Jeremiah 20:7-13 and Matthew 10:24-39

June 25, 2023

The Rev. Todd R. Goddard, Pastor

Rush United Methodist Church

Jeremiah 20:7-13

O Lord, you have enticed me, and I was enticed; you have overpowered me, and you have prevailed. I have become a laughingstock all day long; everyone mocks me. For whenever I speak, I must cry out, I must shout, “Violence and destruction!” For the word of the Lord has become for me a reproach and derision all day long.

If I say, “I will not mention him, or speak any more in his name,” then within me there is something like a burning fire shut up in my bones; I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot. For I hear many whispering: “Terror is all around! Denounce him! Let us denounce him!” All my close friends are watching for me to stumble. “Perhaps he can be enticed, and we can prevail against him, and take our revenge on him.”

But the Lord is with me like a dread warrior; therefore my persecutors will stumble, and they will not prevail. They will be greatly shamed, for they will not succeed. Their eternal dishonor will never be forgotten.

O Lord of hosts, you test the righteous, you see the heart and the mind; let me see your retribution upon them, for to you I have committed my cause.

Sing to the Lord; praise the Lord! For he has delivered the life of the needy from the hands of evildoers.

Matthew 10:24-39

“A disciple is not above the teacher, nor a slave above the master; it is enough for the disciple to be like the teacher, and the slave like the master.

If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household!

“So have no fear of them; for nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known. What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops.

Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. And even the hairs of your head are all counted. So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.

“Everyone therefore who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven; but whoever denies me before others, I also will deny before my Father in heaven.

“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and one’s foes will be members of one’s own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me.

Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.

| Centering Prayer |

The prophet Jeremiah was dealt a lousy hand.

Not flipping burgers at Burger King.

Not collecting garbage.

Not unclogging sewers or cleaning out septic tanks.

It was worse than that.

A lot worse.

God had a job that he couldn’t refuse.

Jeremiah was called by God to preach.

Preaching isn’t that bad.

It was the message

That came to defined his life.

The message God wanted to communicate to God’s chosen people

Gave Jeremiah the moniker

“The Weeping Prophet.”

The news wasn’t good.

This was God’s message to the people of Judah:

Stop worshipping idols. Worship only the Lord.

Stop following false prophets.

Temple priests are guilty of greed.

Stop altering sacred scripture to accommodate the worship of other gods.

Yeah.

Not exactly how to win friends and influence people.

That’s not all.

God had one more item to tell the people:

That Babylonian army closing from the north?

Yeah, they will destroy Jerusalem and all of Judah.

Punishment for sins.

Those not killed will be exiled,

Driven from God’s promised lands,

Banished to suffer for generations for their sins.

It’s a done deal.

No appeal.

1900 years later,

Even Rembrandt felt Jeremiah’s grief and pain.

Like Moses before him,

Jeremiah protested his life defining call.

God wasn’t hearing it.

Thanks for the input;

Now, zip it and get back in the game.

As soon as Jeremiah spoke

His cheery message of destruction and death,

His popularity plummeted.

Kings despised him.

Others plotted to kill him.

He was thrown into a cistern,

Trapped in mud,

Only to be saved by a slave.

Sound familiar?

Jeremiah complains to God,

Makes his lament,

Like any good child of Abraham.

God’s response?

Thanks for the feedback,

But, buckle down and ante up.

Nose to the grindstone, old chap.

Arrested.

Placed in stocks.

Mocked by all.

Assassination attempts.

All because

Jeremiah was being a faithful mouthpiece of God.

…

700 years later,

Matthew the tax collector,

And his larger Matthean community,

Felt Jeremiah’s pain.

Jeremiah’s story resonated with Matthew’s life experience.

Hated by the public.

Accused of collaborating with Rome,

An occupying enemy of the people,

Matthew preached that

Jesus was the fulfillment of Jewish expectation.

Jesus is the Messiah.

Follow him.

Matthew’s message was one that first century Jews did not want to hear.

Messiah? Savior of the people?

Jesus was

More like a major disappointment and a falling star from their myopic point of view.

For his efforts

Jesus was rejected in his own hometown,

By his own flesh and blood.

Jesus was rejected by organized religion;

Temple authorities,

Priests and pharisees, plotted against him,

Who had him arrested, tried, and killed.

For the Jews,

A cold, sealed tomb

Was the end of Jesus and his traveling salvation show.

Or so it seemed.

Today is Monday,

Tomorrow will be Monday.

Every day is Monday.

Everyday is Groundhog Day.

Life is misery, toil, suffering, slavery, and death.

“Life is a beach, and then you die,” my Uncle Dick would state.

Might just as well get used to it.

Matthew knew better.

The tomb wasn’t the final answer.

He had seen,

Personally witnessed,

the resurrection of Jesus and

Was personally commissioned,

Sent,

To spread the good news

Of what he had seen and experienced.

Today is

Release from captivity to sin and death.

Today is

The first day of your eternal life with Christ;

All for the low, low price

Of believing in him.

Carpe Diem.

Seize the Day.

Matthew preached first to the local Jewish community,

Then afield, tradition says.

He was led to Africa

Where he was martyred for this message.

Matthew’s band of brothers

(and sisters) carried on in Matthew’s name, call, and tradition.

They read the common text written by Mark

And used their memory of Matthew’s personal interactions with Jesus.

The Matthean community

Composed the text before us today;

The Gospel of Matthew.

It is in this context

They remembered and recorded

Jesus teaching.

“I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and one’s foes will be members of one’s own household.” (10:34-36)

Dis me?

That’s one thing.

Dis my family,

Now you are itching for a fight.

Jesus condemns,

But doesn’t send to hell,

The actions of those who

Love others more than him.

Jesus condemns those who

Aren’t committed enough to risk their own lives

For the sake of following him and his message.

“Whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me.” (10:38)

Are you willing to die for Jesus?

We are asked today.

The mortal / immortal gordian knot

Makes me want to weep.

…

Just as Jeremiah wept,

So, too, did Jesus.

Just as Jesus lamented his rejection,

So, too, did Matthew and his community

Of Apostles.  

The Lord commanded Jeremiah

“And I will utter my judgments against them, for all their wickedness in forsaking me; they have made offerings to other gods, and worshiped the works of their own hands. But you, gird up your loins; stand up and tell them everything that I command you. Do not break down before them, or I will break you before them.” (1:16-17)

“Get yourself ready!”

(1:17)

God tipped him off to those who plotted against him.

God rose up and protected his life.

(11:18-2:6)

God is our protector-in-chief,

Our sword,

Our shield,

Our staff,

Our stay.

God is our anchor,

Our rock,

Our foundation

Upon which we stand.

“Do not fear …” Jesus commanded.

(10:28)

Not one sparrow falls without God’s knowledge.

Your value is greater than many sparrows.

God values you so much,

God even knows the number of hairs on your head.

“Do not fear …”

Our value comes from God,

Not from others.

Meaning comes from God.

Our call comes from God.

The message comes from God.

“Do not fear …”

Though others will mock,

Hate you,

Hurt you,

Serve you up to a martyr’s death,

God’s grace exceeds the expanse of cosmos, time, and space.

“Do not fear …”

Though others may kill,

Jesus saves.

Jesus saves.

…

You and I may not like the message of the cross.

But it is our responsibility to

Proclaim it from the housetops.

We may oppose the scandal of grace

Revealed by an empty tomb.

Yet, this is precisely the message

God intends the world to hear.

We may be persecuted, suffer, even die

For the privilege to carry God’s message

Of Jesus, and his love,

To a world of hatred, evil, and death.

Even still,

Buck up, old chap.

Dry the tears.

Nose to the grindstone.

God has you covered.

Lose your life for Christ’s sake;

Eternal life is returned to you.

Eternal life.

Yours.

All yours.

Claim it!

Proclaim it!

Amen.