No Fear

Robert E. Hall
Tarrytown United Methodist Church

June 22, 2008

Text: Matthew 10: 24-39

By the time the Gospel According to Matthew was written, Christians had in fact been hauled in to court, flogged in the synagogues, and made to give an answer to the religious and secular rulers----just as Jesus said they would be. They were hated by many because of their faith in Christ and were not shy about saying so.

The twelve apostles were the vanguard of the Christian movement, and even though they were given wonderful powers, Jesus warned them that he is sending them out as “sheep in the midst of wolves;” so they are to be “wise as snakes and innocent as doves.” (10: 16-23)

Jesus is wrapping up his instructions to the twelve in the story for today.

This is the part of his speech that separates the observers from the players---- words of warning, advice, and encouragement.

When we read accounts like this as “first-world” (relatively prosperous and stable) Christians, we are likely to think of Christians in “second” and “third-world” countries----where such danger and division is a daily reality. There are some parts of Africa where Christianity is a minority religion; and in the Middle East or Asia, where hatred of the Western culture (and of the USA) is combined with a hatred of Christianity, perceived as part and parcel with the West.

Martyrdom is still a possibility for millions of Christians every day.

There are those, in other words, for whom Jesus’ advice is taken to heart because they are persecuted, imprisoned and killed for being followers of Christ, or for the stands they take for the sake of the gospel. Context makes a big difference in the way we hear Jesus’ teachings about the dangers of discipleship.

We thank God that we have guarantees for the free practice of our faith in this country. In fact, for most of this nation’s history, we have had a privileged position among the religions. We are now being tested as to whether we Christians are willing to be one among many other religions and spiritual movements, all proclaiming and making disciples, each in their own ways.
(Our situation now is, in this respect, much like the polytheistic societies of ancient Rome, the birthplace of our faith.)

So what are the implications for us, in our situation? We see ourselves, for the most part, as at home in a culture friendly or at least tolerant of us. Is such courage and costly discipleship really required of us?

But maybe all is not as it seems. Maybe these words of costly discipleship apply to us as well.

We have to ask: Are we free from persecution and bad treatment because we have so accommodated ourselves---become so much a part of the background---that we blend in, like chameleons who take on the color of the place they are sitting? Have we made a deal with the prevailing cultures that we won’t criticize them if they won’t flog us?”

We may not be so much persecuted as we are seduced into making peace with the way things are. We may have melded our distinctive beliefs into this or that political or economic theory, such that we can’t see the difference. Or we may have “gone native” in a culture which values tolerance and diversity above all things,  and are fearful that we will sound too much like fanatics if we get specific about our convictions and act on them.

The mission impossible which the apostolic church is invited to serve has an “edge” to it which will lead us into conflict, even with those closest to us.

Though it is not a full break, there is always tension between me and some of my family on matters such as racial equality  and the role of the church with regard to war and peace. The price for us is an uneasy truce. I gained a perspective from which to see the home of my upbringing, and I am in many ways a stranger to some members of my family.

Jesus is telling his disciples that they can “expect no exemptions.” (Fred Craddock) If they called Jesus the Prince of Demons, they will also go after us, given the right circumstances---unless we cave.  The gospel message of the reign of God will not always be warmly received, and can really irritate some people, often powerful people. As Jesus ran into opposition and suffered for it, so will we.

Children, can you remember the time you spoke up to your friends when they were making fun of the new girl in class?  You found yourself telling them that they were being cruel and that it was wrong? You probably learned this from your parents, who were teaching you the ways of Jesus. Your friends may have then turned on you, froze you out of their group.

You were suffering because you were not ashamed to be on Jesus’ side. “We have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back….”

When our daughter, Amy, was in the second grade, we got a call from her principal that she was in trouble because she had gotten in a fight on the playground. We were horrified! This had never happened before. Visiting with the principal, we learned that the white kids had decided to torment a Mexican-American kid, and Amy had intervened with fists flying. Secretly, the principal was proud of her, though she could not say so to Amy. After we told Amy that she shouldn’t fight with others, we realized that she had been learning in the church all along the Christian message that “Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world.” No wonder she was angry!

She was paying a price for being on Jesus’ side. “She had decided to follow Jesus, no turning back.” (She has since learned the power of non-violent resistance to evil!)

Every time we find our Christian conscience pricked by the cruelties and injustices of this world, and do something about it which brings us out in the open, we run the risk of paying a price for being a friend of Jesus.

Every time we have the courage to answer for the hope that is in us----to shout the news of the kingdom---- to point to Jesus as our Savior and Lord, some will see us as too fervent for their circle of friendship.

Our aim as ambassadors of Christ is not to provoke dissension, but we are called not to back down from it when it comes.

We do this dissenting and this advocating, not because we know the truth about everything, but because of who we are: sinners rescued from sin and death and marked by the gracious waters of baptism as belonging to Christ----he living in us, and we in him. This loyalty trumps all others, and guides us in all our other loyalties: to nation, family, race, ethnicity, political affiliations.  For example, we have been freed to love our children with a love derived from the love of God, much deeper and fuller than we have on our own. We serve God by costly service on behalf of and in partnership with those who are cast-offs.

 “Discipleship does not give us merely another worthy cause to add to our list of obligations, but gives us a self that is the ultimate self-fulfillment.”  As Jesus says, the one who loses their life for Jesus’ sake will find their life. (New Interpreter’s Bible)

Jesus says three times not to fear.

He says we are not to fear what others think of us or can do to us, for “there is a realm of human existence that opponents cannot touch…. but that God can.”  It is of God that we should be finally afraid!

In other words, fear God and you won’t have to fear others.

In our talk of God, fear has been banished as contrary to love. But in the Bible, the fear of the Lord is derived from our trust in God.

“Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love, that he may deliver their soul from death….” (Psalm 33:18)

“Fear is not anxiety, which is often irrational, but a carefully considered and rational avoidance of the only thing that can really cause harm, namely, a loss of devotion to God….” (Eduard Schweitzer, The Good New According to Matthew)

There are examples of this kind of fear derived from trust in everyday life. We may “fear” our band director in the sense that we trust her, revere her, have deep respect for her. Why? Because she is able to direct us so that we all sound good together. And we want to please her. She holds us accountable for our performance and our progress; she grades us! We may even love her, but it is a love born of a fearful trust in her. Fear and love are not so far apart as we think.

This could be said also of coaches and parents. We fear/love/ regard/hold in awe good parents who can be trusted and who can protect us. So it is with God.

And though we may not think we need such careful attention, God who values and cares for sparrows and sheep, values you even more. God even knows us through and through (since our hairs are numbered)!

Jesus sends into the world, armed not with assault weapons but with talents and gifts and resources. Christ is with us, to the end of time. Trust him. Trust in the God who holds you in his hands. Speak up; don’t be ashamed of Jesus and his cause. “Face opposition without being paralyzed by fear.” (Craddock)

Stand up for Jesus, who stands up for you.