On Preparing the Way
July 6, 2025
Traceymay Kalvaitis

Isaiah 40: 3-5

[There is a] voice of one calling: “In the wilderness prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain.
And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all people will see it together.”

Luke 10:1-11

[Jesus] “…appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go. He said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.
Go on your way; I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves. Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals, and greet no one on the road. Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this house!’ And if a person of peace is there, your peace will rest on that person, but if not, it will return to you. Remain in the same house, eating and drinking whatever they provide, for the laborer deserves to be paid. Do not move about from house to house. Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you; cure the sick who are there, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ But whenever you enter a town and they do not welcome you, go out into its streets and say, ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest against you. Yet know this: the kingdom of God has come near.’”
***

Today’s sermon is titled On Preparing the Way.

This weekend we have been celebrating the 249th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence by the Continental Congress on July 4th, 1776. It is easy to forget that the colonists were, even then, engaged in the war for independence from Great Britain. The war would last for six more years after the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. With its famous promise of equality, with its assertion that all are entitled to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” that document prepared the way for the greatest experiment of democracy known to humankind. It would be eleven more years before the Constitution was adopted. On that day, Ben Franklin was asked by the wife of Philadelphia’s mayor, Elizabeth Powel, “What have we got? A republic or a monarchy?” To which Franklin replied, “A republic, if you can keep it.” *
Our efforts to keep our republic continue to this day and I pray for God’s blessing on our efforts; I pray we no longer take our democracy for granted; I pray we are preparing the way for a stronger, more perfect Union. We are always preparing the way for something, whether we realize it or not.

We heard words about preparing the way from the prophet Isaiah this morning. As I was growing up, I never liked this verse. I couldn’t understand why anyone would want to flatten all the hills and fill up all the valleys to make way for God. I did not understand then that to a civilization of people who walked everywhere, or depended on animals for transport, steep hills and low valleys were impediments. What Isaiah is saying is that all the impediments should be removed so that God can come near.

Jesus is saying the same thing in our reading for today. Jesus is sending out his disciples in groups of two and he is very explicit in his instructions to them. What he is essentially saying is to remove any impediment that may get in the way of the people seeing that God is working through you; God is working through you to bring peace, to bring healing. So take one tunic but no purse and no sandals. Do not move from house to house, instead when you are invited in, first offer a blessing of peace and then heal all who are ill in that household. Eat what is set before you. Go with humility; go with faith that you will be provided for. Give them a chance to serve you because it is in serving one another that we draw near the kindom of God.

Keep in mind, Friends, that Jesus is sending out 72 of his disciples into villages where Jewish and non-Jewish, or Gentiles, live together. Scholars debate about whether or not Jesus’s instructions to eat whatever is offered includes breaking kosher. That specific information is not clear, but Jesus’s intent is very clear; his intent is to instruct his disciples how to reflect the values of the kindom of God so that others may be curious, and be open to receive. It’s as if Jesus is saying don’t be self-sufficient. Go with the intention of being in community. Go with the intention of relying on the kindness of others, and for God’s sake be gracious, and be thankful, especially when you sit down to eat.

Cheryl Lindsay, a UCC minister, shared the following as a reflection on today’s scriptures:
“I remember serving on the board of an organization that was experiencing internal conflict. The president of the board said, ‘We need to break bread together.’ The sharing of a meal, in her reasoning, would break down barriers to communication and would lead to more camaraderie and understanding among different factions. After all, we all have to eat.
There’s something that happens when a dish is passed from one hand to another. It’s a simple way to begin to reach toward someone. That practice of reaching can become a habit. The giving, sharing, and receiving can embed itself in our behavior and shift our attitudes.”

I am clinging to these words of hope written by Rev. Lindsay. I know they are true. I know that, in her words, “giving, sharing, and receiving can imbed itself in our behaviour and shift our attitudes.” Jesus knew it to be true, that is why he was so clear in his instructions to his disciples. We know that person to person, we can make tremendous progress towards peace and understanding. Person to person, we can bring about the kindom of God on this earth, with every kind word, with every thoughtful gesture, with every act of service, every single time we share, every single time we consider the needs of others as being just as important as our own. Person to person, we can and we do prepare the way for a better future.

But as I write these words, on Thursday July 3rd, 2025, the House of Representatives debate a budget that takes from the poorest and gives to the richest. There is a lot I could say about this budget. Our national office of the United Church of Christ has been very vocal in its criticisms because it actually targets those households making under 50,000 a year; these households make up 30% of the population. That’s right- 30% of U.S. households earn less than 50,000 a year. I struggled in that demographic most of my adult life; I know it very well. We all know that the budget of any organization is the clearest reflection of that organization’s values. The issue with our national budget is this: it does not reflect the values of the American people. We are generous people. We are caring people. We are hospitable, kind, concerned people. We are being fed a false narrative that our country is going to hell in a handbasket, that immigrants are undesirable criminals, that the poor are a burden on our society, and that the wealthiest Americans, the top 5%, those earning over 350,000 a year are in need of tax breaks.*** Seriously?

Friends, Jesus sent out his disciples and he warned them, “I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves” and yet he did not send them out with weapons, he did not give them extra money, extra food, or extra anything. Jesus sent out his disciples to be in community, to rely on the kindness of others, and most of all, to be examples of what the kindom of God, or the reign of God, promises for humankind…the truth that there is enough to go around, the truth that we are all in this together and if our priorities are in order, if we love God with all that we are and if and love our neighbor as ourselves we will know the liberation that comes through a life lived in obedience to a higher law, a life where there is the potential for all to prosper. Jesus envisioned this. The prophets before him, and after him, and the founders of our great nation envisioned this. The premise of equality, the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness enshrined in our Declaration of Independence is the ideal that so many have sacrificed for, fought for, and died for.

In closing, and as we prepare to break bread together, let’s do so with the acknowledgement that it is in the giving, receiving and sharing that we build trust, it is through trust that we build community, and it is through community that the kindom of God, or the reign of God, finds expression. Our national budget may not reflect it, but we as individuals, and as a community must, so let’s shake off the dust and do all we can to be the heart and hands of Christ on this earth. So be it. Amen.

*https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/constitutionalconvention-september17.htm
**https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/03/trump-budget-bill
***https://www.census.gov/library/publications/2024/demo/p60-282.html

Pastoral Prayer

Infinite Spirit we call God, I thank you for our pasts and all the experiences that have made us who we are, in this moment. May our lives be a testament to all we have learned along our life journey and may we be ever mindful to respect the chosen paths of our brothers and sisters, so that we not stand in judgment, but rather uphold each other in kindness and encouragement. Help us, Lord, to be kind and encouraging with ourselves, as well, and remember that all change begins with us. May we radiate your love in all we think, say and do. May we all be ministers to those who are in need, giving of ourselves however we can. I pray for our nation this morning, Lord. May we grow ever more deeply into our democratic ideals and become a beacon of light for the world. This we pray in Christ’s name. Amen.