First Reading: Jeremiah 20:7-13
7O Lord, you have enticed me, and I was enticed;
you have overpowered me, and you have prevailed.
I have become a laughingstock all day long; everyone mocks me.
8For whenever I speak, I must cry out,
I must shout, “Violence and destruction!”
For the word of the Lord has become for me
a reproach and derision all day long.
9If I say, “I will not mention him, or speak any more in his name,”
then within me there is something like a burning fire shut up in my bones;
I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot.
10For I hear many whispering: “Terror is all around!
Denounce him! Let us denounce him!” All my close friends
are watching for me to stumble.
“Perhaps he can be enticed, and we can prevail against him,
and take our revenge on him.”
11But the Lord is with me like a dread warrior;
therefore my persecutors will stumble, and they will not prevail.
They will be greatly shamed, for they will not succeed.
Their eternal dishonor will never be forgotten.
12O Lord of hosts, you test the righteous,
you see the heart and the mind; let me see your retribution upon
them, for to you I have committed my cause.
13Sing to the Lord; praise the Lord!
For he has delivered the life of the needy from the hands of evildoers.
Psalm: Psalm 69:7-10 [11-15] 16-18
Answer me, O Lord, for your love is kind. (Ps. 69:16)
7Surely, for your sake I have suffered reproach,
and shame has covered my face.
8I have become a stranger to my own kindred,
an alien to my mother’s children.
9Zeal for your house has eaten me up;
the scorn of those who scorn you has fallen upon me.
10I humbled myself with fasting,
but that was turned to my reproach.
11I put on sackcloth also, and became a byword among them.
12Those who sit at the gate murmur against me,
and the drunkards make songs about me.
13But as for me, this is my prayer to you, at the time you have set, O Lord:
“In your great mercy, O God, answer me with your unfailing help.
14Save me from the mire; do not let me sink;
let me be rescued from those who hate me and out of the deep waters.
15Let not the torrent of waters wash over me, neither let the deep swallow me up; do not let the pit shut its mouth upon me.
] 16Answer me, O Lord, for your love is kind;
in your great compassion, turn to me.
17Hide not your face from your servant;
be swift and answer me, for I am in distress.
18Draw near to me and redeem me;
because of my enemies deliver me.
Second Reading: Romans 6:1b-11
1bShould we continue in sin in order that grace may abound? 2By no means! How can we who died to sin go on living in it? 3Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.
5For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin. 7For whoever has died is freed from sin. 8But if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 10The death he died, he died to sin, once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. 11So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
Gospel: Matthew 10:24-39
[Jesus said to the twelve:] 24“A disciple is not above the teacher, nor a slave above the master; 25it is enough for the disciple to be like the teacher, and the slave like the master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household!
26“So have no fear of them; for nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known. 27What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops. 28Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. 29Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30And even the hairs of your head are all counted. 31So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.
32“Everyone therefore who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven; 33but whoever denies me before others, I also will deny before my Father in heaven.
34“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.
35For I have come to set a man against his father,
and a daughter against her mother,
and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;
36and one’s foes will be members of one’s own household.
37Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; 38and whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.”
CHILDREN’S SERMON The following speech should sound familiar to most of us and so we often tune out when we hear it.
“Ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of the crew I ask that you please direct your attention to the monitors above as we review the emergency procedures. There are six emergency exits on this aircraft. Take a minute to locate the exit closest to you. Note that the nearest exit may be behind you. Count the number of rows to this exit. Should the cabin experience sudden pressure loss, stay calm and listen for instructions from the cabin crew. Oxygen masks will drop down from above your seat. Place the mask over your mouth and nose, like this. Pull the strap to tighten it. If you are traveling with children, make sure that your own mask is on first before helping your children. In the unlikely event of an emergency landing and evacuation, leave your carry-on items behind. Life rafts are located below your seats and emergency lighting will lead you to your closest exit and slide. We ask that you make sure that all carry-on luggage is stowed away safely during the flight. While we wait for take off, please take a moment to review the safety data card in the seat pocket in front of you.”
Tell your neighbor what items the flight attendant mentions in her speech.
Let us pray, May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight My Rock and My Redeemer.
SERMON
Our text this Sunday picks up from where we stopped last week. Jesus is giving instructions to his crew. In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus gives the Sermon on the Mount in chapter 5-8 where he lays out his State of the Union Address about what the kingdom of heaven is about. It is not like the kingdom of this world! Jesus then goes about Galilee doing what he has talked about. The rubber meets the road. He walks the talk. He has traveled his “hood,” among his people, and realizes they are like sheep without a shepherd, harassed and helpless. The heart of God incarnate is filled with compassion. He calls his disciples together and shares his authority with them and sends them out with instructions. “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. (Matt 10:16)” Jesus gives them instructions for their journey and possibly we have heard the instructions so many times our spiritual ears tune out. Today, though, we pick up his instructions to his disciples and also to us, his disciples to our world today.
Community: “It is enough… (v. 25)”
During Pentecost we focus on the difference it makes in our lives that we believe in a Triune God unlike other world religions. Today Jesus tells his disciples that “it is enough”, it is enough for the disciples to be like their teacher or master. Perhaps like the plane attendant’s speech, we need to be reminded to stay calm and don’t panic. We are not seeking to be “above” or outshine each other. God will care for each of us in an emergency and we don’t have to battle another for safety. The Trinity is not about an authority hierarchy and competition but about a unity where each aspect of the godhead glorifies the character of the other. Jesus glorifies the Father and the Holy Spirit glorifies Jesus. When the mother of James and John asked Jesus for her sons to sit at his right hand and left hand when he came into power, she had missed the point. When we somehow think the Bishop is closer to God, more powerful than the person in the pew next to us and that God cares more about the Bishop than me, I fear we are sliding down a rabbit hole. When we pray together we are not thinking numbers make power or that the other guy is closer to God’s ear but we are inviting each other into a group conversation. Big churches or small churches, rich people or poor people, or even talented verses ordinary make no difference to God. His goal is for us to be Christ like using the characteristics God created within each of us. We are each part of the body and we each serve a role that reflects something about God. It is enough to be like him as we are created to be. We are on God’s plane, on his agenda, each having our own seat and he will help all of us board and deal with any emergency that might arrive.
Communication: “So have no fear of them…(v, 26)”
Jesus next says my favorite words “have no fear.” We need not be afraid of others because there are no secrets with God. We are not to be afraid of “them,” the people who attack us. Hmmmm, that makes me stop and think about our social world today.
“Scam” is one of the words that come to mind and “disinformation” is another word that has become popular. We do not have to be afraid that God will “scam” or deceive us into doing something harmful to ourselves. God is not going to mislead us about where the exit is when we encounter turbulence. He will not bring out all our dirty laundry to discredit us. We are forgiven and secure in God’s love. Our sins are as far as the East is from the West. We do not need to be afraid that God will try to take advantage of our ignorance. The Holy Spirit is our Advocate and always interceding for us. God is on our side, fighting for us and communicating with us what we need to know. We can count on his “safety instructions.”
Likewise God does not dispense “disinformation” to try and confuse us and trick us into believing him. When we think about ways that communication becomes twisted and harmful in our world, we know these are campaigns that come from evil. God hates gossip, slander and envy. God is not like that. So when fear enters, we know we are being tempted by the evil one.
Jesus says we need not fear those who can kill the body, other people, but our only fear need be that we are pleasing God who cares about our soul and our eternity. We do not need to panic in a crisis and fear physical death. Jesus says we are of more value than a sparrow. This last weekend I had visitors from California and we went with my neighbor to the Apopka Wildlife trail. It is 14 miles on gravel road through a swampy area that houses millions of birds and alligators. The photographers in our group were in heaven. My friend with her bird book tried to find any bird she did not recognize. We are more valuable to God than a tiny, ordinary sparrow. He delights in them…and in you! What God tells us, we can shout from housetops without fear.
Jesus goes to a darker place as he shares with his disciples not to fear to testify of their faith. Many of his followers throughout history and today will be called to account by courts and by people of other religions. We call it being a martyr. Airplanes do encounter problems. The underwater sub that has been in the news this week did have problems. Jesus introduces a reciprocal principle here. It should sound familiar to us. In the Lord’s Prayer we ask, “Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.” If we refuse to forgive, we continue to carry that burden and God won’t force us to let go. The life-vest under your seat on the plane is of no use if you refuse to believe and put it on. Here Jesus says we are to acknowledge him before people and he will acknowledge us before God. This is a piece of spiritual meat we must chew on a bit. Let me propose a possible understanding.
When I bury truth within myself and talk contrary to what I know is true, I am deceiving others and hurting myself. I go home kicking myself for being dishonest. I know I have not been my better self, a person of integrity, congruent outwardly with my inner beliefs. I have given way to fear. Likewise, when we are duplicitous, then there is no victory for Jesus to brag about to the Father. The gold medal I might have won now goes to another because I do not go the whole mile. I suppose one of the examples of what I’m trying to say is Eric Liddell, the runner. He was convicted by his conscience about running the qualifying race for the 100-meter for the Olympics on a Sunday. He allowed Abrams to run it and he ran the 400 meter race that he had not trained for. By being true to his beliefs, another won the gold medal that all thought was his but he did medal in the longer race. He did not cave under social pressure.
Most of our “moments of truth” are not that dramatic or as dramatic as an airplane problem. I often fail in front of the refrigerator door and then hang my head with my friends, as we know we have not dieted, as we had wanted. Perhaps truth hangs in the balance when we fill out our tax returns. The flight attendant has a general announcement that is made on every flight for all people but each crisis is different and each of us is not on the same plane. But we are headed to the same destination and we do encounter similar problems that God wants to help us navigate.
Fears eat away at our insides as we fear scams, shams, and disinformation and that fear paralyzes our actions. Fears can also eat away at our outward testimonies, the person we present ourselves to be to others. Jesus concludes these thoughts by again reiterating that he is not Santa Claus. He did not come to bring Christmas and to make our lives here on earth comfy. Jesus is not about instant health, wealth and prosperity. The goal is not to be comfortable on the flight but to get to our destination trusting his instructions for the trip. He is building a kingdom where community without competition is enough and where we do not spend our lives in fear of the other.
Obedience: 39Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their
life for my sake will find it.”
Our triune God is communal and we are people of community. The community that is forming will work by different values than the communities of this world. God will communicate truth to us and through us to build his kingdom. We need to communicate with others. Having that safety card in the pocket in front of you in the plane is of no use if we don’t read it. Christian community can expect friction and frustration from the world as they communicate their values and the ways they function to the society around them. We must never forget that we are valuable and seeking to be like our teacher and master where we are.
Jesus now gives another mind twister. “Forgive me my trespasses as I forgive others.” Acknowledge Jesus before people and he can acknowledge us before God. And thirdly Jesus says that it is as we lose our life for Christ’s sake that we find life. The kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of earth are not the same and work differently. So disciples must always make sure they are listening to and following the instructions of their master because his directions will feel like loosing our lives but in obeying him we find life.
Forgiveness over revenge for the wrongs done us can feel like the death of our pride. Sharing our wealth with a church through offerings can feel like compromising our ability to lead a comfortable life. Reading the Bible rather than keeping track of the next series on TV may make us look a little ignorant in public but…. God’s ways don’t make sense in our world and often feel life threatening. The world sent Jesus to the cross and being like Jesus can feel life threatening also. In an emergency on the plane, we do not know if there is enough oxygen coming through those masks for everyone. I have never actually seen that life vest under my seat nor do I know if it is big enough for me. I do check for exit doors. But I must admit I am locating the bathrooms also. We just don’t know and must obey the instructions given us when we board. We just don’t know if someday we will be called to account for our faith. We don’t know what the end of our journey will be like. We all vote for falling asleep in our chair or bed surrounded by loved ones but only God knows. And so we close today with the promise Jesus gave,
39Those who find their life will lose it,
and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.”
Buckle your seat belts for another week. He has life-vests, oxygen masks, and marked paths to exits for whatever turbulence you will face this week.
And the people of God said, “Thank You!”
Posted by srwantabee 
On the Way to Wonder 