June
21, 2020
3rd
Sunday after Pentecost
Jeremiah
20:7-13
Psalm
69:7-10 [11-15] 16-18
Romans 6:1b-11
Matthew
10:24-39
Please pray with me,
May the words of my mouth and the
meditations of all of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O God, our rock,
our strength and our redeemer.
Amen.
Do not be afraid…
Fear not…
Why do you think these phrases
pop up more than once in our gospel lesson today?
Because they bear repeating,
especially from Jesus.
Maybe because the reality of our
world is that fear begets fear…
Yes, there is danger out there in
the world, yes, danger is real, but fear…fear is a choice.
When asked what my fears are I
often reply frogs and porta-potties.
I know…just hear me out.
This frog fear was from when I
was much younger and went frogging with a friend and her brother. Her brother trapped a frog under the dock and
with no place left to go it jumped and landed on his face. Leaving little webby prints here, here, here
and here.
So, when I corner a frog (which
doesn’t happen often, in fact it’s not a common practice for me at all) but
when faced with a frog, I’m afraid it will jump and land on my face.
My other fear is that I will drop
my phone in a porta-pottie. Now, truth
is, there is a much greater chance of that happening over a frog jumping on my
face, but still, there are actions I can take to make sure an accident like
that doesn’t happen.
If I’m ever cornered by a frog in
a porta-pottie my head will probably explode. Gosh, I can’t believe I just put
those two images together….nightmares for days!
Ugh!
I digress…there are other fears
out there, though, right?
Fear of getting sick, fear of
losing your job, fear for our loved ones health and wellness, fear for your
safety and the safety of the ones you love, fear for the future….lots of fears
out there.
And we can and often do get stuck
in our fears…be they rational or irrational…but they can seem to take on
personalities and lives of their own.
Fear begets fear.
When we live out of fear, we
respond only out of concern for our personal well being, safety and care.
When we experience fear and are
able to see the difference between fear and danger, then we can make a choice
as to how we respond.
You see danger, that’s real. But fear, that’s a choice.
Let me say that again, danger is
real. But fear is a choice.
When faced with any situation we
can see whether there is danger and then we can decide how we respond. We can decide to act out of fear or not.
In our gospel lesson today, Jesus
says, more than once, do not be afraid.
Because, as I said at the beginning, it bears repeating.
It’s said more than once because
the work of the gospel, the call of Christ, is not an easy one. And, just because we are called, does not
mean that the path will be easy and free from danger and fear.
Jesus preached a message of
incredible love and forgiveness.
Jesus lived a life of modeling
loving others and reaching out to those in deepest need.
Those who were outcast, hurting, voiceless,
downtrodden.
Those who were ignored, those deemed
untouchable by society or abused by society.
Those whose lives were shaped by
the systems set in place and by structures that were meant to give a certain
group of people power.
During Jesus’ time, those who
were deemed unclean were required to shout out ‘untouchable!’ so that those who
were healthy and clean could avoid being contaminated.
In the fictional book Lamb:
The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal, Biff talks about how
when he and his buddy Jesus would be out for a walk and Jesus would hear the
people shout ‘Untouchable!’ it was like a reflex that Jesus just HAD to touch
them. Like being untouchable just drew
Jesus towards them. Just like Jesus was
drawn to those society deemed least likely to receive a visit from the Son of
God.
So, we have Jesus, this savior,
who not only went to the places and people who were outcast, downtrodden,
ignored, abused…but, he called his disciples and he calls us to
do the same.
That this call is not easy.
It is not a simple call to love
our neighbors as ourselves…and move on.
Although that’s part of it.
It’s also the call to listen to
the voices in our society that have been ignored, that have been silenced, that
are crying out for justice.
It’s the call to hear those
voices, amplify those voices, and join in their cry for justice.
It’s the call to reflect on our
wrongdoings as individuals and as a nation and repent of our past mistakes so
that we may learn from them and move forward in a way that offers healing for
those who have been hurt in the past.
It’s the call to realize that
there are systems in place that maybe (just maybe) we have benefited from, that
have pushed or held others down.
And maybe these systems have made
us feel safe and protected, but for others they are downright dangerous and
life threatening.
Friends, this is a hard call, but
it is the call of Jesus.
Jesus continually reaches out to
each and every one of us with words of love and grace and forgiveness.
Because of that love and grace
and forgiveness we are given this space to listen, to learn, to make mistakes,
to love, and to grow.
Because of that love, we are
freed from our fears…
Freed from our fears of being silent
when we have voices to lift up on behalf of others.
Freed from our fears of being
outside of our comfort zones of complacency.
Freed from our fears of losing
privilege we have held on to for generations.
Freed from our fears of what the
future may look like when ALL of God’s children, those white and black and
brown…have the same voice and place in our world.
Jesus embraced diversity.
We are called to do the same to
see the differences in the colors, genders, sexual identities, political
beliefs and economic backgrounds…and to embrace them all. Some, because of past and current treatment,
are crying out for more embracing, understanding and hearing right now…. those
are the voices to listen to right now.
Friends, we can do this.
We can do hard things.
We can hear the call of Jesus,
and respond, knowing it is not always easy, but we do so knowing that it has
and will continue to change the world.
We can hear the call of Jesus,
who will help to quell our fears, give us strength and humility to live our
lives as Christians each and every day.
And we can respond.
In our words and actions.
In our care and compassion.
In our learning and our
mistakes.
In our desire to know better and
to do better.
In our desire to treat other
human beings with love, just as Christ first loved us.
And now may the peace, which
surpasses all understanding keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus and let
all God’s people say, amen.
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