Matthew 10:24-39

Whom to Fear

24 “A disciple is not above the teacher nor a slave above the master; 25 it 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. 27 What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops. 28 Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him 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 your Father. 30 And even the hairs of your head are all counted. 31 So 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; 33 but whoever denies me before others, I also will deny before my Father in heaven.

Not Peace, but a Sword

34 “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.

35 For 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;

36  and one’s foes will be members of one’s own household.

37 Whoever 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; 38 and whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.

Well friends, here we are on our UCC appreciation day!  It’s an odd lectionary passage, especially for a day that we are talking about the story of the UCC and our stories woven together. The UCC has been on an adventure as a denomination, they have taken may stories and written those through the lives of so many diverse voices coming together.  We are writing a new chapter in the book of the UCC, and Fleming Road is a part of that book.  The good news is that in this new chapter of the book of Fleming Road UCC if you will, we’ve had some great chapters before, and we still have some great chapters to write after this one.  

And, this one is a wild chapter, full of all sorts of disruptions, adaptations, deepening friendships, hard cultural and church conversations, and growth.

This is a hard text on what it means to be united.  In a world where there is so much division, how do we not divide as well?  Seems to be what the text is sharing is that God knows us, is with us, that nothing that happens in this world or in our lives is separate from God’s knowing it and knowing us.  It doesn’t promise that life is easy, just that God is with us.  

It also has this wild saying about bringing a sword and not peace.  Now, we know that Jesus advocated non-violence, so what does this mean?  Well, following Jesus, having hard conversations around loving ourselves and our neighbors, making tough choices to be with folks like Jesus was, including them, can bring division.  I mean, let’s face it, sometimes we have those proverbial tough conversations around different issues at the family dinner table, or extended family meals like Thanksgiving, and even in the church.  Conversations can be divisive when you follow the practices of Jesus.

But, then there’s this piece about loving God more than your mother, father, brother, sister?  What’s that all about?  And why is that in the lectionary on UCC day!?  Here’s a thought:  I don’t think Jesus is saying not to love your family members, but to remember that our family and tribal identities, as important as they can be in formation, do not define who we are becoming.  God’s love for us and our love for God is transformative, it moves us into a deeper identity of being connected to all things and all people in a way that makes us think in different ways and practice friendship in different ways.  

The UCC came together primarily out of three denominations, the German Reformed, the German Evangelical, and the Congregational church (the pilgrims), as well as a few other smaller denominations including a black pentecostal one.  They had to honor their stories from their past, while also leaving them behind to form a new story of a new denomination, they had to lose their lives in order to unite and to begin to shape a new identity.  

Then there’s this last bit, which is the hardest for me at times throughout my life.  Losing my life in order to gain it.

In thinking of stories, and that’s been a theme in our church for the past several years, I thought of this as I was reading this week’s lectionary text and what it means to lose life in order to gain something, and how when we hold on to something to long, we miss an opportunity for growth.

When I was in high school, I was driving back from a revival meeting (I was Southern Baptist growing up, remember).  I was a bit more mature at this moment, a bit more aware.  I was a leader in my youth group, president of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and the Good News Club at my school, and had started a ministry called Campus Life at my high school.  I was immersed in a wold with a specific worldview, not all bad, but part of it was pretty narrow.  So, here I was giving a friend of mine a ride home.  During the car ride, the conversation got deep, he took a risk, and told me that he was gay.  My first thought was to stop the car, I did not know what to do.  But, I didn’t.  I stayed in the conversation.  Even though my cousin was gay, she was much older, I had never had a good friend, a peer, identify as gay to me.  I stayed curious, and learned something that night.  One, in a moment of humor, he said that he wasn’t attracted to me because I was too skinny.  Our friendship grew as I listened.  I had to lose conceptions, and in its place, new life emerged.  

Losing old ways of being, thinking, and attitudes, some of our understandings of life can be hard.  It does seem like we are losing.  Yet, we know we have to lose some things in order to live, grow, and find new ways of being.

If we want new chapters to read or be written, we have to close or move beyond the chapters we just read.  The UCC has been on a similar path, as has Fleming Road UCC.  

When the UCC was being formed in the 50’s, folks were coming to pivotal moments in their lives with the backdrop of a pivotal moment in their history that required them to think in new way.    

It meant losing in order to gain life.  

Friends, we are all in a similar moment in our history, our lives, and our stories.  Our culture is asking great questions, so are we.  We don’t have anything to fear, other than letting go of ways of thinking that probably are not working as well for us and move towards being united in our desire for a new story to emerge out of the stories that we have lived in the past.  

So, what do you say to this?  Let’s lose, together, with God, in order to have life, life to the full and that is UNITED in Christ.