Moving Beyond Fear — June 25, 2023 — Year A, Proper 7 (12), Pentecost 4
Romans 6:1-11;
Matthew 10:24-39
Introduction
Today’s texts remind us that we are often immobilized by
fear. Fear restrains us; causes us to hold back. What are the things we are
often afraid of? What strikes fear into our very beings?
- We fear opposition. (We want to be liked). We often react with anger.
- We fear failure. (We want to be seen as successful even if that means we lessen our own expectations of ourselves). We often react with fear.
- We fear the loss of identity — the loss of ourselves. We often react with grief.
- There is the fear of death. (We want to have and live lives of significance. We want to be remembered and loved.) We often react with despair (hopelessness).
Romans Text
Chapter 6 begins with a question that refers back to chapter
5’s discussion on what it means to be justified. “What then are we
to say? Should we continue in sin in order that grace may increase? By no
means!”
Looking back to chapter 5 we see we are justified (or
made/declared righteous) through the faithfulness of our Lord Jesus Christ.
And because of this we stand in the hope of sharing God’s glory. This is
why we can rejoice in our sufferings. They produce endurance, which produces
character, which produces hope.
It is in our weakness or helplessness that Christ died for the
ungodly — that is, us!
So now, back to the question that starts off chapter 6 — “Should
we continue in sin in order that grace may increase/abound/be multiplied?”
Absolutely not! Or God forbid!
If we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it?
Okay, what is Paul saying? Is he saying that unless we are sinless,
we are not Christian?
No! Let’s look closely at what he is saying. We are
justified or declared righteous by the faithfulness of Christ. Christ who was
obedient to the point of death — even death on a cross. We are able to share in
his death so that we might also share in his resurrection.
Baptism is our sacrament of justification. We are buried
with him in baptism. We are baptized into his death. As Christ was raised from
the dead in glory, so shall we then walk in newness of life.
So, as we have been crucified through baptism we are no
longer enslaved to sin. We are free from sin. So, do Christians continue to
sin?
Does it not say in 1st John: “Those who have been
born of God do not sin because God’s seed abides in them; they cannot sin
because they have been born of God.” (1 Jn 3:9)
Yes, John does say that. But he also says, “If we confess
our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us
from all unrighteousness.” (1 Jn 1:9) John goes on to say that he is “writing
these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an
advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous, and he is the atoning
sacrifice for our sins…” (1 Jn 2:1-2)
So, in Romans 6, the Apostle Paul says that our old self is
crucified with Christ so that we may no longer be enslaved to sin. Yes, we are
free from sin, but we must continue to do battle against it. People sometimes
quote John Wesley as saying, “sin remains, but no longer reigns.” Well, while
he never said that exact phrase, he came close to it a couple of times.
The bottom line is this. Accepting Christ as our savior is
not the end — that is the goal of the process. It is the beginning. It is the
start. Paul is telling us we can’t wallow in the past — we must move forward by
the grace of God to be the people of God. And if you want to be a person of God
you must be a disciple of Jesus.
Our text from Matthew gives us a glimpse of what this will
be like.
Matthew’s Text
The gospels are always a good source for learning about
discipleship. Jesus models discipleship, teaches discipleship, proclaims
discipleship.
There is the story about two angels
talking in heaven about what Jesus is doing on earth. The first angel says that
God has a plan for redeeming the world. God has a desire for all people to
spend eternity in heaven in continual fellowship with God. The plan is for
Jesus to prepare disciples for the work of proclaiming and teaching others
about the redemptive plan the Father has through Jesus. Jesus will spend three
years preparing his disciples and then complete his redemptive work in his
death, resurrection, and ascension into heaven.
The second angel responds by saying
that it sounds like a rather ambitious plan that depends upon people whose
frailty and weakness are the very cause of the need for redemption in the first
place. So, he says, that sounds like a good plan A, but what is plan B?
The first angel responds by saying,
there is no plan B.
Jesus chooses and calls his disciples from amongst the
ordinary people of all walks of life. None of the Twelve would be considered
elite, university trained, or part of the One Percent. These are people
who are used to laboring day after day to care for their families. Jesus
chooses them, he calls them, he prepares them, he sends them.
The gospels demonstrate how this discipleship works.
Now, this is important. We are plan A. We are the ones that
Jesus is choosing and calling and preparing and sending. Yes, us! It now
includes and involves us.
So, let me pause to share a little with you. The life
of a congregation is portrayed as a bell graph. You have the start of the graph
at the beginning where the church shows rapid growth. This is usually measured
in years. Sadly, it can also be measured in months. Next on the graph is the
period of the plateau. The church seems to have reached its peak and hangs
there for some time. This usually accounts for decades in the life of a
congregation. But then, decline sets in. At first it may not be noticed, but
eventually it is. The leaders and people begin to panic. We need to stop the
hemorrhaging. We need to reverse this.
Now, here is the problem. Too often people try to apply a
quick patch. Or they fall back to trying to offer ministries and programs that
were successful in the past. And they don’t work. None of it works. What can be
done?
There are two choices. First, we can just sit back
and maintain the status quo. Let’s just do what we have been doing until we
die. The second choice is to start over. We return to the gospel accounts of
Jesus. We learn how to build the Body of Christ from Jesus. We learn to
transform the world by making disciples who make disciples. We imitate Christ
and grow his church.
Now for a commercial break. I can help you do that. I
have experience in growing a discipling culture. By the grace of God, I can do
this if you yourselves are willing to be led by the Holy Spirit. If you will
choose to live into the grace of God, day by day, to do the Father’s will and
purpose.
Like I said, today’s Gospel Lesson gives us a glimpse of
this life. Jesus says to us…
What I say to you in the dark,
tell
in the light,
what you hear whispered,
proclaim
from the housetops.
We have a message. We have a path. We have a life
that we must stop hoarding for ourselves.
This will not be easy. The life of the disciple is often
hard and painful. When it comes to the life we live, Jesus tells us he doesn’t
bring peace, but a sword.
What do you love most in the world? That is your god.
Whatever we place before Jesus is our god. Those who do not take up the cross
and follow Jesus, day by day, is not worthy of Jesus. Jesus says that if we do
not find our lives in him, we will lose our lives.
So, I ask you: are you ready to accept this call?
Jesus has already chosen you. Now hear his call to you. In
the book of Hebrews, we are told to “strip off every weight that slows us down.”
We are to “run with endurance the race God has set before us.” (Heb 12:1, NLT) We
are told that we can only do this by “keeping our eyes on Jesus!” (vs 2)
As the hymn says…
This is a day of new beginnings,
time to remember, and move on,
time to believe what love is bringing,
laying to rest the pain that's gone.
For by the life and death of Jesus,
love’s mighty Spirit, now as then,
can make for us a world of difference
as faith and hope are born again.
Then let us, with the Spirit’s
daring,
step from the past, and leave behind
our disappointment, guilt and grieving,
seeking new paths, and sure to find.
Christ is alive, and goes before us
to show and share what love can do.
This is a day of new beginnings;
our God is making all things new.*
This is a day of new beginnings.
Jesus chooses us to be disciples.
Jesus calls us to be his disciples.
We must respond by being his disciples.
We must learn to be disciples.
We must live the life prepared for us.
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