Title: Prayer for Workers, June 12
Matthew 9:35-38
prayer for workers
Jesus' work
The passage we read today is also a compilation of many traditions about Jesus by Matthew. Verse 35 is almost identical to the following words in 4:23. “Jesus went through all Galilee, teaching in the synagogues, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing the sick and the infirm among the people.” Also, verse 36 is said to be a well-known proverb at that time, “Like sheep without a shepherd, when he sees a crowd afflicted and struggling, he has pity” (Numbers 27:17, Ezekiel 34:5, Matthew 10:6). And finally, verses 37 and 38, the command Jesus gave to his disciples, are almost identical to Luke 10:2. “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the master to send workers to the harvest.” From this point of view, the text we read together today can be said to be a collection of various traditions about Jesus that Matthew gathered together in this passage as needed.
It is very important when we read the Bible that the biblical text has been partially corrected and edited by the author, rather than an exact reproduction of what happened. This is because it means that the Word of God is not dead, but comes alive along with human history. Therefore, as the world and history change, the way we interpret God's Word must also change. This is similar to the fact that in Korea, in the old days, marriage was unconditionally to the person chosen by the parents, but now the custom of marriage has changed to a method of choosing one's own. If we are people who are not awake enough to spiritually recognize the place we are living in, we will not be able to read the world of life that God's Word is aiming for.
With this in mind, let's look at the message Matthew is trying to convey today. He basically points out two facts. One is the work of the kingdom of God that happened in Jesus, and the other is the command Jesus gave to his disciples. First of all, listen to Matthew's statement about what the 'Jesus works' mentioned in 4:23 above.
Jesus taught, proclaimed the gospel, and healed the sick. Jesus' work of so-called teaching, preaching, and healing is also the work of the kingdom of God. Teaching makes us aware of the truth, preaching makes us interested in the will of God, and healing makes us heal. Whether it's awareness, spirituality or health, the hallmark of these three events is that they draw us into a new world. If he can correctly recognize the Word of God and enter the mystery of the spiritual world, he has acquired a new world. If an incurable disease or disability has been cured, he has experienced a new world.
In this way, not only the work of the church, but also the education of schools and the treatment of hospitals can be said to be the work of Jesus Christ. This means that such things are directly related to salvation. However, it seems that there are not many people who understand today's school from a soteriology level. The people who run schools think and act like entrepreneurs whose primary goal is to make a profit.
Hospitals are also very directly connected with God's saving action. There are few things in this world that are more valuable than the human body being healed. But what about the actual situation of this medical practice we are experiencing today? Of course, there are many exceptions, but in many cases, the economic effect is acting as the goal of medical practice. It is said that smart medical students do not show interest in difficult but unprofitable fields such as thoracic surgery or orthopedic surgery, and are driven toward making money with relatively less effort, such as plastic surgery. A society in which the quality of treatment depends decisively on the economic ability of the patient cannot be considered as healthy.
In this regard, it seems that we have a lot to learn from the education and health systems of Europe, especially Germany. Basically, as long as you pay taxes and medical bills, anyone can get almost the same education and health benefits, regardless of economic ability. They seem to have the idea that only education and medical care are solely the responsibility of the government. Of course, there are parts that are difficult to compare directly because their history and our social tradition are different, but the idea is always that we must solve the minimum conditions for human beings to live together in order to bring our lives to the level of salvation. It's precious.
Apart from the social responsibility, is the “proclamation” of the gospel of the kingdom, which the church is supposed to bear, working normally? Of course, the form of the gospel is maintained with us to some extent. The crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus is being proclaimed, baptism is carried out in his name, and the Lord's Supper is administered. The promise is being proclaimed that Jesus will return to judge the world. The form of this gospel is maintained to some extent, but the content is very disturbing. The gospel does not remain only as a form, but only when its contents are newly supplemented to become a living Word. However, we do not know whether the heliocentric theory is still in the gospel's heliocentric theory in a state where it has already been established as a definite worldview.
I'm not here to talk to you about a very sensitive theological debate. This means that we need to look back at whether the church is really proclaiming the Gospel (Euangelion), or whether it is stimulating the audience with the fear of hell and the reward for heaven. We must seriously consider why the Pharisees rejected the gospel of Jesus at that time. In other words, we say the gospel only formally, but in reality, we are preaching the law like a business using sticks and carrots.
nature of God's work
We reviewed the work of Jesus above in three ways. Education and health care are no longer the work of the church, but the work of society. The church no longer has to do that directly, and neither should it. However, we need to look at whether these tasks that society has to bear are maintaining soteriology from a prophetic point of view. Our direct responsibility is to proclaim the Gospel. Of course, since these three things are not completely separate, the church must comprehensively deepen and expand the soteriology horizon.
It can be said that the church community was born to inherit the work of salvation that Jesus performed. If you look at the disciple selection (10:1-4) and dispatch (5-15) following today's text, Jesus' disciples are those who have been entrusted with the work of Jesus. If this tradition of discipleship continues for us, eventually we too will have to bear these kinds of work of salvation.
We usually refer to these as ‘missions’. It means that we are called to do the things of the kingdom of God. But strictly speaking, Jesus' work and ours are fundamentally different. We cannot take his place because Jesus' work was something that only Jesus could do. If no one can bear the cross on the same level as Jesus, we are far from being resurrected. That's right. Even if we die and wake up, we cannot save people. We are not the work of Jesus, we are just making the work of Jesus known to people.
Sometimes we see people shouting as if we can save the world, but they have no idea what salvation is. Of course, you can bring people into the church, get them baptized, go a little further and become a moral person or a person deeply into the organization of the church, but that's not salvation itself. I am not saying this to mean that this is completely meaningless. No matter how strong our religious fervor, no matter how great our efforts, we must relativize ourselves thoroughly. Otherwise, religious power will quickly degenerate into political hegemony.
Listen to what Jesus said to his disciples today. When Jesus saw the crowd, he felt pity for him, so he said to his disciples: “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the master to send workers to the harvest” (verses 37, 38). How do you take this word? Most people are probably thinking that we are supposed to be the workers of the harvest. There is nothing wrong with taking it in that sense, but these words have a much deeper meaning. What is it?
The answer is that God's work is God's work, not ours. When it is time to harvest, the harvest master must call in workers. If it's not yet harvest time, I won't call the master to work. No one can harvest there except the owner. This means that, as mentioned above, only God can save man.
Of course, it is clear that we are the ones who will actually work. Until the end of history comes to an end, God works through the people who are participating in this history, so of course, specific human activities are necessary. As we often say, the church also needs such workers. But only God has the initiative of this harvest, the event of salvation. Man works, but it is possible only through the will of God.
Perhaps some people may think that it is a pun on words, but we humans are actually the subjects that lead this history. This idea is not limited to all secular, anthropocentric ideas, including Marxism. Even Christians who say they obey God's will often think of themselves as subjects of history. All previous fights in the church are rooted in this idea.
Again, listen more closely to the words of Jesus. “Ask the master to send workers to the harvest.” To ask means to pray. Praying is an attitude to obey God's will, and at the same time, a determination to wait for that will to be done. In the end, it means that a Christian's life is possible not from his own will, but from his relationship with God.
Does that mean we don't have to act when we say to pray? It never is. Active actions are possible for those who have an existential relationship with God. Only in this case can we become true servants of God.
Let's pray that we will send workers to the harvest according to the words of Jesus. Let's listen to his will to see if that worker can be me. God, the Lord of our lives, will give answers to those who completely deny themselves and focus on His will.