A reflection on Matthew 9:35-10:4.

As you might know our family moved to Des Moines about a year ago. My prized possessions, aka the video game collection, were the first to be packed.

We decided to put the 70 boxes into offsite storage. A basement remodel would need to happen first.

I rented a UHaul truck, prepared to get to work.

My wife Kathi offered to lend a hand. “Honey, would you like some help loading the truck?” Forgetting my middle-aged body, and excited to begin, I declined.

No worries.
I got it.
It’s just 70 boxes.
I’ll be fine.

My confidence soon faded. Loading the truck was tiring. Those 70 boxes were heavy! Unloading the truck even more so.

After playing a live version of Tetris – boxes please don’t fall! – finally, everything was in place.

The laborers were few.

Just one, to be precise.
My back was now killing me.

If only I’d accepted help.

Box Redux
Fast forward to last week. The basement remodel at our home is now complete. Finally, the transformation into a game room can begin. Yes!

First up: getting those same boxes out of storage.

Remembering my sore back the last go round I considered a different approach.

Honey, could you help me load the truck?
Sure, my better half replied.

With that the laborers went from one to two.

When we get home the kids can help, Kathi offered. Suddenly the task at hand felt less daunting than before.

The two of us then planned our approach and loaded the truck, sharing the workload, joking as we went. This time there were no Tetris falling box moments. For that I was grateful.

Truck now home Hannah and Graham then helped us unload. Here you go Hannah, take this box. It goes right over there. How about this box, Graham? It’s perfect for you. Each of us went from truck to garage, one box at a time. Then down the stairs, into the basement, one step at a time.

Before we knew it the project was done.

Watching our family gel together made for a proud parent moment. Soon enough we’ll reap the rewards: playing four-player Mario Kart on the Nintendo 64. Green, red and blue shells here we come.

With this round two box move?

My back felt fine.

Help
Our text today is also about the benefits of a shared workload. Matthew 9 finds Jesus with an ever-increasing todo list.

Up until this moment Jesus had been busy –

Teaching,
Preaching,
Healing.

He’d delivered the Sermon on the Mount.
He’d given us the Lord’s Prayer.

Throngs were drawn to him.
Excitement was in the air.

Preaching the good news, that it gets better, in this kingdom Christ was bringing, proved popular. People couldn’t help but be attracted to the promise of brighter days ahead.

When Christ saw the crowd he had compassion for them.

They were harassed.
They were helpless.
They were lost.

The people needed hope.

It’s a big job, saving the world from that which ails us. Turns out even the Son of God needs a hand.

Gather round, Jesus said to the twelve.

Ask the Lord to send laborers, he told them.

Check this out:
The disciples were to pray for help. AND…
The disciples were to be the help.

That’s Matthew 9:38.
Think about it.

The disciples are the answer to their own prayers.
The disciples are the answer to their own prayers.

Christ continues.

The laborers are few.
I need help, from you.

See those unclean spirits?
Cast ‘em out.

See the sickness, the disease?
Go, seek cures.

For what I can do,
Jesus shared,
You can do too.

The twelve went.
The twelve did likewise.
The movement grew and grew.

Today
Our country faces a gun violence issue of epic proportions. Each day 327 of us are shot in the US by a gun; 117 of us are killed. That sums to ~43,000 firearms deaths here each year. When it comes to gun violence the US is an outlier, particularly compared to other affluent countries. The homicide rate in America is 13 times higher than France, 22 times greater than the European Union, 23 times the rate in Australia.

This is unacceptable.
We have a problem here.
Let’s not make excuses about it.

And yet the US has more Christians than any other country. What should we make of that?

In worship we pray that –

Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done,
On earth, as in heaven.

I’ll go out on a limb and say this stuff is not happening in heaven.

As followers of the Prince of Peace, the path we are to follow is clear.

When it comes to gun violence in our land, like today’s Mathew text:

We’ve been harassed.
We feel helpless.
We are lost.

Gun violence is an unclean spirit.
It is a disease in need of a cure.

Like today’s text Jesus gives us the authority to do something about it.

Consider this:
A recent Gallup poll found that 92% of Americans favor requiring universal background checks for gun sales. More than nine out of 10. In this country. In 2023. When we can’t seem to agree on anything. That level of agreement is worth paying attention to.

Particularly when it aligns with the tenants of our faith.

While there is a federal background check law, it doesn’t apply to unlicensed sellers. That is people who sell guns online and at shows.

Only fourteen of our fifty states require universal background checks for all classes of firearms. Even though 92% of us favor it. Iowa is not one of them.

What would it take for our state to take this life-saving step?

I’d suggest the laborers aren’t few. With all the Christians here, and overwhelming support for universal background checks the potential labor pool is deep.

Perhaps we’ve been asleep at the wheel.
Perhaps it is time we get to work.

We do so with –

A Phone,
A Letter,
A Petition,

A Sign,
A Rally,
A March.

A Talk,
A Ballot,
A Vote.

As people of faith we are called to cure this disease.

These boxes are heavy, no doubt.
We’ve been moving them around alone far too long.
We need all the help we can get.

Pray for more laborers. The workers to make this happen are out there.

But also, hear the Good News.
To solve this crisis we must act.
For we are the answer to our prayers.