for Sunday, July 4 (Proper 9)

Do What You Can
Luke 10:5–11

The main point I draw from the Gospel reading is that, whether or not the citizens of a town are receptive to the mission, they are to be told “The realm of grace has come near” (vv 9b, 11b; bks). The only difference between one town or household and another is their willingness to accept the grace offered to them. The tools of the mission are the same in every case, suited to the task. Whether the mission succeeds is more about the targets than the message, medium, or messenger.

If you choose to talk about the message rather than the tools, you can play a game of “telephone,” perhaps using the very phrase from the reading.

Props: The greater variety and mystery of tools you can offer for consideration, the richer your discussion will be, but keep them pretty simple to understand, like a darning egg. You could start with something ­familiar, like a hammer, and then go to tools that are more mysterious.

You might also consider gathering some tools that look the same but do quite different things, such as a collection of scissors or punches for scrapbooking. A similar point is made by a collection of similar tools for different special purposes, such as the scissors shown here.

Musical ideas: Why not go back and enjoy “If I Had a Hammer” (Pete Seeger and Lee Hays, 1949 etc.)?