Do Not Be Afraid
Pentecost 3A
June 21, 2020
Grace, Waseca, MN
Matthew 10.24-39
A number of years ago, a colleague and friend said to me, “You know, Scott, there are two kinds of people in this world.” “Oh, I answered,” expecting something of a punchline. “Yes,” she said. “There are those who divide the world into two types and those who don’t.” I chuckled at first, and then notice the circular logic of the joke. But then I began to think deeply about a more profound, underlying truth in the saying. It seems that we have an almost innate ability to divide ourselves into groups, us and them, and we are inventing more all the time. We have red and blue, Democrat and Republican, conservative and liberal, traditional and contemporary, cats and dogs, vanilla and chocolate, boxers and briefs. You can probably add even more.
We have to acknowledge that some of these divisions and the conflicts that follow are avoidable and unnecessary. Some are even tragic. We also have to admit that if we try hard enough, we can learn to live with disagreement or at least work towards healing the hurts that come about because of them when possible. But some of the discord is unavoidable because it is a result of living our lives with truthfulness and honor. No good deed goes unpunished. This is the situation that Matthew’s community experiences in our Gospel reading for today. Answering Jesus’ invitation to follow produced real and drastic consequences for those early Christians. Synagogues were torn apart, families were split, and the religious and political leaders who were feeling threatened responded by Jesus’ message responded with deadly force.
Now, we know that our situation is not nearly the same as Matthew’s community. We aren’t automatically persecuted because we are Christian, though there are places like that in the world. (By the way, not being able to gather for worship because of COVID-19 is not persecution nor does it impinge on our religious freedom. We agree to do this for the sake of our brothers and sisters in community.) Even so, Jesus’ call on us to follow him involves a real cost. We are invited to act on behalf of the most vulnerable, to set aside our egos, and to listen deeply to those with whom we disagree. In case you hadn’t noticed, advocating on behalf of those marginalized does not win friends. Being willing to listen to and work with people on the other side of the aisle or whatever that divides us can cost you friends or family. At the least, you’ll receive scathing criticism on social media.
The good news is that we are not abandoned in this work because Jesus promises to be with us always. “Do not be afraid,” Jesus says. “Proclaim the gospel in word and deed boldly in the light of day. Whatever happens to you is not the worst thing because God holds you and all things in God’s hands.” Jesus wants to know that if God is concerned with a single sparrow then God is certainly concerned about you. The Apostle Paul also chimes in here, telling us to always hold on to your baptisms. Our lives are a daily dying and rising in baptism, dying to the divisions in our world and rising to new life right now.
So, what might this mean for us today? I wonder if the divisions and discord we experience can be used in a positive way. What if we temporarily set aside our entrenched positions and we listen intently to the others? For example, as I think about how to respond to the murder of George Floyd and the ensuing protests, as a white person I wonder. Rather than retorting “All lives matter” when someone says, “Black lives matter” can we hear the pain and experience of black people and other people of color? I am hearing that they are not saying only black lives matter, but that black lives are devalued in our society. And rather than immediately posting memes supporting police, which in and of itself is a good thing, can we listen to the experiences of those who have been unjustly treated by the criminal justice system? If you are white, can you take time to enter into the space of a person of color and just listen?
Closer to home at Grace, instead of being for the former pastor or against the former pastor, can you hear the experiences of the other and then talk about what kind of leadership Grace needs? Instead of being pro-ELCA/Southeastern Minnesota Synod or anti-ELCA/Southeastern Minnesota Synod can you acknowledge where you have fallen short in your relationship with each other and talk about what it means to be church together, congregation, synod and denomination? Instead of being pro-LGBTQ or anti-LGBTQ can you actually listen to a LGBTQ person and how the marginalized are demeaned? Finally, can you be as passionate about extending love, grace and mercy to others as God does to you?
Jesus is straight up with us: this is not easy and frankly some people have a hard time handling it. Yet, we need to do it. You need to do it, your congregation needs it, your community needs you to do it, and the world needs you to do it. Like you, I don’t have this all figured out; I’m on the journey just like you are, and I mess up just like you. But I do know that together we can figure out the way forward. And we can also remind each other that no matter what happens, Jesus is Emmanuel, “God with Us,” and that we no longer have to be afraid. Thanks be to God. Amen.
To watch the video, go to the Grace Lutheran Waseca Facebook page here.
