central Committee has volunteers posted globally as do World Vision and other Christian charities.

Christians’ most important piece of equipment is a good pair of shoes.

Jesus’ sending out of the 72 serves as a prototype for the missional church. We are to travel light, travel fast, and when we arrive, bring a message of peace. We are to find a hospitable partner wherever we land and work out from there. If people choose to run us out of town, we are to move on, not throw up our hands in frustration.

The internet Internet notwithstanding, there is no substitute for moving out to the rest of the world to fulfill our great commission. But the old saying “If you want omelets, you have to break a few eggs” applies. The CPT Web site still mourns the death of Tom Fox; tributes to him can be found at www.cpt.org/memorial/tomfox/main.php. Tom joined CPT in 2004 and worked with the Iraq and Palestine projects. He was known for his deep commitment to nonviolence and his belief in the power of love to overcome violence. Tom went to Iraq to work for justice and dignity for Iraqis. He was abducted in Baghdad on November 26, 2005, with three other CPTers. His body was found March 10, 2006.