5th Sunday after Pentecost – July 2nd, 2023
Trinity Ev. Lutheran Church, Block, Kansas
Rev. Joshua Woelmer
Text: Matthew 10:34-42
“The Cost of Discipleship”
Theme: Christ has come to give divine peace and God’s reward, even at the expense of familial peace and earthly reward.
Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
We’re at the opposite time of year of Christmas. If you’re counting down, it’s 175 days away. One theme that’s common during Christmas time is that of peace. We hear of Christ as the “Prince of Peace” (Isa 9:6), and the proclamation of the angels is everywhere: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased” (Luke 2:14) or in the King James Version, “on earth peace, good will toward men.” So this being the opposite time of the year, it seems like the message of Christ is also the opposite: “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword” (34). So, what’s up? Has Jesus come to bring peace, or not?
I. Eternal Realities and Eternal Rewards
Perhaps the first question to answer is this: what is the peace that we are talking about? After all, peace is a huge theme in our lives. We want to live peaceful lives. St. Paul says to Timothy, “[Pray] for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way” (1 Tim 2:2).
We are gathered here partly to celebrate the peace that our nation has given us. Our homeland has been relatively unscathed since the Civil War, with only a few surprise attacks like Pearl Harbor or September 11th. We have so much to thank God for simply by being born here in America.
Even though this peace continues, it’s not the peace that the angels proclaimed in Bethlehem. The “Pax Americana” is not the peace of Christmas. Jesus came to establish peace between God and men. That’s the point of Jesus being born as a baby in Bethlehem.
Paul in Romans 5:1 makes this clear: “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Jesus died on the cross so you would have peace with the Father. He was angry and wrathful over your sin, but Jesus absorbed that punishment in your place. You now have peace that “surpasses all understanding” (Phil 4:7), because it is a peace that surpasses this world.
Just because you have this peace, though, doesn’t mean there won’t be sufferings in your life. You might have a lot going on in your life. You might have suffered much in your past or might be going through a lot right now. But know that you have peace with God. He has claimed you for his own, and you are his, bought from sin.
What God calls you to do now is to take up your sufferings like Jesus took up his cross. Follow him. He’s got you the whole way. “Whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me” (38). It’s not easy. There is a reward for taking up Christ’s cross. “Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me” (40). What this means is that God promises a reward to those who endure the suffering of this world by trusting him the whole way. This is an eternal reward—it’s the reward of God.
II. Temporal Realities and Temporal Rewards
I’d like to take a step back briefly and contemplate something though: sometimes we’d rather have temporal rewards than eternal ones. I don’t know how many of you have heard of this question: Would you rather have a penny today that doubled every day for a month, or $1 million today? Having $1 million today seems tempting, but a penny doubled for thirty days equals $5.3 million. Patience would lead you to the greater reward.
So it is with faith and life. Too often we are swayed by instant gratification and don’t see eternal realities. God has an eternal reward waiting for it, but the pleasures of this world are more enticing for many people. “Avoid suffering, seek pleasure” seems to be the mantra of our day, or of our sinful human nature. One of the worst things to teach children is to avoid suffering at all costs. Growth happens through a reasonable amount of suffering and pain.
Another mantra I hear from many of my own generation is that they are trying to “find themselves” by any number of things , like going on vacations and spending time in nature. Jesus warns us, “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it” (39).
Finally, one of the greatest temptations that we have is to choose family or friends over God and his Word. This, finally, is what Jesus is warning us about. He has not come to bring peace within families. In fact, Jesus might set a “man against his father, and a daughter against her mother” (35). And, “And a person's enemies will be those of his own household” (36). Don’t be surprised if some of your suffering in this life comes as a result of a child leaving the faith.
On this day when we celebrate Independence Day, I was also thinking about the different sizes of families that we have. We have tighter bonds to our immediate family, but then looser bonds as we move out of that family—to community, state, and nation. We have our own fathers, but we also have forefathers of our community and founding fathers of our nation. We ought to show respect to those who have produced the families in which we live and have a good form of earthly peace. We ought to respect the flag and our nation and those who have died defending it.
At the same time, not all of our families will respect our Christian faith. Some don’t care about Christianity any more. Some even seem to be attacking it. This shouldn’t come as a surprise. Christ tells us this will happen. We shouldn’t ignore these attacks. We should defend ourselves and our children against them. But we also shouldn’t be surprised. Our true family is the Church, bound together by the love and peace of God.
Nations come and go—yet thanks be to God for the United States of America. Families come and go—yet thanks be to God for all of them that you are a part of. Our life has come and will go—yet God gives us faith and peace to endure the crosses of this world. Through all of this, Christ remains the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and end, the eternal Rock upon whom the Church stands. He has a reward waiting for those who endure until the end. Let us not grow weary.
So may this peace of Christ, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Amen.
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