Matthew 10:24-39

Jesus said to the twelve disciples,

"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 him 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."

I thought of calling this sermon "War and Peace", but then I realized that Tolstoy had forever rendered that impossible-think of the anxiety it would engender for a preacher to announce "the sermon title today is War and Peace". People would be thinking ?why did I have to come today, we are not going to get out until sometime this afternoon!'

What on earth is today's gospel about? Let me read it to you again. Jesus seems to be saying ?be like me-and you will be slandered, but don't be afraid the worst they can do is kill you and don't even think of taking the easy way by keeping silent about your relationship to me or I will reject you when it really counts; by the way did I mention that following me may lead to conflict, even violence, as well as divisions within families.  This seems calculated to turn many people off following Christ- including church members. But the issues raised in today's gospel are central, even crucial, to understanding what it means to be a follower of Jesus. So what is Jesus real message here and what does it mean for us today?

 Firstly, Jesus is doing a demolition job on people's assumptions about what following him involves. Many assume following Jesus is a safe, comfortable  and even undemanding option- be nice to others,  join a church, show up occasionally to worship, maybe even take on a jog at the  church and give some money to support the church. Jesus says here ?NOT'.  

 Three times in this short passage Jesus says ?do not be afraid'. In fact the command "do not be afraid" is the most repeated command in the Bible.  Jesus repeated this because he knew that fears afflict all of us and unless we face and deal them they will dominate our lives, by controlling our choices and decisions. What most of us want is a quiet life, no stress, no anxieties and few demands. But that is just chasing a fantasy-life for everyone is a mixture- good and bad, joys and sorrows, ups and downs. Jesus says do not fear what might happen to you; for example do not fear those who try to smear your reputation; do not even fear those who can take your life away and do not fear that God might ever let you down. Ours fears are powerful, sometimes they are irrational, but often have a basis in reality.  We may become a victim of untrue rumors or smears which damage or kill our reputations, our careers, our health or even our lives. To this Jesus says ?so what'!  Keep your eye on the main thing and the main thing is that is that God will never let you down or leave you. Do you see what he is doing here? He is giving them a dose of reality therapy - you may well face real hardships because of following me and God will not act like a fairy godmother and magically protect you, but he will sustain you through all that might come your way. 

 But Jesus is not done with shocking his disciples. Listen to these words "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."

 Obviously Jesus did not have the benefit of focus groups, spin doctors and opinion polls. Today leaders and politicians (of every stripe) all agree on one thing, professing their undying admiration and support of the nuclear family, even when they are unable to agree upon anything else.

 But not content with this shocker, Jesus continues ?my disciples must carry a cross, a symbol of cruel death, to demonstrate that suffering and death are likely consequences of following me' (v.27) But not content with these shocks, Jesus continues ?my disciples must carry a cross, a symbol of cruel death, to demonstrate that suffering and death are likely consequences of following me.

 He ends up by saying if your focus is on self protection-saving your life-you will loose it; if you loose your life to God and his purposes you will also gain your life. Jim Eliot was a missionary in the 1950's who went to a remote area in the Amazon to take the gospel to a tribe of Indians- the Auka's.  He and his 5 companions were martyred. Jim's wife, Elizabeth later wrote a book about him and quoted a saying of his which seemed to summarize his life and death.  "He is no a fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot loose".

 Now before we write off Jesus as a wide- eyed dreamer, a religious fundamentalist, fanatic, who has nothing relevant to say to us we need to ask what is he really saying?

 His first hearers would have understood him to be saying ?To follow me means putting me first in your life, you cannot put your family before me, your desire to avoid conflict or hardship; If you are going to be my disciple then, your love and commitment to me must be greater than your love and commitment to any them'.  However He was NOT speaking literally, rather making a point in an arresting, memorable way. This was a common technique used by Rabbis of his day. No one hearing him thought for a moment that Jesus expected them to go home and henceforth hate their family members as obedient disciples; any more than when he taught, as part of the Sermon on the Mount, "If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away" (Matt. 5.29) he expected his hearers to do eye surgery on themselves, without the benefit of anesthetic!

 But this is still a hard saying of Jesus. It runs utterly counter to what most of us assume is our God given order of priorities - first family, then others and finally self. 

 The fundamental issue that Jesus was driving at was that of idolatry. The first of the Ten Commandments says:

"I am the Lord your God.you shall have no other God's but me". Ex. 20:1

Idolatry isn't limited to superstitious people kneeling before statues of animals or cavorting before trees, moon or sun. Oh no! Idolatry is an equal opportunity employer. People who claim to be spiritual and those who scorn any spiritual beliefs are equally susceptible to its clutch. Idolatry happens when anything or anyone supplants our affection for or worship of God. We can worship power, money, sex, sport, pleasure, family or even ourselves-these are all common gods today.

 There are times when my priorities are balanced-God is in first place. But then there are other times when my priorities get messed up, God effectively becomes about number 15 on my list of priorities. How can I tell?  By reviewing how I am spending my time. How much time do I spend thinking about God, talking with him and serving him versus time spent cooking the perfect meal, reading the latest thriller, watching TV, planning my next stimulating vacation or whatever it might be. By asking myself ?what are my current priorities; what is driving me?'  I can get an accurate read of my idolatry meter. Meeting regularly with a spiritual director, talking honestly with friends who are also trying to put Jesus first also help keep me on track or bring me back when I have lost my focus.

 The most important question for all of us to struggle with throughout our lives is: "where is God in my order of priorities today?' Or to put it in Jesus way "am I loosing my life by trying to save it myself or am I saving my life by loosing it to God?"

 Amen.