Some people just don't want to be helped.
You know the scene, you can see what's going wrong, perhaps you've been there, you've felt those feelings - but it really doesn't matter what you say - they won't listen; so what do you do?
In life we all experience difficult times, the loss of a loved one, being made redundant, relationship difficulties.
We have these problems and the people around us - our friends and our families have them too. When we see our friends in trouble or difficulty, see that they aren't happy - it's only natural to want to help - but sometimes people just don't seem to want to be helped. This year I've seen one of my dearest friends lose their grandfather, my brother was made redundant, one of my friends was diagnosed with depression and a couple we've known for years have gone through a very rough time in their relationship.
All of these things I have experience of. But what can you do?
You can
barge in and try and make them do what worked for you
You can ignore them and
leave them to get on with it.
You can tell them that you're there for them,
telling them you understand and wait for them to come to you if they
want.
The gospel reading we heard today, reminds us that life can be challenging, but that it can be even more difficult for us if we chose to live our lives as Christians. The followers Jesus sent out to spread the message of God's love were warned that some people just don't want to be helped, that it didn't matter how much they talked about the new realm of God or their experience of the wonders of Jesus, that some people just wouldn't want to listen.
In our lives as we move through the world, we are faced with many opportunities to show that we are Christians to tell the people around us that God is active in the world and that God is active in our lives. But just how many of these opportunities do we actually take?
Jesus wants us to tell other people about God's love - and his love. When we are travelling this summer - or when we go swimming - or going to work - we have to think about how we can do the things God would like us to do - helping others, listening to them, and showing them God's love. Some people may not want us to do these things - but others will accept us and welcome us and the message of God's care and love that we can bring.
When times are tough or when you're unhappy, what you need is a friend; we need to be the hands and voice of Jesus at the times when people need us.
It comes down to this, we are faced with the same type of dilemma when we see a friend in trouble and we want to help, we have those three choices.
We can barge in, telling them that God will sort it out and that things will get better if only they'd turn to God…. I can almost hear you thinking now, just how far do you think that would get? I often see street-corner preachers when I travel around, and I know they are very well meaning, that they are trying to respond to the call to make disciples and to spread the word of God, but honestly, you wonder just how many people have changed their lives as a result of something they've heard someone preaching on a street corner.
We can ignore the problem, miss the opportunity and possibly damage a friendship. How is that answering our call to show love?
So how do we find that third way - that way of giving witness to God and yet letting people come to find faith in their own time?
Well, one of the things that this reading remind us that there is so much that we should be thankful for in our lives - so much that matters more than material things. I'm very fortunate that I've been blessed with some very good friends in my life. To have people I can rely on, people I can trust - is a wonderful thing. But it's just as wonderful to know that other people feel they can rely on me and trust me.
Jesus tells the seventy that they should travel lightly and keep in mind that their names are written in heaven.
We need to give witness to God with our whole lives, we don't know when we will have an opportunity to show God's love - but God's love isn't a candle you keep in the cupboard - ready to bring it out when there's a power cut and things go wrong. God's love should be the light shining in our lives as we move through the world all the time; it's about the wholeness of who we are being influenced by our relationship with God. Showing friendship and compassion to people, in a constant way earns us far more than material wealth.
So, just how do we show it?
If we're in a relationship God's love should be a pivotal influencing factor, if we're single it should affect how we treat the people we may date or meet.
If we remain constant in who we are - even the most ardent sceptic may just begin to wonder what effect having faith in their lives would have. Jesus calls us to go into our web of relationships, even with the baggage that we have, and touch them with the ministry of God's love.
It's been God's purpose to get people to see that a different kind of life is available to them; and that the life that He offers to all who believe in him and follow him is rich and full and good, that it will go on for ever- getting ever better and more fruitful as the days and the years pass.
I believe that there is a great need for people to feel the power of God in their lives - and to hear that the Kingdom of God is near to them and its resources are available to them in their daily lives.
There are people everywhere looking for that hope, people everywhere who need the healing that the word we bear can provide them with, that the word we are entrusted with can give to them.
Our reading today says, ""The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field."
Jesus sent his disciples out to do this job of witnessing to God's love to act as workers in a field bringing in a harvest - It is only when we show that we, as the labourers in the field actually rely upon and trust God that we can show others that God is in fact present and a real help in times of trouble.
One thing that is really noticeable when Jesus sends out his seventy disciples is that he sends them out in pairs - Jesus tells them to take a friend. Don't try to go it alone. Jesus sent the seventy out in pairs, so that no one would feel isolated on their journey.
They'd have been safer travelling to unfamiliar places with a partner. For us, being a part of a church community gives us a support network of friends that we can share our journey with - and that's especially important when the journey of life takes us to unfamiliar places.
However much we may want to be independent, we still have to depend upon one another. We can't make it by ourselves. We depend upon fellow Christians to lift us up. We need the support and encouragement of other followers of Jesus to carry out our task.
When times are tough or when we're unhappy, what we need is a friend; we need to be the hands and voice of Jesus at the times when people need us.
Amen.
(Dan Joseph)
This sermon was first preached in the Metropolitan Community Church of Manchester. Click here for further information.