Jesus summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to cure every disease and every sickness.

Matthew 10:1

There is a lot going on in today’s gospel reading (Matthew 9:35 – 10:23), but one of the first things that happens is that we are introduced to the twelve apostles, the first disciples called by Jesus to follow him. These twelve are the very first people chosen by Jesus to represent him out in the world. But as we all know, they are an unlikely group. Not the type of people that would have been expected to be called by the long-awaited Messiah. There are not even any religious leaders among them, as far as we know. And the ones that we do know something about are ordinary, imperfect, and just not that impressive. 

First, there is the author of this gospel, Matthew. A tax collector, which means he works for Rome, Israel’s oppressors, and is probably in the habit of cheating the very people that he is now going to go and share the gospel with. Then there is Simon the Zealot, a political radical – one of those people who can’t stop talking about his political opinions; you know, the one you probably avoid talking to. How about James and John? Uneducated fishermen who are also going to teach people about the coming of the kingdom of God, Which is strange enough. But to make it worse, these two aspire to become the greatest of the disciples. These two fishermen plan to sit at the Messiah’s right hand and left when he comes into his kingdom. There is Philip, who doesn’t think that anything good can come out of Nazareth, certainly not the Messiah. There is also Thomas, who – probably unfairly – is best known for doubting the resurrection, and is the man behind the expression, “doubting Thomas.” There are several who must be quiet and reserved, because we don’t really know anything about them. And then there is their leader, Simon Peter. Definitely not quiet and reserved. A bit of a loudmouth who regularly speaks before he thinks, and who will be chastised by Jesus more than once, and eventually deny even knowing Jesus. But who will one day die for Jesus. Oh, and let’s not forget Judas Iscariot, also one of the twelve called by Jesus, the disciple who will betray Jesus. In fact, that is how he is described in this reading: “Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed him.” He is one of the 12 apostles, sent by Jesus to represent him in the world! 

Twelve Misfit Disciples? 

These are truly 12 misfits, aren’t they? They make me think of the great scene in “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” when Rudolph and his traveling companions visit the “Island of Misfit Toys.” These are all toys that have not been given to children because they have something wrong with them. A Jack-in-the-Box named Charley, a train whose caboose has square wheels, and a boat that sinks. They are all misfits. Kind of like those first apostles. Those misfits just need a little grace, a little love, and they turn out just fine. And that is mostly true for the disciples, too. A little grace, and a little love. 

Jesus has called these disciples to follow him. He has them. He them, not the other way around. Perhaps he chose them because he saw something in them that the world did not. Or perhaps he chose them to show the world that it’s okay to be misfit. You don’t have to have it altogether to be called by Jesus. At any rate, Jesus has called them to be his disciples, and now he is sending them out as his apostles. Why would anyone think that they would succeed at this? One reason, really. And, yes, the reason is Jesus. He “gave them authority over unclean spirits,” the reading tells us, “to cast them out, and to cure every disease and every sickness.” 

It doesn’t matter what gifts they have, or don’t have. What matters is that Jesus has given them exactly what they need to accomplish this mission. They are a bunch of misfits, but they are misfits with a purpose, with a mission, and they are misfits who have been gifted and called to do what Jesus calls them to do. 

And We Are Misfit Disciples, Too

And you know what? That’s you and me. We are a bunch of misfits, too. None of us are perfect. We all have our flaws, and we all know it. We need a Savior who can see past what others see, and find what makes us special. We need Jesus. And we are here because of Jesus. All of us have been called by Jesus. We wouldn’t be here otherwise. Just like those first disciples, we have been summoned by Jesus, and named his disciples. That happened through our baptisms. 

And not only that, but we have also been named his apostles. Remember that disciple means someone who learns, and apostle means someone who is sent. The disciples have been learning from Jesus. And now, for the first time, they are called apostles, and sent by Jesus. And just like those first apostles, we are now the sent-ones. Sent by Jesus on a mission to heal this broken world, and to bring hope to the hopeless, and to cast out the evils in our world. 

The World Needs Hope and Healing

And this world certainly needs this right now. I still remember the time at Lutheridge that I was asked to help a small group of middle-schoolers prepare a skit. Each group was randomly assigned an occupation, and asked to develop a skit to show how a Christian can bring God’s love into that occupation. A janitor, a cashier, a doctor, etc. But you know what my group was assigned? A politician. Even these middle-schoolers thought this must be a joke. They were convinced that there was no way they could show how a Christian could bring God’s love into that particular occupation. And I may or may not have thought the same. Impossible. But we eventually worked it out. We developed a skit where two groups were arguing passionately over whether a platypus or an echidna should be the new official animal of the U.S. And a politician entered who talked to both sides and helped them agree that both could be the official animals. Kind of silly, but one way to think about how to bring God’s love into the task of being a politician.

The point being that no matter your occupation, there are ways to bring the love of God into it. And whether you are a tax collector or a fisherman or a politician, you, too, can bring Jesus into our world. And it doesn’t matter if you feel like a misfit or not. All of us do. What matters is that Jesus has decided that you should join him on this mission, to bring hope and healing to the world. 

The truth is that followers of Jesus are not the only misfits. Our world is full of them. What makes Christians different is that we are misfits who believe that we are loved by God. There are many people in this world who know they are misfits, but don’t believe that the God who created them loves them. So they get angry, or cynical, or frustrated, or sad, and they turn to any number of unhealthy options to try and find what they are looking for. When what they are really looking for is the love of God. And we are the misfits who have been called by Jesus to help them find it. Go, Jesus says to his misfit disciples, and bring hope and healing to our world. And he says the same to us.

Details About Our Mission

If you want some specifics about this mission, Jesus offers them in this gospel reading. Let me highlight a few of them. First, Jesus says, start with people we know. “The lost sheep of the house of Israel.” Before we make disciples of all nations, we should start with people we know. You don’t have to go to the other side of the world to bring hope and healing. Start right where you are. With our family, our friends. At work. You know. 

Next, Jesus says, proclaim the good news. The good news. And I doubt that the good news is “repent or you’re going to hell.” I think it’s more like, “you are a beloved child of God,” even if you are a boat that sinks or a train with square wheels. Doesn’t our world need more good news? And we have the best news of all. The gospel beats any other story in the news, this week, or any week. So, proclaim it, and rejoice in it.

Next, Jesus says, don’t try to get rich doing this. Don’t do this to get rich or famous or noticed by others. Don’t do this for any reason other than the glory of God. When you fail, Jesus says, don’t get discouraged. It will happen. There will be some who don’t want to hear it. In that case, shake the dust off your feet, and try again. Be wise as serpents and gentle as doves, Jesus says, meaning we shouldn’t be manipulative, but we also shouldn’t be naïve. 

And don’t worry too much about what to say, he adds. It will be given to you at the time, Jesus says. Which, to me, means we shouldn’t wait to go until we feel as though we can answer every question. And we should trust that God can use our fumbling words to impact another person’s life. 

And, finally, Jesus tells us to endure. “The one who endures to the end will be saved,” he says. In other words, don’t give up. Hang in there. Don’t get discouraged, even when it gets discouraging. Keep praying. Keep sharing your faith. Keep doing good. Keep on proclaiming the good news, and sharing our hope; and keep bringing healing to our corner of the world. And trust that God will bring good out of our efforts.

Closing 

The harvest is plentiful, Jesus says at the beginning of this reading, but the laborers are few. Every laborer is needed. Every misfit is needed. All of us. And so, we should pray – ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. But we should also be ready to be the laborer sent out into that harvest. Fishermen, tax collectors, politicians, and every misfit disciple is needed. And every one of us is called to join in this mission. Because the news is too good not to be shared, and the world needs to hear it too much. And it takes all of us to proclaim this good news, and to be the church of Jesus. So let’s do it, to the glory of God. Amen.