Matthew 10.24-39 (NRSV)

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!

Whom to Fear

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 unperceived by 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.

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.
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.

I acknowledge my debt to Suzanne de Dietrich, a wonderful French Protestant theologian, as I begin this reflection.

My text is Matthew 10.39:

^39’Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.’

Jesus tells his disciples that they cannot expect to be treated in any way better than him. If people showed no respect for Jesus, they will not show respect to his disciples. Jesus refers to Beelzebul, which in Aramiac means Lord of the house. We as Christians belong to the house of Jesus, and so those giving their allegiance to others are going to have little time for them. But we are not to be afraid, because the truth will prevail. Jesus had explained the truth to the disciples, but the world was not yet ready to receive it. But the time would come when our Lord’s suffering, death and victory over sin, death and evil would be proclaimed from the rooftops for all to hear. The sad truth is that this proclamation often lead to the martyrdom of those who proclaimed it. But even this should not concern us, because Jesus explained that people can only harm – even kill – the body; who we really are is present within our souls, where true life happens. Who and what we are is not contained in our bodies, the God life, the true life, the real life, the life in all its fullness – what God offers to all and what we have accepted as Christians, is a gift from God alone. But if the life of a sparrow matters to God, how much more do we matter.

God’s knowledge of us, even our physical bodies, is intimate and detailed – even the hairs on our heads are numbered by him. But why ought we to ‘fear’ God. Here we see our Lord once more using hyperbole to get his point across.  Death comes when we deny our Lord by betraying ‘… the love which he has manifested to us …’ When we live in a way that fails to imitate our Lord, this is when we perish, this is when our lives are compromised and some even die. People in this state can be in perfect physical health, but have died inside!

This is the truth that we need to declare from the rooftops; that there is life, real life, life in all its fullness, and it is a free gift, offered by Jesus to all who would receive it. Once more Jesus goes into hyperbole, stressing the need to proclaim this message, loud and clear, so that people might know what it is to live, and not exist.

Our world is full of people who merely exist. They have everything that money can buy and then some, but they still have nothing. We need to be eager to pass the message on. Love, is at the heart of what it means to be fully human, for it is the nature of God himself, as John explains in his first epistle.

What then is it that we must proclaim?

We are to announce salvation to all people, for ‘… such a pardon is only truly received if we are eager to pass it on …’

1 Peter 2.9-10

 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light.
Once you were not a people,
   but now you are God’s people;
once you had not received mercy,
   but now you have received mercy.

Romans 10.14-15

 But how are they to call on one in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in one of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone to proclaim him? And how are they to proclaim him unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!’

2 Corinthians 4.5-6

For we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus’ sake. For it is the God who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness’, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

2 Corinthians 5.14-15

For the love of Christ urges us on, because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have died. And he died for all, so that those who live might live no longer for themselves, but for him who died and was raised for them.

From verse 34, Jesus returns to his earlier theme … the struggles his disciples will need to face up to. These even happen within one’s families. Verse 34 is shocking in its hyperbole and paradox. These seem strange words to come from the person who exalted peace in the Beatitudes in the Sermon on the Mount. De Dietrich explains: ‘… to announce the peace of God is to denounce all false ideas of peace, which are only frightful caricatures of it …’

Sadly, we today live in a world where real peace is not the experience of many. Today’s ‘peace’ is a mask, a cover up, disguising falsehood – and so there is no peace. This is what Jeremiah spoke of …

Jeremiah 6.14: They have treated the wound of my people carelessly, saying, ‘Peace, peace’, when there is no peace.

What today some refer to as peace just covers things up and this the Lord loathes, as John explained in Revelation 3.15-16:  ‘I know your works; you are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were either cold or hot. So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I am about to spit you out of my mouth.’

Jesus came to disturb all false ideas, to tear to pieces with the sword – his words – all the false masks that people use to pretend and not be themselves as the author to the Hebrews explains:  Hebrews 4.12-13:

Indeed, the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And before him no creature is hidden, but all are naked and laid bare to the eyes of the one to whom we must render an account.

There might come a time when the call will come and we will need to leave all to follow Jesus. It could even mean a Cross. This is not a symbol of death, it is the mark of humiliation – the condition of a slave. It is in this that a disciple is not above his master.

But we are seldom asked to go this far. The question is would we be prepared to, if the call came?

Again, this passage reminds us of the folly of fundamentalism. We know that throughout the ages, the New Testament and the Christian leaders throughout history have warned about taking things literally that are meant to explain and reveal a deeper truth, for this is to limit the real depth of gift we are being offered. What we are called to is the willingness for extreme self-sacrifice, for this is the way to the only true life. When we are willing to give up everything, then we find the real meaning of life.

Christians are those who live selfless lives. In reality the Christian parent lives for their children and their children for their parents. It is selfishness that is the cause of division within families and when the Christian calls for selflessness, conflict arises.

^39’Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.’ This verse is pivotal; it occurs in six different forms. Here the word translated as ‘life’, is the same as can be translated as ‘soul’. As Argyle explains: ‘Both meanings are included here. By gaining his (physical) life, a person will lose his real self; by losing his (physical) life, a person will gain their real self.’

We look after our bodies as best we can, but never at the expense of the soul. As Bonhoeffer explains, Jesus was the example of true love, divine love, the expression of the nature of God himself he was – ‘a man for others …’ and we are called to be the same. As Jesus put it:

^39’Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.’