Matthew 10:24-39
“Value”
June 25, 2023
Every Sunday we end Worship with me extending these heartfelt words May the peace of God
be with you always and you all accept this wish and extend it back to me with And also with you.
What comes after that are nods, handshakes, hugs, kisses, and gentle words of peace before
we make our way to coffee hour and ultimately out into a world that seems less and less
peaceful.
It can be really tempting to want to linger and make the peace in this quiet part of creation last
just a little longer.
To dwell in the feeling of shared love for God and each other for just a few minutes more before
facing the world filled with war and poverty, anger and yelling voices that don’t or won’t listen to
each other sometimes can certainly help explain why folks like my great aunt Gertrude entered
a cloistered convent as a teenager to live the rest of her life as a nun who spent hours of every
day for 70+ years in prayer for this hurting world, choosing to side with the Prince of Peace for
the living of her days.
At the heart of the teachings of Christ is the much yearned for and hopefully always possible
peace.
But this Jesus we hear from today doesn’t sound much like the Prince of Peace, does he?
Here’s Jesus hitting us hard with “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth: I
have not come to bring peace, but a sword.”
What a gut punch!
If you came for the happy-clappy Jesus today, sorry to disappoint you.
In his talk of families ripped apart, onerous crosses to bear, spirit killers, and live lost, Jesus
exposes the side of discipleship that we 21 st century American mainline Protestants rarely
explore.
We are to hear these words not as directions for what we’re supposed to do but rather a
description of what can happen when we act seriously on our faith.
Remember every one of these disciples were following Jesus at great risk to themselves and
their families.
They were stepping way outside of any comfort zone.
We forget that to be a follower of Jesus is to say there is a better way and that will probably turn
some people we know, and maybe some we love, off.
The call of Jesus, to truly follow it, will mean there will be times when we are challenged or
provoked to speak up or take action or live in a way that means change.
The peace we wish for ourselves, each other, and our world will take action.
Maybe some of our values will be challenged.
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As one writer put it: “Are we open to God breaking our hearts with compassion so that we can
welcome into our midst the stranger, the refugee, the immigrant, the exile?” (Debie Thomas,
Journey to Jesus, 6/14/20)
When Jesus says, “Those who lose their life for my sake will find it” he’s describing a way of life
that will involve work but there is also joy and beauty promised.
Our worth, our value is not in doubt, even more than a bunch of sparrows or as I was drawn to
in the picture I took in front of the parsonage this week that’s on the front of the bulletin, even
more than a beautiful grasshopper.
Jesus here describes the division that can happen.
He is being a realist because there are hierarchies that will have to be upset in order for the
lasting peace to spread to all God’s people.
The old ways will need to be undone to make room for the new.
And the reward for upending the traditional structures and way of life, it is a love and a lasting
peace that is deeper and wider than we can imagine.
This is not the God of judgement but rather the God of love.
Jesus has our attention with these hard-to-hear words – what will we do with them?
Father Greg Boyle, the Jesuit priest and founder of the gang intervention program Homeboy
Industries uses, as he so often does, the story of one of the men or women who have come
through the program and have been changed in the knowledge of how treasured they are.
He talks about a man who had spent a lot of time in prison named Joel who shared, “When my
toes hit the floor in the morning, I’m on the lookout.”
When asked what for, Joel answered God, saying God was always leaving him hints and
anonymous tips.
This is the God who loves us deeply and values us and treasures us.
This is the God we love back as disciples of Jesus.
What Jesus lays out is what can happen when we love God enough to act on that love.
Christianity is not intended to be a religion of complacency.
Jesus is being honest that following him is not for the faint of heart.
Jesus is preparing these disciples for when he won’t be them any longer.
This reference to taking up the cross is the first time Jesus offers it metaphorically in talking
about how hard it can be to leave behind the traditions that they were accustomed to.
The preacher and teacher Barbara Brown Taylor said that if we are really honest with ourselves,
the majority of us are lot less like “disciples” and more like “friends of the disciples” in that we
support and admire those who are all in for God’s mission of justice and love and put that work
before everything else.
Hopefully, we periodically become inspired by their example to take a new or surprising action
that will further the cause of God’s peace.
The good news is that there is still time and opportunity. We might just be on the edge of the
chance to make our dent in the armor of injustice.
It could be that time for any or all of us.
Jesus can change us so we can change the world.
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So do not be afraid of the change you wish to see in the world.
God loves us too much to leave us alone in this work.
Amen.