Matthew 10:24-39

“A disciple is not above the teacher nor a slave above the master; it is enough for the disciple to be like the teacher and the slave like the master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household!

“So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered and nothing secret that will not become known. What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops. Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, fear the one who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. And even the hairs of your head are all counted. So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.

“Everyone, therefore, who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven, but whoever denies me before others, I also will deny before my Father in heaven.

“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace but a sword.

For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law, and one’s foes will be members of one’s own household.

“Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.

Sermon Text

You are loved, eternally and completely. I want to say that again at the outset. You are loved, eternally and completely. From before the foundation of the world, you were part of God’s grand dream for salvation. To see you brought into the Kingdom and grown up in love and holiness. God so loved the world, and God so loved you, that he sent his only begotten Son to live, die, and rise again for your, for our, salvation.

If we truly believe that to be true, we are left with a quandary. Despite the knowledge of God’s divine care, we are prone to worry. Not the healthy kind of concern that asks us to be thoughtful and cautious, but the soul consuming worry that only feeds itself and destroys us. Not either the clinical anxiety which requires medical intervention. I’m talking about the habitual, the personal, and the very real fears we stoke within ourselves in the face of a life full of uncertainty. I’m talking about the sort of fear we have power over and the kind of confidence, founded in God, that can counter it.

I think one of the dangerous things the Church can claim to offer is a life that does have any difficulties, worries, or fear. Those are not things we can ever fully escape this side of eternity. The difference that our faith makes is the ability to overcome even the most overwhelming parts of our life, because of the love that God has for us. I’m not going to say that you will not sit and worry and fuss about life, but I am telling you that all that worrying is at the foot of the throne of the God who has control of each and every aspect of the creation that was made for and entirely toward love.

Jesus delivers the message we read in our scripture today in the context of sending his disciples out to do the work of ministry. They are to go from town to town, proclaiming the good news and healing everyone they meet through the power of Jesus. They are going, not to places that are perfectly set up for them, but that are oftentimes going to be actively antagonistic toward them. Jesus specifically says, “You see how they’ve treated me, can you imagine what they’ll say and do to you?” He wants his disciples to be prepared for the fact that following God will have consequences.

Jesus sets his disciples up for this reality, that they are going out into an antagonistic world to bring the Gospel to it… Then he tells them not to worry about anything that comes their way. He says that they must go out and proclaim Christ’s salvation no matter the consequence, must do the work of healing and reconciliation even if it means they are chased out of town, and they must do so without ceasing. They have a choice to acknowledge God and suffer the consequences, or deny the mission they’ve been given and benefit richly because of it. I’m intentional in framing it that way – Jesus is telling his disciples that there is an easy way out and a hard road ahead, and that if they want the easy road it is not with him. Even if one road leads to destruction, they may indeed choose it because the other path is so difficult to walk.

Jesus goes further to say – if you keep with me, you may be betrayed by your family. The passage here about loving father and mother more than the kingdom is not Jesus giving us an excuse to abandon difficult family members, nor an excuse to ignore them in exchange for “doing the Lord’s work.” He is highlighting a truth still felt by people in places where Christianity is illegal. If your family accepting you is more important than doing this work, if your family not shunning you would prevent you, if having your family turn you over to be killed is a non-starter – then this work is not for you.

We are then led to another truth that we in our position of privilege in America have to acknowledge. We are not likely to face the sort of dangers that Christ lays out for his disciples, so why is it then that we do not enjoy his promise either? We are told not to worry about anything, because God is good enough to feed wild birds and attend to their birth and their death, and we are more valuable than any bird that flies in the air. Elsewhere, Jesus again turns to birds and notes that they do not spend their time worried about where food will come from, but trust God will provide it.

I have recently taken up birding as a bit of a hobby. I have my birdfeeders set where I can see them while I go about my daily housework. Beyond the birds that come to my feeder, I have also just become more aware of where our avian friends are in the world. The sharp cry of the red-winged blackbird and the repetitions of the grackle carry across any space that they find themselves in. You are never very far away from a bird, and if you look you can see them flitting here and there to find the next bit of food they need for themselves and their nestlings. Flying here and there with purpose, efficiency, and dare I say… Trust.

Jesus asks us to look to birds to assuage our worries so that we never can go without the reminder that we are cared for. Life is hard, and if you are trying to live it like a half-decent person you are not afforded any of the shortcuts others might take. You cannot steal or cheat or deceive your way into a better future – you have to face each trouble as it comes. If you are advocating for the work of the Gospel – to proclaim salvation, to warn against sin, to bring folk food and shelter and medicine – then people will get upset. Not because we are purposefully provoking them, but because goodness upsets people. Yet, in the midst of our most dejected days, Christ gives us a symbol to seek out… Look for the birds, see them being cared for, know that you are cared for even more.

So, I ask you, take whatever worries you brought in here with you today, and leave them behind. Yes, you’ll still have to deal with what is worrying you when you leave. Yet, I hope that as you go, you’ll see a bird fly by, or settle on a branch, and see in it a reminder that you are loved with an everlasting love. Fear nothing, fear no one, for God is with you always. The birds proclaim this truth for all to see. – Amen.