Year A Proper 6 CELTIC 2026 Could You Do Me A Favor?

 Year A Proper 6 CELTIC, 14 June 2026

St George’s Episcopal, Fredericksburg, VA

“Could You Do Me A Favor?”

Collect: Keep, O Lord, your household the Church in your steadfast faith and love, that through your grace we may proclaim your truth with boldness, and minister your justice with compassion; for the sake of our Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Matthew 9:35-10:8

Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and curing every disease and every sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”

Then Jesus summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to cure every disease and every sickness. These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon, also known as Peter, and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed him.

These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans, 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 the lepers, cast out demons. You received without payment; give without payment.

There comes a point in any relationship where things take a step deeper.

Sometimes it is moving from the formal to the familiar. From Mr. Jackson to Bob, and there is a level of camaraderie and kinship that comes with that invitation. Some people take that step easily, without thinking about it. “Call me Bob! Mr Jackson was my dad!” You probably have heard something similar. But for some, that invitation to a deeper level of relationship is a serious and important step.

Another one is where we move from being a leader or “over” someone and treat them more as a peer. And in today’s story I think we see that. Jesus’ heart is moved, and the time has come. The Bible way of saying that could be that we had reached “the fullness of time.”

Jesus’ ministry was growing. It was growing too much for any single individual to do, and the more it grew, the more need stepped forward. 

When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”

And so he looked at the followers he had accumulated along his journeys and found 12 who he could send out to continue and expand the work that he had started. 12 is a number of completion in biblical reckoning, like the 12 tribes and the 12 months of a year. He chose twelve that he could send forth.

Jesus’ commissioning of these twelve shows the next step in their relationship. He trusted them. They had grown and understood what they needed to do and he sent them out to do it.

When my kids were young, one of the big ways I was able to show them I loved them and trusted them was to give them increasing responsibilities. They could set the table. They could cook some things. They had chores. And it showed that they were a responsible and participatory part of what was needed in our family. 

Same things happen when we grow up. With responsibility we are seen as having trust. In sharing the work, we are seen as collaborators and important. When Joe+ left for his sabbatical, I am sure that it was hard for him. He loves this place so much. But he had me come in and work with him for months so that when the time came, he could walk away and let go which is what one needs to do on sabbatical. 

Jesus by sending out his 12 was really asking them, “Can I get your help? Can you help me further this idea I have? The Kingdom of Heaven here on earth. The Kingdom of God above our earthly concerns and distractions. Can you help me let people know that it is right here and right now available to them?”

Jesus loves us. Jesus trusts us. The disciples were sent out and so are we! Jesus still wonders, “Hey, can I get your help here?” That hasn’t ended. The three-hundred plus year history of this place is all about that. Here at the corner of Princess Anne and George Streets Jesus’ helpers have been preaching and teaching, giving and caring, healing and praying for hundreds of years. And the work continiues. In John 15:15 during the Gospel of John’s account of the last supper: I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father. If you can hear my voice, you can get in on this, too. Jesus wants you to. He trusts you to do what needs to be done. Thanks be to God! Amen