Pastor Slaughter
Pentecost 5
July 2, 2023
What is your priority in the Face of Persecution?
Text: Matthew 10:34-42
We all have to prioritize things in our lives. There is only 24 hours in a day and there is so many different things we have to do, so many different things that we want to do. So you have to figure out what is most important to you because there never seems to be enough time to get everything we want done.
We not only prioritize our time, but we prioritize what is important to us. So I am going to walk half way down the pews and back, as I do so I want you to come up with a one word answer to this question: “What is the your highest priority in life, What is most important to you?” Was your one word answer a name of someone you care about, (Let’s say P. Slaughter) or maybe your husband/wife, your child, grandchild? Was your one-word answer something you care about, like exercise, or a possession your own? Was your one-word answer something along the lines of your life, your friends, your family?
As you were wrestling with this question, were you thinking of all the things that were important to you and were you trying to prioritize which one was the most important in your life? Now as you were wrestling with the question, I have to ask this, was the first thing that popped into your mind Jesus? It may have been. We are in a church and the whole point of worship is to focus our attention on him. However, do our actions tell us something different? By what we say, by what we don’t say, by what do, by what we don’t do, do they tell us that something else, our family, our friends, our life is more important than Christ? Today we ask ourselves the question what is your priority in the face of persecution? Do you love God above all?
Earlier in the chapter, Jesus is sending out his disciples on a little mission trip during his earthly ministry. He was telling them that they are going to face persecution for being his followers. Jesus encourages us to not be afraid to face that persecution. This week Jesus finishes up his discussion on persecution and reminds us of what should be most important to us in the face of persecution.
Jesus says something that might startle us at first, “Do not think that I came to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.” Isn’t Jesus called the Prince of Peace? Didn’t the angels proclaim at Jesus’ birth peace to men on whom his favor rests? Now it seems like Jesus is telling us the exact opposite. Both are true. Jesus did come to establish peace between God and sinful humanity. He reconciled us with God.
Yet when we look at the world, we see a world full of sin. Many people prefer to think the they can do what is necessary to establish their own peace with God whether it is by another religion or by the lack of religion. It’s like those coexist bumper stickers you see on cars. Doesn’t matter what religion you are as long as you are happy. In a world that preaches inclusivity, Christianity is different. We have a message that is inclusive and is for the whole world but we teach that there is only one way of salvation that is only through Christ. People resent that message, who are you to tell me that your belief is better then mine. Those who resent that message can be hostile towards it. That is why Jesus says, “I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.”
We almost expect that persecution will come from strangers but Jesus points out that persecutions will hit closer to home, in our own families, “For I came to turn a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. A man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.” This might be one of the hardest things for us to endure because there is certain bond that connects a family together. But it does not matter if it comes from a stranger or within our own family, for those who resent the message of Christ crucified, we can expect hostility toward it.
Because there is such deep connections within the family, because many people hold family in such high regard, Jesus uses “the family” to get us to think about our relationship with him. Jesus says, “Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his own son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me…” Who takes higher priority in your life? Is it your family or is it Jesus? Most parents have almost an unconditional love for their children and children love their parents. If you take that person, you love most and compare them to Christ, who do you love more? Who takes higher priority in your life? If it is not Christ, Jesus tells us, “You are not worthy of me.”
What do our actions tell us about our priorities? When we avoid sharing our faith with our family who are we prioritizing? If it is not Christ then he tells us, “You are not worthy of me.” Jesus tells us, “and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.” If we are not willing to take up our cross, if we are not willing to suffer persecution for the sake of Christ, then we are prioritizing our own desires and wants above Jesus, and he is essentially telling us, “You are not worthy of me.”
In our lesson, Jesus is talking about different people who will persecute us for following him. He moves from the general statement that he did not come to bring peace but a sword, to something more specific, persecution in the family. Then he has us move from the family to looking at ourselves and taking up our cross. Then he has us consider giving the most we can possibly give, our lives. Jesus says, “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”
Jesus gets us to think especially when we come face to face with persecution who or what is going to take priority in our lives? Are we going choose our family or Christ? Are we going to choose ourselves, our own comforts/desires/wants or are we going to take up our cross and follow him? Are we willing to give our very lives for the sake of the gospel? If our highest priority is anything other than Christ, then we are not worthy of him.
And if we are truthful with ourselves, I bet we can each think of a time where our priorities were misplaced, and Jesus words “is not worthy of me” scares us. That is precisely why Christ came. Jesus really is not asking us to do something that he did not already do. Jesus took up his cross, quite literally, to save us. His cross led him to die for our sins. He put everything aside to save us from our sin. And he forgives us. He forgives us when we failed to take up our crosses, when we prioritized our own wants, or desires above him. Our sins make us unworthy of Christ, but Jesus’ grace, his undeserved love, gives to us forgiveness and makes us worthy to be recipients of eternal life!
Why would we endure persecution, why would we say something that has the potential of breaking those family bonds? It is because the Christian loves God above all. It’s because the Christian knows what God has done for them and wants to share that good news with others!
This section of Scripture focuses on sharing God’s Word with people. Jesus has addressed the very real fact that we will suffer persecution for it. However he ends this section of scripture on a positive note. Yes you may suffer persecution but there are those that will hear the message and gladly receive it. Jesus says, “Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me.” That is our mission! We want to proclaim Christ. We want to share his word with others. Not everyone is going to persecute us! There are those who will gladly hear it and welcome you for it.
My family in Christ, when we are faced with the choice to share or not share our faith, remember what our priorities are. We are called to place Christ first and foremost in our lives even if that means suffering persecution. We are Christians and we have a message that needs to be shared, that needs to be heard! And when God works that faith in someone’s heart, they will be glad that you shared it with them. So let us prioritize Christ in our lives and look for opportunities to share our faith, weather it is at an event here at Trinity or to a stranger at a restaurant, or even among our own family. Amen.