Rejoice that your names are written in heaven

Luke 10:1-12, 16-20 After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. ² He told them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. ³ Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. ⁴ Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road. ⁵ "When you enter a house, first say, 'Peace to this house.' ⁶ If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; if not, it will return to you. ⁷ Stay in that house, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house. ⁸ "When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is set before you. ⁹ Heal the sick who are there and tell them, 'The kingdom of God is near you.' ¹⁰ But when you enter a town and are not welcomed, go into its streets and say, ¹¹ 'Even the dust of your town that sticks to our feet we wipe off against you. Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God is near.' ¹² I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town. … ¹⁶ "He who listens to you listens to me; he who rejects you rejects me; but he who rejects me rejects him who sent me." ¹⁷ The seventy-two returned with joy and said, "Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name." ¹⁸ He replied, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. ¹⁹ I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. ²⁰ However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven."

This morning I want to share with you the true story of Mandy. Mandy and her husband, Rick, lived in the apartments behind our church in Kentucky. Rick and Mandy came to our church in search of assistance from our food pantry, but they found so much more. Rick came for anger management counseling and both of them came for marriage counseling. Our members helped them out with food, rides to the grocery store or hospital, babysitting, and moving from one apartment to the next. They came for worship services and Bible studies but were inconsistent in their attendance.

At the time, their lives were a total mess. The two of them were constantly arguing. They drank and smoked. Their home life was so bad that Social Services became involved. Before I left Kentucky, I met with them in the Hardin County courthouse to try to get custody of their children back.

To be honest, I thought they were a lost cause. But God had other plans. 

Mandy connected with me on Facebook last week. She told me that her name is changed because God had changed her life. She gave me permission to share her story with you. We may not agree with all the choices that Mandy made in her life, but we can see God at work in her life.

Since the last time I saw Mandy, over 9 years ago, she divorced Rick after he abandoned her. She has remarried and had child number three. She made the most difficult of decisions by allowing another family to adopt her two children from her previous marriage. The children were younger and had been in foster care with Social Services for so long that Mandy thought it would be best for them to live with another family. Presently, she is involved in her church, owns a daycare and a wrecker company with her husband and now they serve as foster parents to other children. She has also given up smoking and drinking. In her message to me she wrote, “I’m not proud of my past, obviously, but thanks to God I am at peace with it.”

I thought that all of the assistance, counseling and friendship that we had given to Mandy and Rick had fallen on deaf ears and hard hearts. But the harvest is plentiful! I am reminded of the apostle Paul who wrote: “[We] are servants, through whom you came to believe – as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow” (1 Corinthians 3:5-6). God used me and the other members of our congregation to plant the faith and others helped it grow. Or I am reminded of the promises of the Lord: “[My word] will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:11).

We rejoice that Mandy has a strong marriage, a healthier lifestyle and a loving family. But most of all, because God’s Word had been shared with her through our congregation, we rejoice that her name is written in heaven.

In our Gospel lesson today, Jesus sends out His larger group of 72 disciples to do mission work in His name. There is urgency in Jesus’ sending. The harvest field is ripe. And the workers are few. No time to waste. Jesus sends these 72 as laborers into the harvest field to grab what is ripe for the picking. There is danger. They will be like defenseless lambs among ravenous wolves. But they are not going alone. The perfect Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, goes with them. He sends them out empty handed, dependent, nothing of their own to offer the world. No purse, no backpack, no extra pair of sandals. For in this battle in which they are about to engage, they will not need those things. The Lord will provide.

This is no vacation trip with the family. Not even a polite greeting on the road. The urgency is too great. The kingdom of God has come.

And so they go. And so they speak. Not their words, but His. Not their authority but His. Not their strength, but His. They are like lambs before the wolves. But they are not to fight the wolves, but feed them the Word of God. They are to preach peace, heal the sick and proclaim the kingdom of God.

We’re not told how long they are gone, but when they return we find out that in this battle of lamb versus wolf, the lamb wins! All 72 return – not one is lost! – and they joyously report: “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.” Jesus kind of blows them off and says, “That’s nothing. I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.” In other words, this was no surprise victory to Jesus. St. Michael had already thrown the devil and his demons out of heaven after their rebellion in heaven. Jesus is also already looking forward to His cross and grave and seeing Satan’s future defeat as an accomplished fact.

What’s really important here? What good would it be if the disciples drove out demons, but that’s all they did? What good would it be if the disciples healed sicknesses and diseases, but that’s all they did? They would simply be releasing people from one slavery so they could go be slaves to something else! To something else much more devastating. Slaves to sin, which leads not simply to physical death, but to eternal death. Quite literally, helping people out of the frying pan and into the fire!

The 72 disciples were rejoicing that they had great fun stepping on snakes and stomping scorpions, healing the sick, preaching the kingdom, casting out demons, recognizing that though devils all the world should fill, they can harm us none. Those things were great and visible evidences of God’s work in their ministry. But the greatest victory and cause for rejoicing was that their names were written in the Book of Life in heaven.

We may rejoice when the church is full for a worship service, or when we have over 100 kids at our New Hope Soccer Camp, or when we were replacing our pastor with a younger model last week, or that we are expanding our school or if we make budget. Those things are important and fantastic and visible evidences of God’s work in our ministry. We may rejoice in those things, but Jesus doesn’t.

We should not rejoice in bigness or discernible success. We do not rejoice in power or glory. We do not rejoice in accolades from the world. We do not rejoice in these visible victories. Instead we rejoice in the little, mild, often unnoticeable victories. Having a private baptism for a 13-year-old on Wednesday evening because her younger cousins were teaching her about Jesus and the power of baptism. Communing three homebound ladies whose total ages equal 290 years. Sharing God’s Word of peace with a hurting member in the hospital or the nursing home. Seeing 6 to 10 children from the downtown neighborhood, walking into First Evan’s VBS. Having 10 to 12 unchurched families connect with our churches through our Soccer Camp. Proclaiming forgiveness, offering communion and receiving God’s blessing in every worship service, whether that worship is being led by pipe organ and piano or guitar and banjo.

It may not always look spectacular or glamorous, but don’t be fooled. It is through these smaller victories that Jesus is writing names in heaven. Whenever God’s Word is shared, He is retracing those names over and over again in His blood.

The disciples went out and they preached. Some lives were changed; some lives were left the same. For close to 2,000 years, that’s the way it’s been.

We often think that Jesus has called certain individuals to do the work. We pay pastors and teachers to share the Word from the pulpit and in the classroom and make evangelism calls on new families. But our Gospel lesson shows that Jesus appoints and sends ordinary people to share His Kingdom. He gives ordinary people the opportunity to be a part of His plan to bring His Kingdom near to all people.

I shared the story of Mandy with you because all of us have at one point been Mandy. And all of us know a Mandy somewhere in our lives. A broken marriage. Anger out of control. Too much alcohol. Escalating debt. Dead-end job. In and out of the hospital. Messed up family life. No where to go. No where to turn. In need of assistance.  

But then one of the nameless, countless 72 came along and told you about Jesus. They told you about the innocent Lamb who lived among ravenous wolves. He felt the fangs, suffered the worst the world had to offer, entered the abyss of death and rose to life again. He appeared conquered by sin, but is now the Conqueror. He appeared devoured by death, but is now the Devourer. He is the crucified who is now the Victor. Not for Himself, but for you. That His death be your death and His life be your life. To reach out to you. To forgive you in His name. To wash you in His baptismal waters. To cover you in His blood. To nourish you with His body and blood. To convert you, change you, save you. To write your name in heaven.

And now Jesus is inviting you, calling you, sending you out as one of His nameless, countless 72. You don’t have to go into the farthest corners of the world. Just reach into your own family, your workplace, your neighborhood. Share the love of Jesus with the scared, pregnant teenager. Share the miracles of God with the cancer patient. Share the resurrection with your dying grandmother. Share the perfect Bridegroom with your friend whose marriage is falling apart. Share peace in Jesus with your grumpy, old neighbor. Share the truth of God’s Word with your child who is attending a church with all kinds of false doctrines.

You don’t need to be afraid. Jesus is going with you. You don’t need to be nervous. Jesus is sending you with His authority. You don’t need to be worried about people’s reactions. Some will reject you, but others will hear your message and believe. You don’t need to take anything with you – only your Bible and your faith. The Holy Spirit will do the rest. You just need to do the work. And Jesus will bless your efforts.

Then rejoice when the Mandy in your life comes to church with you. Rejoice when she places her children in our school. Rejoice that her life has been turned around, her marriage is being repaired, her children are being straightened out, and her bad habits are being reduced. Those things are great. But mostly rejoice when she is baptized, when she takes classes to become a member, when she kneels at the communion table with you, when she tears up that her sins are forgiven in Jesus. Rejoice, because God used you to write her name in heaven … right next to yours. Amen.