Discipleship

Wingrave Methodist Church – 25 June 2017 – Trinity 2

Collects

Lord, you have taught us
that all our doings without love are nothing worth:
send your Holy Spirit
and pour into our hearts that most excellent gift of love,
the true bond of peace and of all virtues,
without which whoever lives is counted dead before you.
Grant this for your only Son Jesus Christ's sake,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen

Faithful Creator,
whose mercy never fails:
deepen our faithfulness to you
and to your living Word,
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

Reading—Psalm 86

¹ Hear me, Lord, and answer me,
    for I am poor and needy.
² Guard my life, for I am faithful to you;
    save your servant who trusts in you.
You are my God; ³ have mercy on me, Lord,
    for I call to you all day long.
⁴ Bring joy to your servant, Lord,
    for I put my trust in you.

⁵ You, Lord, are forgiving and good,
    abounding in love to all who call to you.
⁶ Hear my prayer, Lord;
    listen to my cry for mercy.
⁷ When I am in distress, I call to you,
    because you answer me.

⁸ Among the gods there is none like you, Lord;
    no deeds can compare with yours.
⁹ All the nations you have made
    will come and worship before you, Lord;
    they will bring glory to your name.
¹⁰ For you are great and do marvellous deeds;
    you alone are God.

¹¹ Teach me your way, Lord,
    that I may rely on your faithfulness;
give me an undivided heart,
    that I may fear your name.
¹² I will praise you, Lord my God, with all my heart;
    I will glorify your name for ever.
¹³ For great is your love towards me;
    you have delivered me from the depths,
    from the realm of the dead.

¹⁴ Arrogant foes are attacking me, O God;
    ruthless people are trying to kill me –
    they have no regard for you.
¹⁵ But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God,
    slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.
¹⁶ Turn to me and have mercy on me;
    show your strength on behalf of your servant;
save me, because I serve you
    just as my mother did.
¹⁷ Give me a sign of your goodness,
    that my enemies may see it and be put to shame,
    for you, Lord, have helped me and comforted me.

Reading—Romans 6

Dead to sin, alive in Christ

6 What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning, so that grace may increase? ² By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? ³ Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptised into Christ Jesus were baptised into his death? ⁴ We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

⁵ For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. ⁶ For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin – ⁷ because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.

⁸ Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. ⁹ For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. ¹⁰ The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.

¹¹ In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. ¹² Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. ¹³ Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. ¹⁴ For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.

 

Gospel—Matthew 10

²⁴ ‘The student is not above the teacher, nor a servant above his master.²⁵ It is enough for students to be like their teachers, and servants like their masters. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebul, how much more the members of his household!

²⁶ ‘So do not be afraid of them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. ²⁷ What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs. ²⁸ Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One 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 outside your Father’s care.³⁰ And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. ³¹ So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

³² ‘Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. ³³ But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven.

³⁴ ‘Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. ³⁵ For I have come to turn

‘“a man against his father,
    a daughter against her mother,
a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law –
³⁶     a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.”

³⁷ ‘Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. ³⁸ Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. ³⁹ Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.

Sermon

Today’s readings related—Psalm is plea for help from someone who trusts in God

¹⁵ But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God,
    slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.
¹⁶ Turn to me and have mercy on me;
    show your strength on behalf of your servant;
save me, because I serve you
    just as my mother did. Psalm 86

1 Psalmist surrounded by enemies—but God is compassionate and merciful.

Jesus brought up under OT law:

⁵ Do not trust a neighbour;
    put no confidence in a friend.
Even with the woman who lies in your embrace
    guard the words of your lips.
⁶ For a son dishonours his father,
    a daughter rises up against her mother,
a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law –
    a man’s enemies are the members of his own household.

⁷ But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord,
    I wait for God my Saviour;
    my God will hear me. Micah 7.

Jesus’ mission was not to divide family members, but this is what will inevitably happen.

³⁷ ‘Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. ³⁸ Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. ³⁹ Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.

In Matthew 12—Jesus even rejects his mother and brothers when they come to see him—because they think he is putting himself and them in danger and want to divert him from the path he has chosen.

2 Romans: Our path to faith is not to change—but to be born anew. Not remain the same being, however radically we change our ways—not even to be like Christ—but to be a new creation—mini versions of Jesus himself

Romans 6 explains—we walk parallel to Christ:

⁴ We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

⁵ For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. ⁶ For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin.

We are no longer the same as we were—we are a new creation—we are dead to the sin of our old ways and united with Christ in his resurrection.

3 Matthew 10 continues theme of disciples imitating their master. We live in Jesus’s home—imitate our master as students imitate their teacher—or as an apprentice learns their trade.

But there is a house of Evil—Βηλζεβουλ is the head of the household—Lord of the Flies or Satan—if the master represents all that is evil, how much more so with his followers.

First part of chapter 10 Jesus gives instructions to disciples as he sends out the 12. They are to trust solely in God—take nothing with them. They are warned they will suffer rejection—even death.

¹⁶ ‘I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Even their own families will reject them and betray them to death.

Matthew 10:24 leads us into second part of instructions for disciples—applies to us—Jesus tells it like it is—still same warnings of what we might face—but there are many reasons for hope.

We are told not to be afraid of what the world can throw at us—nothing will be hidden but everything is out in the open—what Jesus tells us quietly is to be proclaimed from the rooftops. God’s care for us is illustrated by his care for creation—even the death of a small bird is known to him—and the very hairs on our heads are all numbered.

Discipleship is compared to an apprenticeship—we learn from our master and try to follow his instruction. This relationship we must acknowledge before others—whichever disciple denies their master will be disowned by him before God. Since we have been crucified with Christ, we must take up our cross beside him—for to lose our lives in this world is to gain a new life in the world to come.

Discipleship can take many forms:

a) Psalmist serves God, just as his mother did
b) Romans—we walk parallel to Christ—having died with him, raised with him, so that we may lead a new life
c) In Matthew, we have the clearest form of discipleship. This is a two way process—we listen to our master and try to be like him—similarly, others less mature in faith walk alongside us and listen to what we have to say and watch how we lead our lives.

Most of us can remember those who have brought us up in the faith and owe a lot to them, perhaps when we were young. This is a grave responsibility—one not to be taken lightly or abused. If we are truly effective disciples, others will be following us—and we must lead them with the same intensity that we are led by Christ.

This disciple-teacher relationship might not be a comfortable and cosy one—Jesus described his mission as one that caused dissention—similarly in channeling what we heard from our master and repeating it from the roof tops might be uncomfortable if as also tell it like it is—this is something we are warned to expect.

Rewards are undimmed
³⁸ Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me.
³⁹ Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.

This is the first reference to “cross” in Matthew—even before the crucifixion. We have to take up our cross as a prerequisite to following Jesus. As we look forward to his return in glory, and we identify him by seeing the marks of the cross on his hands and feet, it may not be out of place for us as his disciples not only to recognise the proofs of Jesus’ passion—but they should be even more familiar to us because they match our own.

Amen