Matthew 10:1-15

A lot of kids, when they are growing up, hate wearing shoes and socks. You put them on and as soon as you turn your back, they are off again. I wasn’t really that kind of kid. I hated being barefoot. It didn’t help that I had a complex about my feet. I was so self conscious of them that when I was five years old, I would wear my shoes and socks into the swimming pool. I’m not sure why socks weren’t enough on their own, but I would hop in the pool in my socks and tennis shoes and barely be able to move because of how heavy those shoes got when soaking wet. But the trade-off was worth it to me. I simply did not want to show my feet.

I don’t know what I would have done if Jesus had said to me, “Go and take nothing! Not even the shoes on your feet.” That would have required a lot of me. In the gospel passage that we will be reading shortly from Matthew, we see Jesus giving his disciples some authority to do many of the miraculous things that Jesus has been doing like healing the sick and casting out demons. And then he tells them not to take anything with them. He says, “Do not take a road leading to gentiles, and do not enter a Samaritan town, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. As you go, proclaim the good news, ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ Cure the sick; raise the dead; cleanse those with a skin disease; cast out demons. You received without payment; give without payment. Take no gold, or silver, or copper in your belts, no bag for your journey, or two tunics, or sandals, or a staff, for laborers deserve their food. Whatever town or village you enter, find out who in it is worthy, and stay there until you leave.”

Jesus tells them to take nothing but the clothes on their backs. They aren’t to bring money or food or anything. He wants them to simply go out to do the work of God’s kingdom without anything to weigh them down, with nothing but faith that God will provide. That’s a bold ask on Jesus’ part. But the disciples follow Jesus’ instructions. They lay down all of their stuff, their money, their extra clothes, their staff, and even their sandals, and they go out to do the work of God: heal the sick, raise the dead, cure those with a skin disease, and cast out demons. They give up control and let God direct them fully.

Now, I don’t know about you, but I like to control things. In fact, I recently invented a mind-controlled air freshener. You know, it makes scents when you think about it. Giving up control is difficult. Yet it is a pretty central tenet in many religions. We give up control to a higher power, believing that that higher power knows better than we do about how to live our lives. In 2005, American Idol winner Carrie Underwood released a song titled “Jesus Take the Wheel” that talks about miracles that happen when God takes over in our lives. The phrase Jesus, Take the Wheel,” is something said when life feels out of control and we want God to step in and help us. But Jesus is calling for more than that in this passage from Matthew. Jesus is calling us to give God all the control, in everything.

You know, I remember the first time I saw a Universal Remote Control. I looked at it and I thought, “This changes everything!” Leaving everything behind and putting our trust fully in Go changes everything. We will see life differently. We will react to life differently. We live life like Jesus showed us in the Garden of Gethsemane when he prayed, “Not my will, but yours be done.” Now, that doesn’t mean that we ignore our own needs or shun our every desire. But it means that we realize that God is with us and that God wants the best for us. And that even when life stinks, we can turn to God with trust that God is listening and God cares and God will lead us out of the dark valley and into the light of the kingdom. He will bring us back into the king’s fold and pour his love and grace out upon us. With God we are not alone, we do not go away empty handed. We go, fully equipped with the love and mercy of God. And we go trusting in God to care for us.

Now, if God wanted to, God could take full control of us and make us do exactly what he wants us to do. But God does want to take control, he wants us to give him control.

So..something you probably don’t know about me is that I can control sheep simply by listening to them. It’s true. I herd them with my own ears.

God doesn’t control us like that. God asks us to give him control because we trust in God’s love and care for us. And that can be a difficult thing to do. But as Jesus told his disciples, when we do that, God’s power and God’s hope go with us. So let’s heed the instructions of Jesus and say, “Jesus take the sandal.” Let us walk, feeling the ground beneath our feet. And lead us to softer, gentler land. Work through us to provide hope and peace and laughter to a world that’s hurting. And help us to know that your kingdom is near and that you love us. Amen!