Proper 7: Jeremiah 20: 7 – 13, Psalm 69: 7 – 10, 16 – 18; Romans 5: 15b – 19, Matthew 10: 16 – 23
A sermon by The Rev. Gene Tucker, given at: Trinity Church, Mt. Vernon, Illinois; Sunday, June 22nd, 2008
“What I tell you in the dark, utter in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim upon the housetops.”[1]
Our Lord’s words echo down the halls of time.
They strike the ears of the perplexed disciples who are about to be sent out by the Lord into the harvest, that is, to the “lost sheep of Israel”.[2]
They reverberate against the walls of the house church where the church (or churches) that Matthew was addressing in his Gospel text were meeting, challenging those early believers to overcome their fear of the persecution they may well have been suffering at the hands of their spiritual adversaries, the leaders of first century Judaism, that had survived the fall of the Temple.
They goad our thoughts and disturb our souls as we consider what these strange words, which promise hardship, adversity and persecution, might mean for us in 21st century America today.
To strengthen, to goad and to disturb, these seem to be the very goals our Lord has in mind as His words land on our ears and burrow their way into our minds and into our souls.
Jesus’ words seek to remind us that the faith is not a private possession to be hoarded, but a gift from God which is to be shared.
So much for the idea of a “gentle Jesus, meek and mild”…..”Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves…”[3]
So much for the “prosperity gospel” which is preached by so many these days[4]….”they will deliver you up to councils, and flog you in their synagogues, and you will be dragged before kings and governors for my sake.”[5]
We are following a Jesus who promises us hardship, rejection, persecution and difficulty.
But we are also following a Jesus who tells us that all that we do in following Him is done with the full knowledge and supervision of the heavenly Father. Remember, Jesus tells us, “You are of more value than many sparrows.”[6] Moreover, “He who endures to the end will be saved.”[7]
You see, Jesus (and His heavenly Father), have the “big picture” in view. Therefore, the temporary trials and troubles that this life inevitably brings with it fade in importance, when eternity is kept in view. That seems to be Jesus’ message of comfort.
But what actions, you might ask, gets Jesus’ followers into the awful circumstances our Lord describes in today’s reading from Matthew? The answer is: sharing the Gospel with others! That is the source of the disciples’ troubles.
In the early Church, simply witnessing to the power of the risen Christ was enough, in many instances, to merit persecution, hardships and even death. Recall with me the many trials that St. Paul enumerates in II Corinthians 11: 24 – 27, which reads, “Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked.”[8]
St. Paul knew, and he would remind us, that the faith is not a private possession which is to be hoarded, but it is a gift from God which is to be shared.
So much for “gentle Jesus, meek and mild”…..“Behold, I send you out…”
So much for the “prosperity gospel.”…“They will drag you before councils…”
Following Jesus can mean difficulty, sacrifice and hardship.
“So openly and forcefully tell everyone what great things the Lord promises to those who love Him”, Jesus says (in effect) today. “What I tell you in the dark, utter in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops.”
We Christian believers of today live in a vastly different world than the one to whom our Lord Jesus first addressed these words, or to the world that St. Paul encountered as he went about sharing the great good news of Jesus Christ, or the world of the ancient part of the Greco-Roman world that Matthew’s church(es) would have known in what is now modern-day Syria.
Jesus, Paul and Matthew lived in a world where troublemakers who upset the power structure of the first century suffered for their faith. Recall our Lord’s passion and death….In part, His sufferings were directly related to His proclaiming that the “Kingdom had come near”,[9] which threatened the powerful ruling elite of His day. Likewise, St. Paul’s sufferings were directly related to the disturbing aspects of his preaching, which upset the conventional wisdom of his day, and challenged Rome’s claim of absolute authority and allegiance. No doubt, Matthew’s church(es) faced much the same situation as they shared their faith in the great Rabbi, Jesus.
Today, we are much more likely to encounter apathy and indifference to the Good News whenever we share what God has done for us as we walk with Him by faith through the course of this life.
Indifference and apathy do not remove the difficulties we face. Indifference and apathy simply create different problems which we must face and overcome, as we follow the Lord’s command and the example the Apostles and the saints of ages past set for us. For they all “proclaimed from the housetops” what had been given them initially in secret.
As I reflect on our situation today, I think the main difficulty we face is the same one that the Matthew’s early church might have faced….we are often unwilling to share the “good news” we ourselves have received. Matthew’s church may have shied away from a public confession of faith in Jesus for fear of persecution. We might tend to do the same for fear of offending someone, or for fear of being labeled as a “Jesus freak”, or worse.
If Matthew’s church(es) might have been tempted to adopt a “fortress mentality” in which the Christian faith was shared only among – and for the benefit of – the small group of believers within the church itself, then we have to admit we can be tempted to adopt the same “fortress mentality”, turning our gaze and attention strictly inward, toward the small group of God’s chosen ones.
This “fortress mentality” is the main enemy we face.
Such a mindset is more prone to be in place during times of change and distress. We live in such a society, such a world, and such a church today….All around us there are signs of major change:
Society is changing, often in ways that aren’t at all positive;[10]We may be tempted to think it’s best to simply “batten down the hatches” in order to ride out the storms we are encountering.
The world is also changing, offering new challenges and difficulties that seem
complex when compared to the problems our ancestors faced.
The church itself is in the midst of what many observers are calling a “new reformation”. Indeed, our own part of the Christian family is deeply troubled, as is the entire Anglican Communion. This summer, the Lambeth Conference will take place in England from mid-July to early August. What does – or does not – occur there may well determine much of the future course of our part of the Christian family for years to come.
Uncertainty abounds: what will society look like in years to come? Will some of the world’s enormous problems find a solution? What will the church look like in the years to come?
But, I believe, we are called to overcome our fears and unwillingness to look outward. We are called to share the news that God is still in charge, still present with His people.
I also believe that, as we move outward, armed with the power of the Holy Spirit in response to our Lord’s command to “go into all the world”,[11] God will provide the opportunities to share our experience of God, so that receptive hearts will be present in our lives, presenting us with times and places to share what God can do.
How do we do that today? How do we “proclaim from the housetops” what we have heard?
As an answer, the following are offered as possibilities:[12]
"Preach the Gospel, and when necessary, use words”: Put another way, we might say it this way: from the world’s perspective, the people we encounter on our daily lives often have this attitude: “what you are doing speaks so loudly I can’t hear what you are saying.”
People are much more affected by others’ behaviors, much more so than by words. Consider (as a negative example) how many persons in leadership positions – sacred and secular - have lost either their authority or their positions, or both, by actions that undercut their honesty and trustworthiness. “Let your insides match your outsides,”[13] ought to be our motto.
So, simply put, allow the love of God which has been poured into our hearts
radiate to those we encounter. This sort of an attitude and action
goes beyond simply “being nice”. It stems from two realizations:1. All persons are made in the image and likeness of God, and therefore, are
worthy of love, care and respect.
2. We are called by God to “see others as He sees them”."Through many dangers, toils and snares, I have already come”: How many times has God lead us through difficult and trying times or circumstances? Can we recall examples of His leading when changes in life circumstances have come our way?
Such times and experiences can serve as the basis for sharing our own story. Sharing that story can emanate from two places:
1. We are changed in our attitudes and behaviors by the experiences we’ve had, and by God’s leading us through these experiences.
2. We have the basis for sharing in word and deed what God has done for us in times past.
Today’s Gospel text calls us - Our Lord calls us – to examine our attitudes and our behaviors…..Are we hoarding the faith as our own private possession? Or, do we “proclaim from the housetops” in word and by our deeds what great things the Lord has done, and will do, until the end of time?
May it ever be so with God’s people, until the Lord comes again!
AMEN.
_________________________________________________
[1] Matthew 10: 27
[2] Jesus’ reference as we read it in Matthew 10: 6.
[3] Verse 16
[4] The “prosperity gospel”, broadly speaking, asserts that God simply wants to shower His people will all sorts of blessings (quite often material blessings: money, wealth, and possessions). The weakness of the “prosperity gospel” is that it – like so many heresies – emphasizes on aspect of the Christian faith at the expense of other parts of the faith. True and balanced Christian belief recognizes that the way of Jesus Christ often also entails hardship, sacrifice and difficulty.
[5] Verses 17 - 18
[6] Verse 31
[7] Verse 22
[8] New International Version (NIV)
[9] Matthew 10: 7
[10] Think, for example, of the news that broke this week that 17 freshman girls in a high school in Gloucester, Massachusetts had entered into a “pregnancy pact”. This story is evidence of the general decline in behavior and morals that afflicts the times in which we live.
[11] Matthew 29: 19
[12] Based in part on my own faith walk, and also on general observations of others’ faith walk.
[13] I think I heard Bishop Peter Beckwith say this.
