LOST AND FOUND
A sermon preached by
Rev. Dr. Randle R. (Rick) Mixon
First Baptist Church, Palo Alto, CA
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Text: Matthew 10:24-39
Today’s Ancient Word offers the core of a difficult discourse in which the writer of the gospel of Matthew has Jesus teaching his disciples about what is expected of them as disciples and what that discipleship might cost them. Here Jesus has summoned the inner circle of twelve, given them “authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to cure every disease and sickness” (Matthew 10:1.) Now he is sending them out to preach, teach and heal in his name and under his authority. As Jesus’ power and authority is grounded in God, so the disciples’ power and authority is derived from the one who sends them out. They are both empowered and expected to do everything they have seen Jesus do, in his name, through their faith in him.
“A disciple is not above the teacher…it is enough for the disciple to be like the teacher.” So, their lives and ministry, their discipleship, is in allegiance to this one who is the “master of the house,” the leader of their community, the head of their family of faith. However, this allegiance, this discipleship, seems to come with strings attached. That is, if they are truly loyal to their teacher, their master, the head of their new family, there may be unpleasant consequences. Already Jesus is being criticized and hounded for the unconventionality of his teaching and ministry. So, he gives his disciples fair warning before he sends them out that, as they go in his name, they are likely to encounter some of the same consequences. This discourse is an exercise in full disclosure.
Holly Hearon tells us that “Contrary to popular belief, there is no evidence that Christians experienced anything other than local persecutions during the first century C.E. The Romans, on the whole, exercised tolerance toward religion; as polytheists they considered monotheists, such as the Jews, to be peculiar but no threat.” “Yet it is clear,” she goes on, “…that followers of Jesus expected to encounter opposition…Christians met social opposition, such as name calling, shunning, imprisonment (if they were viewed as disrupting the peace…), destruction of property, and on some occasions, death” (Holly Hearon, New Proclamation, Year A, 2008, Easter to Christ the King, p. 115.) This would have been as true for Jesus’ original disciples as it was for the Jewish Christian community to which the writer of Matthew addressed his gospel. The threat to disciples in both categories would not have been the martyrdom of Christians more common in second century Rome, but the persecution and rejection by those in their own region of Galilee.
“So,” Jesus says, “have no fear of them.” Well yes, maybe that’s easy for him to say, but maybe I’m not so comfortable with being called names, ridiculed, shunned, run out of town. I always heard that “sticks and stones could break my bones, but words could never hurt me,” but let me tell you, I’ve felt the heavy impact of some pretty awful words in my life time. I’ve been bruised and battered by some very ugly language. As the old spiritual says, “I’ve been ‘buked and I’ve been scorned” and I’m here to tell you, it doesn’t feel very good.
Still, Jesus is insistent that his disciples not be afraid. In his commentary, Tom Wright raises the question, “Which command is repeated most often in the Bible?” He says, “You might imagine it’s something stern: Behave yourselves! Smarten up! Say your prayers! Worship God more wholeheartedly! Give more money away!” But he goes on, “You’d be wrong. It’s the command we find in verses 26, 28 and 31 [of Matthew 10]: Don’t be afraid” (Tom Wright, Matthew for Everyone, Part One, p. 118.) There is both high expectation and deep compassion in Jesus’ words for his disciples. Yes, he expects them to minister in his own name, proclaiming and ushering in, as he himself is doing, the Dominion of God. At the same time, he recognizes and understands their weaknesses and speaks to reassure them.
“Don’t be afraid. Yes, discipleship may cost you something, may cost you dearly, may even cost your life. On the other hand, the promise of the in-breaking Dominion of God should overcome all your fear and anxiety. In the coming kingdom, lies and deceptions and secrets will all be exposed, for nothing that is covered up will not be uncovered and nothing secret will not be made known.” Well, on first hearing, I’m not certain how reassuring this news might have been. I imagine the first disciples, as well as many of us modern ones, might have a skeleton or two in the closet, some dimension of life that has not known the light of day for years, some things to just plain be ashamed of, that they, and we, would prefer not to share with our families, friends, neighbors or the wider world.
But, on second thought, maybe there is something liberating about being free of secrets, lies, deceptions, skeletons and closets. There is that old adage about how the truth will set one free. In fact, that adage is attributed to this same Jesus, in the process of teaching these same disciples. The writer of John’s gospel records Jesus saying, “If you continue in my word you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free” (John 8:31-32.) The writer of Matthew is holding up the same concept here. The process of coming to openness and truth may prove painful but the end result is freedom and cause for celebration. Jesus’ words of liberation need to be shared. “Don’t be afraid,” he says. “What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the rooftops.” The truth for those truly freed from fear, in the words of the old Quaker hymn, is that “Since love is Lord of heav’n and earth, how can I keep from singing?” Or in the language of the gospel song I sang earlier, “I sing because I’m happy, I sing because I’m free, for [God’s] eye is on the sparrow and I know [God] watches me.”
“Don’t be afraid. Yes, it’s true that there are those who can and will kill the body, but if that should prove to be the case, don’t let them have your soul, too. I know you don’t want to die for your faith, neither do I, but it may come to that. Telling the truth may be more than some of the powers and demons of this world will tolerate. In another time of turmoil and distress, a later disciple, Martin Luther, penned these words:
“God’s word above all earthly powers, no thanks to them, abideth.
The Spirit and the gifts are ours, through Christ, who with us sideth.
Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also.
The body they may kill, God’s truth abideth still,
God’s reign endures forever.”
If you don’t find this word personally reassuring, Jesus comes back once again, “Don’t be afraid. 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 counted…you are of more value than many sparrows.” Now I have to confess that I would find this word a little more reassuring if I had a few more hairs on my head - if that’s indeed how God keeps track of me. Kidding aside, here is Christ’s word of deep compassion for his fearful followers – then and now. William Barclay says that “Even the forgotten sparrow is dear to God…It is not that God marks the sparrow when the sparrow falls on the ground dead; it is far more; it is that God marks the sparrow every time it lights and hops on the ground. So it is Jesus’ argument that, if God cares like that for sparrows, much more will [God care for us] (William Barclay, The Daily Study Bible, The Gospel of Matthew, Volume One, p. 401.) Furthermore, Jesus reassures his disciples that an important part of the truth is that everyone who openly acknowledges Jesus will, in turn, be acknowledged by Jesus before God.
There are several other challenging words to consider before leaving this passage. The first is the often misinterpreted word that Jesus has not come to bring peace on earth but a sword. Though the language may be military in origin, Jesus is not declaring war or justifying violence. Rather than an instrument of physical destruction, the sword here is the symbol of division. It draws the line between those who hear Jesus proclaim God’s Dominion and say “Yes” and those who turn their backs on God’s good news. Yes, the truth will set us free, but the truth can also stir up a lot of conflict and disturb any too-easy peace. Holly Nearon again says, “…the gospel can lead to conflict, even with the very fabric of society, as we struggle to live a true and genuine response to what we believe the gospel asks of us” (Hearon, p. 122.)
Not only does this sword bring division, but Jesus next focuses on the potential divisions it may bring in families and households and communities. Clearly Jesus is not advocating family discord and dissolution. Rather he is saying, in another way, what he said in his earlier discourse, the Sermon on the Mount, “You can’t serve two masters…Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matthew 6:24, 21.) Where your allegiance is, where your values are, where your soul abides, the living of your life will closely follow. Discipleship is not joining a club or a secret society, it’s not a part-time occupation; it’s a way of life, a full-time job, life’s work. It doesn’t have to, but it might create family division. It doesn’t have to, but it might feel like living on the margins of society. It doesn’t have to, but it might mean selling all you have and giving it to the poor. It doesn’t have to, but it might lead to a cross. Jesus is not asking his followers to throw their lives away in pursuit of some quixotic dream. No one loves life more than he does! He is concerned that his followers embark on discipleship with their eyes wide open. There is cost to discipleship; at the same time, there is enormous fulfillment in discipleship.
My trainer at the gym often asks me what my sermon is about. This week I mentioned, in particular, the last verse in today’s passage: “Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.” We talked of how this concept is common in some way to many religions. It is crucial to what Jesus is trying to teach his first followers, to what the writer of Matthew is trying to show his community, and to how we live our own lives in faithfulness. This is not so much a word about literal life and death as it is a word that goes back to what Jesus said earlier about losing one’s life and one’s soul. This is a word from the lost and found about what really matters in ultimate terms. We may put a lot of energy and effort into creating an image for ourselves, of building up a persona, of cultivating a life style. We may be the “best little boy in the world,” or a world leader, we may be a princess or a queen, we may be everything we think we ought to be – and not really have our lives, not really know our true selves, not really be deeply connected to our spiritual center. Finding life for the sake of Jesus Christ, knowing a deep connection to the God who made us and loves us and desires communion with us, engaging ourselves fully in the work of the Dominion of God, here and now, is the way to true fulfillment.
This is what Esther de Waal testifies to in today’s Words of Preparation. She says, “Stability means that I must not run away from where my battles are being fought, that I have to stand still where the real issues have to be faced. Obedience compels me to re-enact in my own life that submission of Christ himself, even though it may lead to suffering and death. And…openness means that I must be ready to pick myself up, and start all over again in a pattern of growth which will not end until the day of my final dying. And all the time the journey is based on that gospel paradox of losing life and finding it…The goal of my changing life is not self-fulfillment, even though so much of the personal growth movement popular today seems to suggest that that is so…My goal is Christ. And I shall attain that goal only by continuing struggle” (Esther de Waal, Seeking God: The Way of St. Benedict, p. 78.)