Learning to Grow: Tell in the Light

Matthew 10:24-39 “Disciples aren’t greater than their teacher, and slaves aren’t greater than their master. 25 It’s enough for disciples to be like their teacher and slaves like their master. If they have called the head of the house Beelzebul, it’s certain that they will call the members of his household by even worse names. 26 “Therefore, don’t be afraid of those people because nothing is hidden that won’t be revealed, and nothing secret that won’t be brought out into the open. 27 What I say to you in the darkness, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered, announce from the rooftops. 28 Don’t be afraid of those who kill the body but can’t kill the soul. Instead, be afraid of the one who can destroy both body and soul in hell. 29 Aren’t two sparrows sold for a small coin? But not one of them will fall to the ground without your Father knowing about it already. 30 Even the hairs of your head are all counted. 31 Don’t be afraid. You are worth more than many sparrows.

32 “Therefore, everyone who acknowledges me before people, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven. 33 But everyone who denies me before people, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven. 34 “Don’t think that I’ve come to bring peace to the earth. I haven’t come to bring peace but a sword. 35 I’ve come to turn a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. 36 People’s enemies are members of their own households. 37 “Those who love father or mother more than me aren’t worthy of me. Those who love son or daughter more than me aren’t worthy of me. 38 Those who don’t pick up their crosses and follow me aren’t worthy of me. 39 Those who find their lives will lose them, and those who lose their lives because of me will find them.

INTRO

Two weeks ago, we began a series of sermons that explored different aspects of discipleship. These mini-sermon series follow a broad theme of exploring the path of discipleship. The first two sermons spoke on the weight of the call and its cost to the follower of Jesus Christ. This week we are continuing onward towards the second of the mini-sermon series, which will focus on learning to grow in discipleship. If anything, the fact that we are breaking down the path of discipleship into mini-sermons series should portray the difficulty of following after the heart of God.

Our text this morning comes after the commissioning text that Jacob preached on last week. The disciples are just about to be sent out to proclaim the healing presence of God. They have been told that if persons do not accept the message, then brush the dust off their sandals and move on to the next location. After the instructions have been issued, Jesus begins to give the disciples a stark warning which is where the lectionary picks up today.

This warning may come as a surprise to us. After all, we, like the disciples, have been commissioned and sent out to proclaim the love of God. We are told to be the body of Christ, and in doing so, we are called into relationships with those outside these four walls. Relationships that ought to disrupt the status quo. Like the disciples, we have accepted the calling of discipleship, the calling to proclaim the Good News, to share glimpses of God’s kingdom, and now we must begin to understand what can only be taught through doing the work of ministry.

I am sure that the disciples are excited to be able to share in the work of healing, feeding, and casting out demons. Just as we are excited about the prospects of ministry that lie before us. We have 86 in worship most Sundays, 48 in Sunday School, 12 youth, and 6 children on Sunday night. We have 14 persons joining through transfer, confirmation, and professions of faith next week. We are “ready” to do the work of the ministry; we are tying our shoes, getting ready to walk out onto the mission field when Jesus’ words this morning hit us. “This isn’t going to be easy for you…people are going to call you names, people are going to get mad, your friends might turn against you….”

The gospel isn’t about our survival or prosperity; it is not about the numbers rising, the budget being sustained. These things aren't what the good news is about! Often times in the life of the church, we get the impression that the end goal of one’s faith is to say “yes” to Jesus or that the end goal of the church is to get others to say “yes” to Jesus. Yet, our text points out that saying “yes” is just the beginning. “Disciples aren’t greater than their teacher, and slaves aren’t greater than their master. It’s enough for disciples to be like their teacher and slaves like their master.”

What is Jesus saying? He tells us that discipleship is a journey that includes learning. In the last week’s text, the disciples are sent out to learn, not to teach. They are called to do the work of ministry, and in the process of doing ministry, they will learn something about themselves. The call to learn is distinct from the calling to teach or declare a message. The commission for the disciples to teach doesn't come till the end of Matthew’s Gospel. We must remember that not all are called to teach and preach, but all are called to be learners of the gospel message.

So what does our text teach us about discipleship this morning? Why is this stark warning needed for the disciples and for us? What does Jesus mean when he says, “Nothing is hidden that won’t be revealed, and nothing secret that won’t be brought out into the open.” Or “I haven’t come to bring peace but a sword.” We are being reminded that we are not to be a cult, or an exclusive religious club, with secret wisdom that is kept only to ourselves; we are not a part of an elite hierarchy that is the ultimate dispenser of God’s grace.

Rather, our text serves as a reminder that if we are going to do ministry well, if we are going to really be a people of relationality, if we are going to proclaim God’s love, hope, and peace to the whole community, then there are risks involved. First is that openness is essential; nothing is done in secret. If we are not the gatekeepers of God’s grace, then all whom we meet are deserving of Christ’s unconditional love.

If we are going to be people who have empathy and compassion for our community, then risks are involved. It might not be martyrdom, but we will certainly face rejection, be labeled, and be mocked. We will be confronted with our own failures, sins, and hurts. We will find that people pleasing is not a virtue of following Christ but rather our world, those forming foundations principles, those things taught to us as “right” or as “family values” will be turned upside down in Jesus Christ.

Furthermore, in the context of the scriptures, to be a part of a family meant to have social status. It was your 401k, your social security, your job, the means by which you were educated, and your neighbors and housemates all depended upon one's family.

Jesus is not against the “family.” Rather there will be times when our allegiance to Jesus will cause a crisis of loyalty as we begin to recognize that loving the other, having compassion for the other, and longing for other’s to know, receive and hear the good news means that our security, our understanding of church, our desires will get in the way of God’s mighty acts of salvation, and we have a choice to make. Do we be the hands and feet of God or a stumbling block for others who need to receive the grace of God?

Jesus’ message is that the commissioning we have just received is not about us. It’s not about our egos, our security, or building up the church; it’s about learning to love as Jesus does. Apparently, this kind of love takes practice. Why? Because it means we have to be stable in our understanding of who we are in Christ.

Henri Nouwen says it best. “To listen is very hard, because it asks of us so much interior stability that we no longer need to prove ourselves by speeches, arguments, statements, or declarations. True listeners no longer have an inner need to make their presence known. They are free to receive, to welcome, to accept. Listening is much more than allowing another to talk while waiting for a chance to respond. Listening is paying full attention to others and welcoming them into our very beings. The beauty of listening is that, those who are listened to start feeling accepted, start taking their words more seriously and discovering their own true selves. Listening is a form of spiritual hospitality by which you invite strangers to become friends, to get to know their inner selves more fully, and even to dare to be silent with you.”

I have been reading a book called Trauma Informed Evangelism. The book begins by talking about a church planter who went out into the community to conduct a survey with the hopes of gaining insight into what people “wanted” from church. He had a list of 5 questions: (1) What is the greatest need in this community? (2) Are you an active member of a church? (3) Why do you think most people aren’t involved in a church? (4) If you were to look for a church to attend, what kinds of things would you look for? (5) What advice would you give to a new church that really wants to be helpful to people?

As the author approached one couple, who happened to be gay, he remembers how they got upset when asked what advice they would give. The couple responded, “Don’t be so judgmental; accept people as they are.” He noted that this was not uncommon…most of the neighbors were not Christians but had experiences with religion whereby at one point or another, they had been hurt and rejected by the church.

You see, the author thought he knew the best way to ask questions, the best way to start a church, and the best way to be in ministry until he began to really listen. What he discovered was that the church has caused pain, hurt, and shame. This is the same thing Jesus’ disciples will discover as they enter into the mission field. People whom the religious establishment has hurt. They need to practice not having the answers, not moving to a defensive response, not being egotistical but being open to receiving all of the pain, hurt, and anger and offering it up to God. They must learn to listen and to receive in such a way that their security and survival or not the center by which they act or react, but rather their reactions are from their own understanding of the unconditional love they have themselves received from God.

Discipleship is difficult because it fundamentally changes us. Learning what it means to be a disciple means we have to practice new habits and new ways of being and acting in the world. You see, the consequences of sin, of trying to take the promises of God and make them into what we want them to be, have been ingrained in us. The only way to learn any different is to start putting into practice the way of salvation that God has been teaching us, to be sent out by God into the hurting world, and to lean on God’s grace as we work to bring healing to the hurt all around us.

To listen to the Spirit’s gentle reminder that we are an interwoven people and one person's quest for security, one person’s jealousy, and one person’s manipulations have an impact on how others see and come to understand the grace of God. Yet, even when we’ve messed up so badly that we have hurt those we are called to love, we can again hear the words of Jesus’ stark warning as a calling to get back on track and try again.

Much may we hear Christ’s warning for what it is. A call to give up our security to stop fearing the things which will damage our buildings and programs and instead focus on our souls. May we remember that our calling is to reflect God’s love, and that requires practice, listening, and humility. May we remember that we are called to be like Jess to heal, serve and speak in the name of God, but we are never to assume that we are on a parallel footing with God. When we encounter the hurts of this world, may we listen well, not to respond with defense but with love? May we, like the disciples, put into practice the Grace that we have received and realize that we are going to fail…but it's a learning process. We are learning to grow, discovering what it means to serve, love, and work for justice. May this be a lifelong process as we continually become disciples of Jesus who are made perfect not in Security but made perfect in love.

In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen