Disciples and the Teacher

June 22, 2014
Second Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 7A)

Matthew 10:5-8, 21-33
MT 10:5 These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: "Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. 6 Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. 7 As you go, preach this message: `The kingdom of heaven is near.' 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.
MT 10:21 "Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. 22 All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. 23 When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another. I tell you the truth, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes.
MT 10:24 "A student is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. 25 It is enough for the student to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebub, how much more the members of his household!
MT 10:26 "So do not be afraid of them. There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. 27 What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs. 28 Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. 30 And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
MT 10:32 "Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. 33 But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.

Jesus sent his Twelve Disciples out to preach the message “the Kingdom of heaven is near” (Mt.10:7-8). He told them to heal the sick, raise the dead, and to drive out demons. In other words, they were to do the same as what Jesus had been doing. He told them that the work would be difficult. People would not accept them or their message. They would be persecuted and taken to court (17), they would be hated, and they would be slandered and made fun of. And so it has been for nearly 2000 years. Jesus told the disciples not to be discouraged, and he tells us also not to be discouraged or afraid.

The words in today’s Gospel reading that touched me this time were verses 24 and 25. “A student is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for the student to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebub, how much more the members of his household!”

For example, if people think that Jesus is a fool, then they will think that his disciples and believers are even bigger fools to follow him. If they do not believe in God, they will not believe your message. If they do not accept the way of life as described and commanded in the Bible, then they will think you are a fool if you do not live like the sinners in society. Not only in religion, but this also goes for politics and nationalism and regionalism and the like. It starts when we are young. If there is a rival school, then the students of that school must be dumb. If you do not like the country of North Korea, then all the citizens of North Korea must also be slightly less than human. I think that any religion other than Christianity is false, and so I find that I pity those who follow those false teachings. It goes the same for politics, race, gender and social class.

So, if people do not trust Jesus, they will not trust you. If people think Martin Luther was a troublemaker, then they think all Lutherans are the same. [Maybe we are…..] And so when Jesus sent out his disciples, he told them not to be surprised if people do not love them. If they are jealous of Jesus or do not like his message, they will not like the messengers either. People might like healing and acts of charity, but people might not accept your message from Jesus, which is, “the Kingdom of heaven is near.”

And so today as a Preacher, I need to tell my flock, “Do not get discouraged, do not be surprised. When you are being made fun of, if people think you are like Jesus, well I guess that is sort of a complement.” But Jesus suffered all that, even suffered death on the cross. And in his resurrection, we know that hatred and the devil and sin are overcome. It gives us hope and strength. We know that “the Kingdom of heaven is near.”

But as a Preacher, I need to tell my flock something else today. Not only are we hated because people hate Jesus, but people also hate Jesus because they hate us. Or, let us say it this way: Jesus gets a bad reputation because of us. Because we Christians are sinners, people do not trust our message. Because Christians do scandalous things, the whole church goes through a scandal. A popular preacher or a priest does something unlawful, and the whole church suffers bad publicity. This also goes for religion and politics and nationalism and the like. So here in Okinawa, one serviceman does something bad and all servicemen suffer, even the reputation of the country suffers. Likewise, if one politician takes a bribe, all politicians look bad.

So, as a Preacher, what do I tell my flock today? In the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5:16 Jesus said, “let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” In the Baptism Ceremony we give a lighted candle and say those words to the newly baptized person. That candle flame is like the Holy Spirit, Jesus, and God the Father Almighty who through Baptism now is in our hearts and in our lives so that we can live the Christian life.

And what does a Christian’s life look like? Well on one hand it looks like Jesus. It is a joyful life because “the Kingdom of heaven is near.” That gives a believer hope and confidence. How “near” is the Kingdom of heaven? Well, how near is God to you? How near is your Bible? How near together are your hands in prayer? How near are those whom you love? How near is the church altar? How near are the Body and Blood of Christ? That is how close the Kingdom of Heaven is!

What does a Christian’s life look like? Well, what did the life of Christ look like? Born in a stable, a refugee in Egypt, tempted by the devil in the wilderness, persecuted, falsely accused, slandered, denied justice, mocked and insulted, forsaken by God on the cross. But to his friends and those who believed that “the Kingdom of heaven was near,” Jesus was greatly loved and appreciated and respected. His life style was not luxurious, but he did enjoy the gifts of God. He defended the weak, the outcasts, the grieving. And so in the same way, our Christian life will have both the good and the bad. We will struggle with temptation, and we will cherish the comfort of forgiveness. Our feelings will be hurt by others, but we will always know the love of God and the love of fellow Christians. Even in times of loneliness, we know that Jesus is with us. We can love others because we know that Jesus loves them, too. We can respect others because we know that Jesus respects them, too. We can enjoy the good things of this earth and of this world, with thanksgiving and knowing that all good things come from God.

I tried to psycho-analyze myself. Why did these words in today’s Gospel reading jump out at me? I am not sure. Nobody is particularly persecuting me or calling me names. But maybe it is because I want to be more like my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Maybe it is because I really do believe that “the Kingdom of heaven is near.”

Amen.

Michael Nearhood, Pastor
Okinawa Lutheran Church

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