I came across a few pictures this week, of St Stephen’s Uniting Church, in Macquarie Street, Syndey. The church began in 1842 as a Presbyterian Church pictured here with its magnificent spire pointing triumphantly to the sky. During the Gold Rush the congregation imported a pre-fabricated Iron Church which was erected in 1855 to cope with swelling membership, with a seating capacity of 800 people. 20 years later the congregation joined with another in nearby Phillip Street to become a leading centre of Presbyterianism in Australia. When the City Council extended Martin Place through to Macquarie Street, a newly built St Stephen’s church was dedicated in 1935, which stands on its present location[1]. can you spot it? [picture of the church dwarfed by the skyscrapers around it]
We are blessed here at St Paul’s that the progress of society hasn’t impacted our visibility in the community quite like this, although it has impacted us, together with all churches, in many other ways. I thought this photo captured well the changing place the church has in the sight of today’s generation.
In today’s text, Jesus tells his apostles to not be afraid, and they are his words to us too—which is a good thing, because there is much he says in this Gospel reading that is unsettling and confronting. We might wonder what the world is coming to, and all be fearful of the reduced place the church has in the eyes of today’s society. Are you anxious or fearful about the world that seems to be spiralling out of control, and one which is increasingly hostile to the church, and what that might mean for future generations?
Since the Second World War the church is no longer valued in the same way we used to be. The Church was once the place to be on Sundays, filled with eager worshippers and overflowing Sunday schools, but values and priorities have undergone generational change. Sundays are no longer sacred, exclusively for resting with God in worship, gladly hearing and learning his word. Instead there are all kinds of rivals to our Sunday morning timeslot. Welfare, and weddings and funerals—once the domain of the church—have been outsourced to businesses. Truth is no longer regarded as overarching, only relative to what everyone thinks, and the bible is just an option amongst a library of spiritual teachings and social philosophies claiming truth. The church is no longer regarded as a beacon of hope and truth or the bedrock of society that it once was, but has increasingly become the object of criticism and rejection. Whatever picture of the church we hold dear from years gone by we need to realise that the general population now rejects, not respects the church.
Today’s Gospel reading from Matthew 10 brings clear perspective and gives us great hope. It follows on immediately from last week’s Gospel reading where we hear that Jesus sent out his Twelve Apostles to continue his ministry to the lost sheep of Israel by proclaiming: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ Jesus commissioned them to Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, and drive out demons. Jesus warned them that they would face opposition as they went. He told them he was sending them out as sheep among wolves. There would be those who would not welcome them or listen to their words. They would be handed over to the councils and flogged in the synagogues, and brought to trial before governors and kings. He warned them: “You will be hated by everyone because of me.” (Matthew 10:22).
Why? Because People do not want to hear that they need repentance. The thought that their moral exterior counts for nothing in God’s sight is offensive to human pride. They saw Jesus as offensive and sought to discredit him anyway possible. The miraculous work Jesus was doing was plain for all to see, so they cannot deny it. Instead, the religious leaders accused Jesus of being an ally with Satan, claiming that Jesus was empowered by the prince of demons to drive out demons (Matthew 9:34). They refer to Jesus as ‘Beelzebul’—a name designated for the Devil. So if Jesus’ opponents hurl this kind of accusation and rejection at Jesus, how could it not follow that Jesus’ opponents would treat his followers the same way? If the master is maligned and rejected, the disciples should expect the same. That’s why their very lives are at risk, seen as workers of evil to be done away with: “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.” They are not to be afraid in the face of opposition or what might seem to be impossible situations in the ministry they have been called to.
As difficult as it is to be the church in Australia in 2023, the situation is nothing like overseas, where Christians constantly risk losing their very life. In metropolitan contexts people might worry about the cost of going to church on a Sunday morning—a 20 minute trip and an hour and a half out of their day. Christians overseas regularly face the reality of whether their church and village will remain unscathed, like this Church in Nigeria whose choir was told to be silent otherwise they would be burned to the ground.
Today’s Gospel reading shows us that the attitude towards the church today is not new cultural development. It is normal. It is normal for those out there to regard the church as undesirable and bible study and worship as a waste of time. It is the normal human condition to turn one’s back on Christ and his people, to not want to hear what God has to say, and to mock and even oppress Christ and his followers. The normal default human position ever since the fall, is to be wolves, not sheep. In Romans the Apostle Paul described the natural human condition for all people as being hostile toward God; (Romans 5:10), and to regard Christians as little more than sheep to be slaughtered (Romans 8:36). We should not think persecution could happen, we should expect it will happen. In our natural state, all human beings are opposed to God and his word.
N0w for the good news. Against the backdrop of such hostility is how the church began. The church never started by human initiative, our volition and will. It was not from our dreaming, imagining or doing, but God’s. Jesus tells his apostles to preach: “The kingdom of heaven is near.” In the King from Heaven, the Kingdom of heaven has broken into this world of rejection of Christ, of sin and evil, decay and death, and reigns on earth now, bringing divine grace, mercy, forgiveness, and life to whomever he went. God calls, gathers and enlightens people by the holy spirit to make the spiritually dead alive in Christ. and by grace he has given us new hearts to believe in Christ and his righteousness and saving work to be ours. He does that by his word as he speaks through the sheep he sends to wolves. The kingdom cannot be thwarted.
Do not be afraid of them” Jesus says—twice—either side of him saying: “For there is nothing which has been concealed that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be made known. What I say to you in the darkness, say in the light, and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim from the rooftops” (verses 26-27). In other words, what they have learned from him in private settings, they are to fearlessly proclaim in public, for this is how the Holy Spirit comes to work faith in the hearts of people. Although others will persecute them, they are to not be afraid. It is all in now. And that complete loyalty, that total commitment will even divide family and friends. It will mean out in the world that others will come after them to silence them. But denying Jesus in order to save their life would mean losing their true life with God.
So Jesus gives them two beautiful encouragements. The first is, that as they acknowledge Jesus before others, Jesus promises that he will acknowledge them before his Father in heaven. And should that public confession bring life-threatening persecution, they are not to be afraid, for this is not a sign that God has abandoned them. Rather it is the sure sign that they are children of God, as Jesus taught in his sermon on the mount: “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Matthew 5:11-12).
The second is Jesus’ teaching them that they are incredibly precious to God through the images of hairs and sparrows. Sparrows were sold in the market for as little as a hapenny, yet not one of them falls to the ground outside of the Father’s control. God knows them so closely and so personally that he knows precisely how many hairs are on their heads. So they who are of incredible worth to God will not be lost to him, not even a single one of their hairs. So they are not to be afraid of those who kill the body. God remains in control. He is the one who can destroy both body and soul in hell.
Through today’s Gospel reading, Jesus speaks to us also. He invites us to give our life to him, and promises to preserve it. We cannot preserve our lives, even with all the world’s resources, but Jesus can preserve our lives forever. To love Jesus is more than sentimental feelings, but to fear, love and trust him above anything else. It means to take up one’s cross and follow him by walking by faith, not by sight, following Jesus according to his word in the unseen reality of the spiritual life. It means dying to the desires of our sinful flesh, and our wishes, plans, and priorities for our life, and to completely devote ourselves to Jesus and his word—the rising to new life of daily baptismal living of which Paul speaks. It means to follow him regardless of the cost, regardless of the pain, rejection or persecution which may result. It means total commitment. Putting Jesus first before everything else you treasure, as Jesus says in Matthew 6:20-21: “But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
This demand for total attachment to Jesus is what creates division in communities and even families. But in trying to save one’s life by supressing one’s witness to him, will mean a person has lost their life. For whoever finds their life will lose it and whoever loses their life for Jesus’ sake will find it.
But today’s text also means that Jesus’ Good News to his apostles is his good news for you too. Whenever you make your confession of faith and acknowledge Jesus before others, he acknowledges you before your Father in heaven. He includes you in the words of his prayer to his Father in John 17: “Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.” (John 17:25-26). If you want to see evidence of modern day miracles, look at the people sitting around you—you are here because God has done what is physically and humanly impossible—brought spiritual life out of death and enlightened the eyes of your heart in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe (Ephesians 1:18-19).
And God knows you personally, and cares about you deeply. you are worth more than many sparrows. You are his intricate creation. Who among us would know how many hairs are on our heads, or even be bothered to count them? According to Harvard University, there are anywhere between 90,000 to 150,000 hairs on a person’s head[2]. Well God knows precisely how many hairs he placed on your scalp! And apparently it is normal to shed between 100 and 150 hairs a day[3]. Now who of us would go looking to retrieve those hairs? God does! Not only is every single hair on your head counted by him, they are also redeemed by the holy and precious blood of Christ.
So do not be afraid about those who persecute the church. It will endure forever, because Jesus went all in for us, to redeem us for life with God forever. He gave up his life to save yours.
When we lose our life and find it in Christ, then we find all our righteousness, all our forgiveness, all our blessing, all our identity, all our hope, all our life, for life in this world and the world to come in the Cross. When we confess in faith that Jesus, not us, is Lord of our life, then we have his own wonderful promise that he will acknowledge you before his Father in heaven. Jesus is completely committed to you. Because the price he paid to make you his own was incredible. No monetary amount would ever be enough, even if we were to combine the riches of all the worlds banks. Instead, the price he paid for you was his own holy and precious blood. Do not be afraid. Peace be with you! Amen.
[1] https://www.ssms.org.au/, last accessed 24 June 2023 18:00
[2] https://bionumbers.hms.harvard.edu/bionumber.aspx?id=101509 last accessed 24 June 2023 21:00
[3] https://www.aad.org/public/diseases/hair-loss/insider/shedding last accessed 24 June 2023
