Matthew 9:35-10:15
June 14, 2026
Sermon preached by Rev. Donald Ng at Lakeshore Avenue Baptist Church, Oakland, CA.
For weeks now, college commencements, high school graduations, children centers promotions have filled our calendars when we are fortunate to have attended them. Last month, I attended my very first LCC graduation featuring 14 little 3 and 4 year-olds in red caps and robes. I had no idea they made robes that small! One of them cried while Pomp and Circumstance was playing. This child had no idea of what’s ahead of him! One of the teachers asked each one of them, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Being a firefighter was the number one desirable job!
Last Friday, I attended our granddaughter’s high school graduation in Novato. It wasn’t much different from the Children Center’s but with more lofty and ambitious dreams. We can hear some of their hopes in college and plans in commerce. Rather than being a firefighter, these graduates may end up designing houses that firefighters need to save in case of a wildfire in California.
The Matthew passage for this morning is like a graduation. Jesus is graduating the 12 disciples to proclaim the good news of the kingdom in the world. But what is different is that they won’t be seen as an honorable community hero like a firefighter. They won’t be recognized as a university graduate credentialed with status for a high-paying executive job in some Fortune 500 company. Instead, they will be more like sheep in the midst of wolves!
Jesus, the Chancellor
What Jesus did, he made it easy. He goes to all the cities, preaches in all the synagogues, and cures every single ailment. No distance is too great, no audience too skeptical, no disease too severe, Jesus just gets it done.
When Jesus graduates and commissions his disciples to carry out his ministry, things can get much more difficult. It’s going to be more like that crying preschooler not wanting to go tokindergarten. When we are following Jesus’ footsteps, it can be more challenging.
The disciples will be confronted with masses of people but there would only be few of them so they will be overworked. The people have been harassed and made helpless like sheep, but they are sent to be their shepherd with compassion. They are expected to cast out unclean spirits, cure every disease and every sickness with no fear. First, they will go to the people in the house of Israel. And for all of this work, they are to work for free.
In most if not all graduation messages given today, the themes usually are to care for others, be true about oneself, make the world a better place, and in the end, you’ll make lots of money to be able to retire. This is not the graduation message Jesus is giving today.
The graduating disciples are expected to accept voluntary poverty and to not appear to be more privileged than others like having money in their money belts, or bringing a Gucci bag, or having two tunics or even sandals or a staff. But the worst part is that they will be arrested, flogged, dragged before governors and kings. What’s even worst is that the graduating disciples will also be hated and despised by their family members because they will be speaking on behalf of Jesus himself. There’s no Pomp and Circumstance here!
Baptismal Graduates
Today, we also witnessed the believers’ baptism of Lilia and Cara. They too are graduating from one phase of life to another. In their public profession of faith that Jesus Christ, God’s Son died on the Cross for the forgiveness of sins of anyone and everyone from that time in Jerusalem to today and beyond today, Lilia and Cara are graduates of a new life in Christ.
The baptism by immersion is a dramatic ritual of the passing of the old life to begin a new life. As Jesus died on Calvary and resurrected on Easter morning, Lilia and Cara now carry with them this symbolic experience of dedicating their new life in service of God through the community of saints known as Lakeshore Avenue Baptists. They along with the graduates we recognized today, are members of the LABC Class of 2026!
Were the disciples up to doing the job? Are this year’s graduates up to doing the job? Are you up to doing the job?
Can we cure the sick? Cleanse the lepers? Cast out demons? Raise the dead? Very few of us will feel up to accepting those assignments. When we see what Jesus has done and what we are called to do, we are destined to fall short of his performance.
Those early disciples and followers, as first-hand witnesses of what was possible with Christ, could very well have gone off with confidence, determination, and nerves of steel. We, however, may feel more like sheep without a shepherd. Many modern Christians lack the confidence to talk about their faith even with those sitting next to them at church, let alone strangers in neighboring towns or the airline passenger sitting next to you in economy.
The disciples may have been willing to shake the dust off their feet and try the gospel somewhere else, but in our multicultural world, we are hesitant to approach anyone, for fear of seeming too pushy with our faith. Perhaps the original followers of Jesus had success in curing diseases and performing miracles, but many of us would consider our prospect of such achievements very slim indeed.
Performing Miracles
However, we must acknowledge that throughout history, amazing things—seemingly impossible things—have been done and continue to be done in the name of God through ordinary members of the church. Jesus’ words have encouraged and motivated far more than the twelve disciples listed in these verses.
Diseases thought to be incurable have been eradicated. Unjust laws have been overturned. Individuals who thought some doors would never be opened have seen them swing wide open. And in some parts of the world where Christians are persecuted over their faith, these are often the places where Christianity is thriving.
Here at Lakeshore, we see the miracles of Thanksgiving dinners when we fill grocery bags withall the stuffing and trimmings to accompany a frozen turkey.
We see miracles when so many of us participated in the Hunger Walk last Sunday. Not only did we raise funds but in the experience of walking together, we developed a greater commitment in solidarity to erase hunger in the country with more abundance and resources than any other country on the face of the planet.
We see the miracles of affirming and embracing all of God’s children when LGBTQ+ people can show affection and feel absolutely safe and loved. Not just on Pride Month but every month in every year, we must continue to welcome and affirm LGBTQ+ friends into fellowship.
We see miracles when both those who are able and able-challenge here on Sundays and especially when the van from Piedmont Gardens brings people to worship.
We see miracles when people who made mistakes and pay back their debt to society can enter our church doors to worship and fellowship and not have the life-depleting feeling of being incarcerated behind locked doors again. They are free again!
We see the miracles of generosity every week and most keenly when we gather in the Family Room to have our infamous Coffee Hour! Here, we try out and eat unfamiliar food to become familiar with another. We delicately prepare and bake sweet goods as a way to sweeten each other’s lives when we see so much bitterness in the world.
We see miracles when we pass the peace on Sunday worship when it is so rare and uncommon to knock on the door of a next-door neighbor or know the names of the children playing on the street outside of our homes, but we know one another’s names and embrace each other with the peace of God from our hearts to theirs.
I can go on and on listing the amazing things that are happening here.
Christ’s Compassion
What is it that makes it possible for us to see these miracles happening at Lakeshore? When Jesus saw the crowds who were harassed and helpless, he had compassion for them. Jesus’ compassion is deeply embodied rising from his core being. He is moved by what he sees and moves toward concrete action to respond to the needs of the people.
This is what is happening to us at Lakeshore—we have the compassion that Jesus had. The compassion of Jesus is what led him to call the disciples to go on a mission. The disciples and us are the laborers in the harvest and while we may always feel that we need more laborers, we are nonetheless called to mission and ministry.
Just like the disciples were not perfect because there were betrayers and doubters, they were still called and commissioned by Jesus, the Compassionate One to do service in the world. The Lord of the harvest empowers them and equips them for what is to be done. The authority the disciples have is the authority of Jesus. Jesus is the one who is meeting the needs of the people through his disciples.
We do not meet the needs of people; God does. We are not alone to do the mission of Lakeshore, but God is with us doing the work through us: members, friends, graduates, newly baptized believers. We do not send ourselves out; the Lord of the harvest sends us out on a mission. And this is when miracles begin to happen.
What do we do when we are on a mission? Our mission is to proclaim the Realm of God is near in word and deed. The Realm of God is near and is here because it is manifested through the curing the sick, raising the dead, cleansing the lepers, and casting out the demons. While these specific miracles may not be visible as they were in Jesus’ times, we still see miracles. These are the miraculous things that have been happening at Lakeshore. And if we remain followers of Jesus, miracles will continue to happen in our sight.
We are called to a risky mission because of Jesus’ compassion on needy people. Our words are just the beginning and are often insufficient. Therefore, our mission must also have visible signsthat God cares for the needy.
Ironically, the disciples were not perfect people and neither are we. Inasmuch as the disciples and the apostles made their mistakes and became afraid of going on their mission, we are too. But it is not only up to us to meet the needs of others by ourselves. It is with God who is with us all the time.
As Jesus was compassionate and merciful, we have inherited that compassion and mercy too. On our diplomas on this Graduation Day of the Class of 2026 at LABC, you are given all the privileges, honors, distinctions, and the responsibilities to be compassionate and do miracles in the world.
Congratulation graduates!
Let us pray.
O God, our heavenly president, Christ, the chancellor, and the Holy Spirit, the dean of our church, we pray that as your 2026 graduating class, we are ready and prepared to begin our new careers to perform miracles of love, peace, and joy in the world. Guide our steps and grant us the authority to be change-makers for your realm on earth as we know it is in heaven. Amen.
Benediction
As it is said at a graduation when you have completed your academic requirements and now ready to step into your chapter of life imagine you have mortarboards on, from right side to the left side:
Graduates, turn your tassels!
Go out with compassion with God with us.
In the name of Christ, do miracles! Amen.