A sermon about the cost of standing up on behalf of others.
Genesis 21:8-21
Matthew 10:24-39
June 25, 2023
Rev. Fa Lane
Faith at What Cost?
Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.”
If the Genesis passage was in conversation with the Matthew passage, what would we overhear? To me, these two passages demonstrate that having faith in God requires something from us. In our modern life, we naturally want things to be easy to manage, not angst ridden, easy to schedule and not costing too much. We want to make decisions that don’t come with friction, jealousy or bring judgement. We want our journey for justice and liberty for all to be without sacrifices.
But it rarely happens that way – transformation. By definition it means shedding something old and changing things. The butterfly struggles to emerge and HAS to struggle. That’s how it develops the strength to free itself from its cocoon and fly. You remember last week that the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. This week, we look at what being a laborer for God looks like, what it costs us.
Sarah laughed when she was told she would have a child in her old age. She doubted God’s ability to provide her a son – doubting God was dangerous. When she was caught laughing at what God had promised, she denied it. You can sense her discomfort and worry that God would punish her for doubting.
Abraham was required to sacrifice Isaac, the son he had with Sarah. But he was spared that task at the last minute after an angst ridden walk to the top of the mountain holding the hand of that dear son.
And, Hagar, banished because of a jealous Sarah, suffered in the desert with her young son Ishmael, also Abraham’s offspring. She placed him a distance from her, the text says, after the water in her skin pouch had run out. She couldn’t bear to watch her dear son die a slow death from dehydration.
These very personal tests of their faith in God, out in the desert, where they were in a land of strangers, having no army or government to protect them, relying solely on God’s provisions and their own wit – these tests were utter anguish and awful. Each of these characters heard from God, a voice, a whisper, something said by a stranger, or an angel that would transform their lives, and that of the world to come. Hagar and Sarah were both mothers of nations. Two nations of the Abrahamic lineage.
We applaud Abraham’s trust in God. I think Hagar and Sarah should also be studied, for their responses are often ours—disbelief or resignation. And yet, we see that God does not forget them.
The Matthew passage holds some of my least favorite lines from Jesus. Verse 34 says: “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword”. Wait, what?
I thought Jesus was the Prince of Peace.
The Gospel of Luke says “division” instead of “sword.” Daniel Harrington, in his commentary on Matthew, explains that the saying was just meant to bring attention to the cost of the decision to be for or against the gospel. Division among Matthew’s contemporaries would be a consequence of that decision. Oh. Is that all? The word ‘sword’ is just a poetic choice to show opposite of peace. I see.
What about verse 35? “For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother (and so on).” This gospel was constructed by Matthew from material found in Mark, believed to be the first gospel account written, and an ancient original source called “Q”. The words of Jesus here are known as the missionary discourse with instructions for the missionaries who would go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
The reference to division of the family was an apocalyptic saying based on a Micah passage about end times. You see, Matthew takes source materials texts from the prophet Micah, from Mark, an earlier gospel and from the “Q” source and heightens their impact for his 1st century church who is going out on a mission. That’s why some of the sentences seem a little disjointed. His editorial skill colors the mission with eschatological significance. He stresses that their behavior would be reckoned for or against them at the end of time.
Let’s make the mission to be clear. This is what I tried to do this past Thursday night at the Youth Lock In. I mentioned to them that at the beginning of his ministry, according to Luke 4, Jesus read the scroll of the prophet Isaiah where it said that the mission is to bring good news to the poor, proclaim release to the captives and sight to the blind, to let the oppressed be free and proclaim a year of the Lord’s favor.”
But Jesus forewarns us. It’s going to cost you something to do this work. But he, also says, “don’t fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul”. Uh, Jesus, I’d really like to not end my life for spreading your Good News. Just for the record.
The danger involved with standing up for your faith, standing up on behalf of others is real. Pointing out unjust laws, bringing the light of insight and asking for personal transformation often doesn’t go over too well. We don’t like to be told we’re wrong – there is a lot at stake to my reputation, to my honor, to my sense of self if I’m wrong. We’re so caught up in being in favor with our culture and not our creator that we can’t see how loyalty to the first one offends the other.
When we pray, telling Jesus about the troubles we see, his ministry becomes our mission. Jesus says don’t be afraid to proclaim during the day what I whisper to you in the dark—in your heart, in your dreams.
We don’t have to do this alone, like we’re in a desert among strangers. The United Church of Christ’s conferences and the national settings have stories to share with us and encourage us. The work of standing up for your faith in Christ’s love is being done in other communities across the state of PA and across the nation. We share values, in the name of Jesus, that seek to accomplish what he did - the mission points found in Isaiah.
Let me tell you that, in the upcoming Synod next weekend, resolutions to help bring in God’s light are being brought forward for discussion. They include but are not limited to discussions on reparations, gun violence, reproductive rights, trans and nonbinary people, white supremacy, green energy, use and disposal of plastics and concerns for public schools.
While there will be discussion, maybe disagreement, maybe some amended language offered for consideration, none of those will rise to ugliness, like we have seen and heard in our own community – even on our own property. Being a faithful follower of Christ may sometimes get you yelled at or threatened, made fun of, or shut out. But we’re told that what God speaks into our heart, in that secret place, we must tell it in the light. We are to proclaim what we have learned from Jesus, calling out hypocrisy, injustice, racism, phobias as in homophobia (fear of queerness), avoiding idolatry (that is seeking more of financial gain than of God’s favor). We are to choose to respect differences and love others because of our faith, not hate them with name calling or withholding opportunities or privileges.
Christ’s entry into the world was to initiate a transformation among its inhabitants that would bring about peace. But, transformation, as we see in the butterfly, will cost you something. That’s what the Resolutions of Witness at Synod suggest. As our witness to faith in Christ’s ministry, we resolve to behave differently, or allocate our money differently, or to make sacrifices when necessary. The butterfly gives up its caterpillar existence to be able to fly in the warm light of the sun.
May you also live well in the light of God’s Son.
Amen.
