Loving God, in spite of whatever challenges we might face, you equip and sustain us by the power of your Spirit.  Help us continue to learn from Jesus and to follow where he leads, through the same Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

            In a way, today’s gospel is entirely appropriate for a Sunday when we are having the blessing of grads.  At least one person has pointed out that it reads kind of like a commencement speech, as the disciples are sent out into their vocations (sundaysandseasons.com).  The one difference would be that disciples never really graduate.  We are always learning when it comes to following Jesus.

         Imagine, however, that you are being sent out into your vocation as a disciple of Jesus (and if the word disciple scares you, think “learner”).  Here is some of what you can expect, according to Matthew:

         You will be accused of being evil, just like Jesus was accused of being Beelzebul.  Your job will be to speak aloud what Jesus has been teaching you and to acknowledge Jesus as your teacher and Lord when you are challenged.  You will be challenged – even by your own family members – for serving God must always come first.  You will be ridiculed – just like somebody carrying their cross – and you will need to leave behind your self-centered ways.  In all of these things, in spite of the challenges, you will find life in all its fulness.  At the same time, in spite of those things that might sound scary, you do not need to fear human beings.  God is more powerful and more loving than all of them, and knows you completely.  You are enough and God is with you.

         This continues to be God’s message to all those who are committed to loving and serving Jesus in whatever they do.  While we might be tempted to ignore most of today’s gospel and just focus on the sparrows, the language that Jesus uses is like a flashing neon sign that says, “Pay attention.  This is important!”  Not peace, but a sword.  Fear the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna.  You will be called Beelzebul, just like I was.  If you deny knowing me, I will deny knowing you.

         This is not the nice, tame Jesus who blesses little children and carries the lambs in his arms.  This is the Jesus who is kind of like Aslan in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe(C.S. Lewis) – not safe, but infinitely good.  It is easy for us to forget that Jesus disrupted things wherever he went.  He disrupted families.  He disrupted societal norms.  He disrupted the synagogue and the Temple.  And because the religious leaders didn’t know what to do with him, he ended up disrupting sin and death through the cross.  This is what happens when God shows up in the midst of sinful human beings.

         This is also what was foretold through Simeon when Jesus was still a child:

This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed – and a sword will pierce your own soul too (Lk. 2:34-35).

Simeon said this to Mary, the mother of Jesus, at the Temple.

         A preacher’s job, so I have heard, is to comfort the afflicted and to afflict the comfortable.  While we are not called to go looking for fights, it is all too easy for us to become too comfortable with the status quo.  God, after all, is always doing new things, and challenging us to view the world around us from God’s point of view.  To this end, a number of the topics that will be discussed at the ELCIC Special Convention this week challenge us to examine what it really means to be a welcoming church.  We will be addressing racism, ableism and homophobia, among other things.  We will be listening to the stories of people who have been deeply hurt and excluded by the church.  We will be focusing on Jesus, who welcomed the outcasts and the sinners.

         Interestingly enough, we heard the story today of Hagar and Ishmael, who also were outcasts.  Hagar was a slave and an Egyptian, and Ishmael was essentially an illegitimate child of Abraham.  Yet, God provided for both of them, and “was with the boy” as he grew up (Gen. 21:20).  God’s care and mercy extends to foreigners, and to the ancestor of the Arab nations and of Muslims.  Jesus simply continued this care and mercy for the outcasts.

         Today, if nothing else, we are being reminded that following Jesus is never comfortable and easy.  We will be challenged to move out of our comfort zone, placing ourselves in situations where we are forced to rely on the power of the Holy Spirit rather than on our own strength.  We will be challenged to meet new people – especially people who are different from us - and to see Christ at work in them and in us.  We will be challenged to put God above all else – even our families – for that is the greatest and the first commandment.

         Oddly enough, it is in doing such things that we discover life in all its fulness, for as we go, Jesus still says to us, “You are enough and God is with you.”  As the song goes, “If you follow and love, you’ll learn the mystery of what you were meant to do and be” (Jim Strathdee, “I am the light of the world”).  Thanks be to Jesus, who loved us first, gave his life for ours, and opened the way to eternal life.  Amen.

Lectionary 12(A)                              Matthew 10:24-39

June 25, 2023                                  Genesis 21:8-21

St. Luke’s Zion Lutheran Church

Pastor Lynne Hutchison

© 2023 Lynne Hutchison  All Rights Reserved