Sermons for the Month
Battling Denial in the 21st Century
DATE: June 19th, 2005
SERVICE: Fifth Sunday After Pentecost
TEXT: Matthew 10:24-39“To all of you Saints here this morning, grace and peace to you from God our Father, from His Son, Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit. AMEN
If I stood here today and told you that we should all be kind to green people, you probably would say, "fine". In other words, the request would not agitate or worry you (other than causing you to wonder what's wrong with me). The reason you would not be bothered is because there are no green people in sight. So, the chances of your actually having to be kind to green people is slim.
Or, here's a more likely example, if I said that we should be mindful of those in need you also probably would not be particularly agitated or worried. Why? Well, it's because there's a lot of latitude in that request; some might choose to be mindful by praying, others might bring food items or make a monetary donation or volunteer. Being mindful could mean many things and therefore is not a huge burden.
However, if I stood here and said that you should not love your father or mother or children more than you love Jesus; that might create a bit of agitation and worry. After all, that's an extreme statement. Some might say that they do not come to church to be challenged; instead they expect to be comforted and to feel good when they leave, especially on Father's Day.
OK, then, I will refrain from making such bold statements. Instead, I'll quote Jesus, "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."
You see, the fact of the matter is that Jesus has some challenging things to say, and as his followers we should not only listen to and understand them, but struggle with how they apply to us.
Some of you know that one of my pet peeves is preachers - usually the television variety - who make a big deal about being a "Bible believing" church, and yet never really focus on the whole of scripture. Instead, they pick out a verse here or there as they talk about non-scriptural topics like positive attitudes and the promise of prosperity - all things that are easy to hear - without every going near the tough stuff Jesus says. That's why I'm glad that we use a lectionary, which means that there are scripture passages assigned for each Sunday. That means I must at least read the difficult passages, and consider preaching on them.
The fact of the matter is that today's Gospel is filled with tough stuff. These words of Jesus are perplexing, and I'm sure that was the case for the first followers as well, although it probably was easier for them to put them into context. Let's do a quick summary.
Jesus is looking toward the future; he knows he will face suffering and death, and that the same will be true of his first followers. They are going to face opposition - sometimes extreme opposition - and the problem is that they may be overwhelmed by fear in the face of what is to come and be tempted to deny him. So, Jesus tells them what to do; they are not to focus on people, and the limited power they possess. Instead, they are to openly proclaim everything that Jesus taught them in secret.
Proclamation is to be their priority and their focus is to be on God. There are two reasons this should be the case in the face of persecution. The first is that God's love is constant. And, the second is that God has control of people's lives in the ultimate sense.
For those who were first followers, denying him would have saved them from physical suffering and possibly even death. But, there is a "down" side, denying Jesus would jeopardize their life in eternity. Jesus was saying that avoiding suffering is not worth the risk of being eternally separated from God. In other words, death with hope for eternity is better than life now with no future hope.
Now, these words sound very intense to us, but remember, they need a strong message because, as Jesus makes clear, they will suffer persecution even at the hands of their own families. So - keeping in mind the constant love of God and the promise of eternal life - they must be willing even to give up their closest loved ones if they objected to their following him. The proclamation concerning Jesus must take precedence over all else. The disciples' love for him must exceed their love for even the nearest relatives.
Perhaps you are breathing a sigh of relief that I have put this passage into its context because it's obvious that these words were for a particular time and place, and therefore do not apply to us. Since we do not face persecution or rejection by our families that could cause us to deny Jesus, it must mean that we do not need to be concerned about loving our families - or anything else - more than him.
Well…I not so sure about that. I wonder if we may have to be more concerned than was true in the first century because the things that might cause us to deny him are not as obvious as the threat of persecution and death.
We battle the silent enemies of an abundance of free time with many choices about how to use it, more than adequate resources, sophisticated reasoning ability that is fueled by an unending supply of information as well as a multitude of false gods.
We too are tempted to be quiet about our faith, or to be apathetic concerning it, and to allow our own desires - or the need to side-step conflict with family and friends - to become debilitating when it comes to living out and speaking out concerning Jesus. The fact is that when we expose evil, challenge power, demand change and shake the status quo, opposition will follow. That's what happens when we are faithful. It was true then, and it is true now.
It occurred to me that we tend to apply this text on an individual basis, but there is a strong message for us as a church as well. That's because the church too is tempted to be too quiet, or too apathetic, or too preoccupied about proclaiming our faith.
As odd as it seems, the church can allow its desires for its members to be comfortable, or to have their needs met, and the need to side-step conflict to become debilitating to its mission. We can corporately deny Jesus too, and we must be vigilant about not allowing our priorities as a congregation to veer away from transforming lives through the proclamation of the Gospel.
The transition in worship times here at Faith, to which we are striving mightily to adjust today, is a very intentional decision that focuses on keeping the proclamation of the love of Jesus our first priority, so that lives are transformed. Our first step is to strengthen the experience of Jesus among us. I know of four ways to do that, including offering transformational worship services and more opportunities for small groups, retreats and study. We also do so by encouraging use of individual gifts and by creating intentional Christian fellowship. All of these areas being addressed with this change SO THAT we can become stronger in faith and commitment. Then, we'll be better able to move on to consider how the property and the mission are intricately linked. After all, what is the use of having a building if it's not used to accomplish the congregation's mission? And, finally, we must determine what unique goal we can set, or project we can develop, to enable us to share our experience of Jesus with others.
And, the irony is that when we let go of those things that tempt us to deny Jesus, including fear and apathy and make following Jesus our priority, when we speak up and when we sacrifice calm, we find a new, deeper life. That's true for individuals and it also is true for the church.
So, the kernel of truth in this Gospel lesson has not changed. As followers of Jesus, our focus must be on him, and our priority is telling others about him. Remember last week's sermon? We are among the few "laborers" in this world who can bring the Good Shepherd, Jesus, to people so that the potential in their lives can be harvested. An important task is in our hands.
This is a challenge word from the Lord, and I'll concede that a message about positive thinking or the promise of prosperity would be easier to hear on a Sunday morning. But, it's a lopsided presentation of the Bible. The fact is, though, that even if I stick to scripture there is more than enough hope to go around. And even in the words of challenge, like those of today, there is hope because when we listen and respond, we are transformed. In that, there is hope. AMEN