1030am Sunday 6-28, 20

Thank you to our vocalists and musicians were grateful for you leading Us in these songs a good friend of mine once said when words fail music speaks, I believe that wholeheartedly I'm not a great singer, but they certainly are and they truly make the gospel speak and I'm grateful for it. If you have the ability, I advise you to please stand as you are able and join me in the reading of Our Gospel for today Our Gospel reading today comes from the gospel of Matthew. We've been in Matthew 7 weeks now, we are closing in on the end of this chapter. This is chapter 10 beginning at verse 40. This is a good news. According to the gospel of Matthew the 10th chapter.

Jesus says whoever welcomes you welcomes me and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet's reward and whoever welcomes a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive the reward reward of the righteous and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of the disciple. Truly. I tell you a none of these will lose their reward. This is the gospel of Our Lord. Please be seated.

Please play with me.

Change be broken lives be healed In This Moment Christ be revealed in the name of the father and the son and the holy spirit. Amen.

We've been plowing through Matthew together these past several weeks. We've counted encountered various episodes in Jesus Ministry of teaching healing during the demons casting them out raising the dead is he from nephew? Matthew is making a claim about Jesus Matthew is saying and in his teaching and in the way, he lays out his his message for us throughout the entirety of the Gospel is making a claim that Jesus is the new Moses. He is the new Giver of the law. Just as Moses is the one responsible for giving of the law and teaching and cultivating the people of Israel into who they would become now Jesus picks up that mountel responsibility and process and carries it to its fulfillment do underscore this there are 5 different teaching sections in Matthew that Jesus undertakes each one of these moments and teachings represents. One of the first five books of the Jewish Torah Torah is the word for Law and Jesus isn't just giving an and reciting the law. He's expanding it skin perfecting it he's bringing it to fulfillment of the tour has intense right laws if they just stopped Behavior aren't very good loss laws are intended to change behavior in such a way that it changes the mentality of heart the mindset of the person for whom the law was given right in this case. The law is given to the people of Israel with the intent of forging them into God's people of being more compassionate kind of producing and providing for the world because they are called to be a blessing to all the nations right? That's what the laws intended to do and Jesus picks up this law as God and as the one who is the word of all of it, right Cosmic word and he carries it forward for the people attempting to get to perfect it. Jesus is the new Moses the And who will lead his people out of spiritual Brokenness and societal bondage and into freedom and the promised land just as the original Moses of the Torah led to keep your people out of slavery in Egypt and into the promised land of Canaan, but the place that we are moving toward is not a land on a map but a place in our hearts and our world. This has been the book that we've been on talking together chapters 9 and 10 in particular these past several weeks. So let's do a quick recap of what we've heard over the past few weeks like you like there's a lot of stuff that were like, what did we talk about? What were the scriptures and he had compassion on them because they were harassed and helpless like sheep without a Shepherd. So he tells his disciples the Harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few there for us lord of the Harvest to send laborers to make that Harvest a reality. Jesus evidently intends for his disciples to be the answer to their own prayer for the beginning of chapter 10. Jesus sends them out giving them all thority unclean spirits the cast cast out unclean spirits out to cure every disease and every sickness Jesus and 10 to 12 to go and proclaim the good news the Kingdom of Heaven that it has come near and Jesus himself here the sick raise the dead cleanse the lepers cast out demons. That's your that's your prerogative. That is your mission is 1000. The disciples are to act as envoys ambassadors representatives of Jesus extended extending his ministry for claiming the same good news and Performing the same work of healing that Jesus himself is doing Jesus's further instructions make clear. The disciples are not just to participate in the the glory of Christ and his his father in Heaven in their works. But also to share in his humble living taking with them no money. No extra clothing depending solely on the hospitality of others for shelter and sustenance that the hospitalities key.

Now Jesus makes it clear to them. As as Noble as their mission is as important as their job is of higher responsibilities as they retain. They will not be welcomed everywhere. Jesus makes it clear from last week American can expect to experience some hostility. Just as Jesus often does she is sending him out as he says like sheep into the midst of wolves, right? That's an image for you. They can expect to encounter persecution and trials as they are not exempt from the struggles of their teacher. Right? No, no student is above the teacher at no slave above the master what I experienced Jesus tells disciples. You will experience do not expect to be insulated from it. They need to be prepared for painful division in Conflict willing to put Jesus mission even above family loyalties and personal priorities in the first century family. Loyalty was everything. And Jesus called them to just set that aside for a bigger more Monumental purpose and Power. For all of this risk and suffering Jesus promised them promises them those who lose their life for my sake will find it. That is the promise. And that's what we pick up today with our text beginning at chapter at chapter 10 verse 40. Today's reading picked up right where we left off last week with Jesus explaining the Paradox of the Gospel that those who lose their life for Christ sake will find it today Jesus further stands on this teaching for his disciples and leave them to know that If you take risks if you help if you are willing to give to others. Then you will find a reward even something as innocuous as basic as a glass of water even if you do that. There's a reward.

Or text you later revolves around the concept of hospitality. We talked about that earlier. Hospitality is simply the physical form of compassion and love that's all it is. Right love is action. We talk about love right love God love people make disciples. But what does that look like? It looks like the Jesus. It looks like compassion. It looks like kindness. It looks like being generous even when maybe they don't deserve it.

Hospitality compassion and love are the new laws which Jesus the new Moses is teaching his disciples through personal demonstrations by Jesus heals the paralyzed man when he helps the person who is blind and then Through Hands-On scenario-based learning, right? We have this kind of stuff in a work for it. Right we're going to do a scenario-based training exercise at 2.

Jesus and his disciples out no money. No pads just like I do and you will have power to do these things heal the sick declare released the captive raise the dead do these things.

Jesus makes it very clear. But his teaching is not just philosophical or cerebral in nature. It is actionable is tangible. It is real something which we can all do an experience for ourselves.

Jesus also knows that this invitation to be these ambassador's to to do this work to live into this way truth and life that he offers them. Will be hard. And the disciples you and I included. Will be fearful of that calling. The disciples are afraid of rejection. They are afraid of failure. They are afraid that they are not up to the task of Kingdom building. The fishermen the tax collectors their Merchants prepared. They would have a train for this. I'm sure some of us have had that conversation in our own minds as well. Jesus is constantly encouraging and helping. But their fears keep on coming back.

The same is true of you. And I today. We've been called to New Life in a new kingdom. but our old self the self that is self-deprecating always focused on the lack and not the Surplus fearful anxious focused on the worst possible outcomes keeps restraining us from taking our full stride into this new life with Christ.

Jesus told his disciples and you and I today. that if we will trust his path risk our pride fortune and even our very lives for the sake of his kingdom then a reward will be there at the end of the journey in this life and the next

risking is hard. Especially for you and I and these last few months. It's been really really hard. I want to bring it to us now.

Taking a risk to help to talk to listen to be generous to love others.

It's a lot harder than it ever was before I'm in before the pandemic sitting with her friend didn't risk your life. Before the financial collapse giving to your church didn't risk your own livelihood and Wellness.

All these things are happening. And Christ is still even today even in this moment calling us to help and serve and love.

A lady for the first time ever. We're faced with picking up the cross that makes us really really uncomfortable. really really scared because we'd we don't know what tomorrow holds. I don't know what tomorrow holds. Nobody knows what tomorrow holds. What does the church look like at the end of this nobody knows? and yet still

persistently Fervently Christ calls us come and follow me.

Helping and Hospitality was hard enough when things are good.

But now

right now we are all afraid. And quite frankly fear makes us do dumb stuff.

Fear causes us to call each other names to blame someone because we have to blame the someone because it can't possibly be random or it can't possibly because I did something so we label each other radical leftists crazy conservatives. Because it's easier to hate I just miss someone who you have taken the humanity away from your mind. Good friend said to me this week they said

We need to see people for who they are and not what they are. I think that's very profound. and this time when we are so focused on the what we forget about the who

spear cause us to look at others with heightened suspicion and react and unjust ways against people we view as dangerous because of the color of their skin. quick to draw slow to listen beer causes gangs in cities like Chicago and others to kill each other over territory and old grudges where forgiveness has no place to move forward together.

Fear causes us to react in dangerous and damaging ways and our families be it physical families and biological families or within our own church families.

We're not none of us are insulated from these challenges and fears myself included. In this moment in our world nation Church homes.

We are beginning to understand just how fragile our courage is when faced with real fearful challenges.

But the answer is not to turn against one another. The address. The Silo ourselves into dogmatic bubbles of politics or racial lines. social media platform or in our news coverage

None of us are bad people.

But we are definitely afraid.

None of us are insulated from the sphere. You and me. We're all in this together and quite frankly. None of us know the way to go. As a result of that lack of vision and that path and that unforeseen future. We react out of fear.

It cannot be so.

It cannot be so. Jesus today tells us makes it very clear. That when you welcome someone. Welcome them with hospitality when someone is in need of water offer water. Take the risk sit down at a safe distance. Maybe you'll resume or phone call or text message. Have a conversation and truly listen.

In this time of fear, we have barricaded ourselves into our own silos of righteous indignation. And we failed to have a conversation with one another. Police and N people in the black community have stopped communicating and so they're fearful of each other conservatives and liberals have stopped communicating with each other and so they're fearful of each other. Members of our own congregation we've seen this diffusion happen through the process of this gradual need to stay separate when we are separate. We allow those that old self to take hold because we're not near one another anymore. So we're not accountable to one another anymore.

Jesus calls us into community and sometimes that Community can be messy and challenging and hard. But were called to stay in the fight. to stay in the fight for one another to stay in the fight for our church to stay in the fight for our communities and our families to stay at the table. Because it is at the table where healing happens. Is it a table where conversations can happen? Is the table where life can be found a new in ways that we are not expecting to fight.

We are afraid.

all of us

but that fear should not be the primary motivator of our actions. Jalopy, the private pain primary motivator of are giving should not be the primary motivator of our relationships. We are all guilty of allowing the sphere to see pin and penetrate the heart that Christ has given us.

It cannot be allowed to remain because it will destroy us as a nation as a state. As a community and as a family of Christ. We are together in this. I don't have any answers, but I do know that. I pray that we together can know that as well and that we will take the time in this week and the months that are to come to be a little more compassion a little more hospitable a little less quick to judge and a little more fast to be open to listening.

Let's pray. Gracious God we thank you today. We thank you that you promised us that if we take risks. To help others speed a profits or just regular people that there will be a reward.

a reward of new understanding reward of deeper insight a reward of a robust Community not framed around the the dogmatic and narrow confines of our politics or our culture or race or gender.

I thank you that you call us even in times such as these to reach beyond our fear. Delete past what we think we must do to survive and to give and be generous as you are with us now. God extend that hand of refreshing water to us in the midst of our fears and our failures and a frailties revive us. Oh God. With the Waters of your spirit given to us at baptism. We knew that Covenant promise and remind us of that today that no matter where we go or what happens or what the world throws at us that we are still your people and I didn't you we need not fear, but we can be both. We asked you to be with us to save us. And to encourage I said this time. As your ambassadors and representatives just as a disciples were then. May it be with us? So now We pray this in your son's name.