Sunday 21st June – Fear with a Cross – Pastor Adrian Kitson

Jesus is sending his people out to expand his mission and he makes no bones about the fact that it will be tough.

He says that if they judge him to be a representative of Satan, they will name them the same.

Loyalty and faithfulness to Jesus and his new life of grace will not be welcomed by most. Sticking with him will mean conflict and hurt even in your closest circle – family.

Being a sent person carrying Jesus’ message of hope and life will bring you into direct confrontation with all of your fears. Jesus knows this. He must. Three times he directs these sent people to “not be afraid’.

Easier said than done.

Everyone one of us carries fear. I read that all of us have five basic fears residing in our life.

1. Extinction—the fear of annihilation, of ceasing to exist. The idea of no longer beingcreates clear and present anxiety in all normal humans. Consider that panicky feeling you get when you look over the edge of a high building.
2. Losing your body—the fear of losing any part of our precious bodily structure; the thought of having our body’s boundariesinvaded, or of losing the integrity of any organ, body part, or natural function. Think phobias: animals, insects, spiders, snakes, and other creepy crawlies.
3. Loss of Autonomy—the fear of being immobilized, paralysed, restricted, enveloped, overwhelmed, entrapped, imprisoned, smothered, or otherwise controlled by circumstances beyond our control: physically and psychologically.
4. Separation—the fear of abandonment, rejection, and loss of connectedness; of becoming a non-person—not wanted, respected, or valued by anyone else. Living through conflict or dealing with that “silent treatment,” of the other or the group.
5. Being embarrassed—the fear of humiliation, shame, or any other mechanism of profound self-disapproval that threatens your very understanding of who you are.

Following Jesus and going where he directs with only his word, his authority, his power and promise, and not your own powers of smarts, will bring you into direct contact with all of those fears.

1. Death is never very far away from any of us.
2. People will invade your boundaries as they may bight you with stinging criticism or dismissal.
3. None of us know what is up ahead. We all know we cannot control much at all, and you never know what another person might do or say.
4. Living this gospel hope will put us at odds with lots of people – even our own close people.
5. In these days of faceless and nameless rage, shaming words flow freely. Sometimes they might flow to you about you or us.

In one way I am grateful that Jesus never sugar-coats this life he gives us. Naming aloud the suffering to be endured and its causes is the first step in freeing us from the tenacious grip of fear, so we live with faith, hope and love as our underlying driving force.

But his words here are not just a study in what threatens us. They are more a promise of how he will keep us, stay with us, continue his saving work in us.

It was Dwight Eisenhower that said to the troops heading into D-Day in 1944 that “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself”. I think Jesus is saying the same. “Do not fear” is spoken three times here (10:26, 28, 31). Do not fear fear itself, and those who bring fear.

How can we lay our fears down and keep on going as Jesus’ sent people with love and hope whatever comes? Jesus tells them and us.

All is known: All the hate in the world will be finally exposed and dealt with rightly. Jesus is aware of it all and can and will finally deal with it all.

Evil has limited power: Our simple, vulnerable dependence on Jesus’ promises will show that God is real and present and true in the end to a world that really has only borrowed or limited power. Its threats are a façade.

Even though suffering will come our way, the gospel must still be proclaimed “in the light and from the housetops” (10:27), because that gospel proclaimed and lived is the most powerful tool at the disciples’ disposal against the powers of this world.

There is only one to truly fear: Who should people really fear? Death or spiders and rejection or shame by others? No. God alone can destroy both soul and body (10:28); God alone, therefore, is the one we rightly respect and fear.

God overcomes fear with mercy: This is the best word: God is not like all other threatening powers. God knows and cares even for the sparrows that are sold “two for a penny.” God knows even the hairs on our heads better than we do (10:29-31, 6:25-33). Our God knows the details of everything and of you. Nothing is missed. Everything is heard and known. We are loved.

Yes friends, we will experience fear. The threat of violence and death are real concerns for the person of Christ. But fear is not the determining force in our day. Faith in the one who has ultimate power over our whole being exercises that power with mercy and love. He determines our day.

Yes, Jesus has called us to be peacemakers (5:9), but his mission will not always bring peace, but a sword, so long as people resist God’s rule and will.

But we sent ones put the swords and resistance and rejection in the shade because those who “lose their life” for him will in fact “find it,” while those who “find their lives” in the world will lose them (10:39).

Friends, in and through all we face, we discover the real us; the real me; the me Jesus says I am – loved, belonging, hope-filled, eternal.

And taking up this cross of threats and fear and suffering and divisions with trust in the Saviour present and active, we find ourselves able and willing to identify with the other cross-carriers; marginal people (slaves and rebels in Jesus’ day) who live under the same fears, but who like us are loved be the same Lord.

We say to them what he says to us. Do not fear.

Friend, in all your fears you are still finding the real you and God’s real life in you. Three things keep you hoping and love even in any fear:

1. Human power has a façade. It is limited and God knows it. You do too.
2. You know that conflict and division does come with your faithful living and telling of Jesus. You are surprised or panicked.
3. Your heavenly Father is present and aware in all of his mercy and compassion.

Sent ones: Do not fear.

Summary and Reflection

Jesus sends his people into the world with open eyes. He does not pretend that following him will be easy or always welcomed (Matthew 10:24-25, 34-36). His way will bring us into contact with fear: fear of death, loss, rejection, shame, conflict, and the unknown. Yet three times he says, “Do not be afraid” (Matthew 10:26, 28, 31). He says this not because there is nothing to fear, but because fear is not Lord. Christ is (Matthew 28:18-20; Romans 8:31-39).

The cross names the cost of discipleship, but it also reveals the mercy and power of God (Matthew 10:38-39; 1 Corinthians 1:18). Human threats are real, but limited (Matthew 10:28). God’s knowledge and care are deeper than our fear. Not even a sparrow falls outside the Father’s care, and not one person sent in Jesus’ name is forgotten (Matthew 10:29-31). We are known completely and loved fully (Psalm 139:1-12; Romans 8:38-39).

So the call for us, especially as we celebrate Messy Church and the mission we share, is to keep living and speaking the gospel in the light (Matthew 10:27; 5:14-16). We go as ordinary, vulnerable, loved people who carry extraordinary hope (2 Corinthians 4:7-10). We take up the cross not to prove our strength, but because Jesus is with us in our weakness (Matthew 10:38; 2 Corinthians 12:9). In him we find our true life: loved, belonging, hope-filled, and eternal (Matthew 10:39; John 10:10; 1 Peter 1:3-5).

Study Questions

1. In Matthew 10:24-39, Jesus says “Do not be afraid” three times. What fears might Jesus be naming for his disciples, and which of those fears do you most recognise in yourself?
2. The homily says that fear is real, but it is not Lord. What helps you remember that Christ, not fear, determines your day?
3. Jesus says that what is hidden will be made known, and what is whispered should be proclaimed from the rooftops (Matthew 10:26-27). What might it mean for us to speak and live the gospel “in the light” today?
4. How does Jesus’ teaching about the sparrows and the hairs of our head (Matthew 10:29-31) deepen your understanding of God’s care for you?
5. The cross names the cost of discipleship, but also reveals God’s mercy and power. Where have you seen God’s strength made known in weakness?
6. Jesus warns that following him can bring conflict, even among close relationships (Matthew 10:34-36). How can we remain faithful to Christ while still acting with humility, patience, and love?
7. The homily names several common fears: death, loss, lack of control, rejection, and shame. How does the promise of the gospel speak into one of these fears for you?
8. What does it mean to “take up your cross” in your current season of life (Matthew 10:38-39)?
9. How might Messy Church help people hear Jesus’ words, “Do not be afraid,” in a practical and welcoming way?
10. What is one step you can take this week to live as a sent person of Jesus, carrying hope rather than fear?

LATEST BULLETIN

LIVE STREAMS

PASTOR’S SERMONS

WORSHIP TIMES