Proper 7A

The gospel of Matthew continues to speak of a harsher reality that comes with Christian witness. We are still in the middle of Jesus’ discourse on the mission of the disciples. Jesus has already told them where they are to go — nowhere near the Gentiles… at least not yet, but only to the house of the lost sheep of Israel. He has told them how they are to go: they are to take nothing with them and he has instructed them what to do when they arrive somewhere: if the household does not receive them, they are to shake the dust from their feet and continue on.

Our reading this morning picks up in the second part of the missionary discourse — one of the five major bodies of teaching in the gospel of Matthew. The missionary life is difficult: the disciples will be dependent upon the hospitality of others. Their mission is urgent. Worse, Jesus promises sufferings to the twelve. He describes two particularly dangerous and costly situations: strife within their families — the foundation of their society, and persecution from the outside.

Asking someone in the time of Jesus to leave the family unit was akin to asking them to commit social and economic suicide. They would become severed from their main economic support system. But Jesus is clear. The disciple is called to a radical commitment to following of Jesus. Nothing takes precedence over that commitment, not even family ties.

As for strife from the community, Jesus promises them that God will give them the words to say when they need to say them. God will direct the apostle to bear witness to God’s goodness and freedom, even when to do so seems contrary to logic or social norms. Sometimes, witnessing to Christ means taking a chance of risking… and trusting in God.

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The words, ‘Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul…’ that are part of this teaching, have always stuck with me every since hearing them in 1988 at a weekday eucharist three days after a beloved member of a former congregation was found murdered in her garden shed. We all knew that the deceased trusted in God and was all right. We hoped her faith had kept her soul intact even as her body was confronted with a violent death.

As disciples of Christ, we must pay more attention to those circumstances and people in our lives who threaten to harm our souls for whatever reason. If our souls are aching, we cannot then proclaim the good news of God in Christ with ease.

Periodically I have to fast from reading the news, whether in the world or in the Anglican Communion. The latter I sometimes call, ‘As the Anglican World Turns,’ because on certain days there is so much sturm und drang that I can get swept up in it, become indignant and forget about what our being church is about, namely, bringing the kingdom of God near. There are certainly issues that need our attention but focusing entirely on internal disagreements detracts me from remembering the true concerns in the world: the hungry, the poor, the suffering, the dying, and those who do not know God. And so I fast, vacationing from various list serves and blogs for the healthiness of my soul. This is a relatively trivial example; there are far graver circumstances that can endanger our soul.

People may not set out to hurt each other intentionally, but every once in a while, it happens — sometimes even in the midst of what seems to be good. Waking up to the fact that a particular relationship is unhealthy or workplace situation is forcing one to compromise one’s ethics and separating oneself from that milieu takes courage. Confronting the unevenness in one’s soul takes strength that only God can give. Saying goodbye to the workplace, relationship or whatever it is that is in way of following Christ can take every ounce of strength one can muster. Making that change has to be done not alone but with the help of others, within the context of the community of prayer. Finding that healthiness of soul is what God desires for each one of us.

Making such a change, dying to be reborn, trying better to live out the gift of discipleship we each have been given, by facing what might be killing one’s soul can be terrifying. It is like the substance abuser recognising that he or she has hit rock bottom and needs to let go of their crutch. It can be done, yes, but it takes courage, hope, trust and a community. It requires not being afraid of change. It requires not being afraid, period.

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Further in the gospel today, we would hear Jesus’ reassurance of help in the words, ‘Do not be afraid.’

We are people of hope and trust in God’s providence. Through prayer and trust, we can actively discern God’s desire for us, and listen hard to what God might be telling us. Doing so takes a lot of trust, but in that trusting, we are reminded of God’s steadfast love and care for us. And sometimes this trust may lead us in new directions we have never considered before.

In scary times, it is best to remember two words that appear over and over in scripture and that Jesus and later Peter tell their disciples: ‘Fear not.’ Kathleen Norris writes in Amazing Grace: A Vocabulary of Faith, ‘“Fear not”…—Two simple words that act to obliterate fear, giving the listener the hope that fear’s domination of the human heart is subject to God, after all, and its power can be extinguished.… It is fear, in the old sense of awe—that allows us to recognize the holy in our midst, fear that gives us the courage to listen, and to let God awaken in us capacities and responsibilities we have been afraid to contemplate.’ (1)

Fear not. God is in the midst of us, carrying us through the changes and chances of our lives. God’s holiness is in our daily routine. In finding once again God’s mercy and loving kindness, we are then strengthened to tell the wonderful story of our salvation through Christ. Bearing witness to that story of hope, to Jesus who gives us life spills over into our lives and is manifested in the gifts we have to offer our community and the warmth and inclusion in our parish.

As baptised persons, you and I are all called to be witnesses to that story of hope. Witnesses to God who is with us. Witnesses to being a people that takes risks. Witnesses to those remarkable words, ‘Fear not, for I am always with you.’ And not only witnesses, but people who share that hope and good news with those about us. So do not worry for what you will say because God will give you the words and the strength to do so.


END NOTE
(1) (New York, Riverhead Books: 1998), 144-45.