Matthew 10:5, 21-33 (Pentecost 4A)
St. John, Galveston (6/21/26)
Rev. Alan Taylor

+ In Nomine Jesu +

Grace and peace to you, from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

    “And you shall call His name Jesus (the angel said to Joseph), for He will save His people from their sins.” As people of faith, we acknowledge and confess, without apology, the name of Jesus Christ. His is the name that is above all names. He is Wonderful, He is Counselor, He is the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. He is the Bright Morning Star, the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last. His is the name confessed by the martyrs of the Church, even though their confession of His name cost them their very lives. His is the name under which countless people have left this world in peace and in hope, knowing that they would open their eyes again to see Him in all of His glory. It is in the name of Jesus that, we too have hoped and trusted, and so, the prayer of our hearts is the prayer of a once condemned man, “Lord Jesus, remember ME when you come into your kingdom.”

    Neutrality is not an option afforded us when it comes to Jesus. Either He is God in human flesh, the Savior of the world, as He claimed to be, or He is a liar and a deceiver. And so, the name that comforts with such transcendent peace and indescribable joy, also brings with it division and strife, even hatred and violence. The fault lies not with Jesus, or His name, but in the sin of those He came to save. And the hatred of those who despise the name of Jesus, is experienced in the world, not only by Jesus Himself, but by those who dare to believe in and to confess Him as their Savior. “If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul (Jesus said) (that is, the devil), how much more will they malign those of his household.” And then, elsewhere in the Scriptures, Jesus refers to such persecution as “cross bearing.” “If anyone would come after Me, (He says), let Him deny Himself and take up His cross and follow Me.”

    There are any number of reasons why Jesus, and those who follow Him, are despised and hated by those who do not confess His name. Perhaps the most obvious of those reasons is that He calls every man, woman and child in this world to repentance. Which means, He confronts the sinfulness and the brokenness of humanity. He calls us out for doing what is wicked and wrong. And more than that, He challenges the notion that any one of us is better, or more righteous and more holy than another. Sin is the disease that infects all of us and the infection is deadly. And so, Jesus says, “I tell you; unless you repent, you will all likewise perish."

    People also despise Jesus because He identifies Himself as the only way of salvation. In other words, there aren’t many different paths to God. As you might expect, that message conflicts with our culture’s way of looking at things. Free will and choice are among our most valued possessions in virtually every aspect of life, from life’s beginning to it’s end. Options and customization are the name of the game in this world. We are entitled, so we think, to make all of life’s choices fit what we want and what we like.

    But as to our salvation, Jesus says there is only one path, one way. And you can’t change it or customize it, you can’t add to it or take away from it. “I am the way, and the truth and the life (He says). And no one comes to the Father but by Me.” Later, the Apostle John emphasized exactly the same thing about Jesus in his First Epistle. “Who is the liar (he asked) but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. 23 No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also.”

    Regardless of a person’s reason for rejecting Jesus, when you confess His name, you will be hated by others. And sad as it may be, that hatred may even reach into families, between brothers, and between fathers and their children, and between children and their parents. The differences between light and darkness, between life and death, and between faith and unbelief are so great and so distinct, that they can’t ultimately be concealed, or ignored.

    So, as the world around us goes from bad to worse, the question for us is, “how bad will it get?” What is it going to be like to be a Christian in the rest of the 21st century and beyond, if our Lord should so delay His return? The Apostle Paul says, “in the last days there will come times of difficulty. 2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, 4 treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power.” Why, in such days, a man in drag might even be found doing a pole dance on a cross before a major league baseball game. For those of you who might be unaware of such things, that very thing happened just a few years ago.

    It’s natural for us to fear those who can hurt our bodies, those who persecute our faith and the like. But Jesus says, “do not fear them.” Do not fear them because you have great value in the eyes of God. “Do not fear them (God says), because you are of more value to Me than you can even imagine.” “Two sparrows sold for a penny (He says). And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30 But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.”

    It is difficult to grasp how well God knows each and everyone of us, each of you. God has numbered even the hairs on your head! I think the essential point of that statement is that God, the One who saves you from sin and death, is a personal God. He doesn’t sit in heaven where He calls you to strive to know Him. He doesn’t separate Himself from His creation, nor does He consider it beneath Him to love and save His creation. As such, He is intimately acquainted with all that He has made, even with you. In fact, He knows your thoughts and the intents of your heart even before you put things to words in prayer.

    Jesus once told a parable about a very valuable pearl. He said, “the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.” Quite often the parable is understood as a lesson in stewardship. You and I are said to be the merchant who goes out in search of fine pearls. In that model, the very valuable pearl that we find is the Gospel. In this way, your life is seen as a search for the Gospel. When you find it, you recognize it’s great value such that you are willing to give all that you have in order to possess it.

    But there is another way to understand this parable. And frankly, I believe it’s a better way, because it emphasizes the personal nature of God, as well as, His great love for His creation, and ultimately for you, which is what today’s Gospel reading is about. The merchant is God and you are the pearl of great value. It is Christ who gave up all that He had in order to buy, or possess you, for you to be His own. Indeed, “He was rich, and yet, for your sake He became poor, the you, through His poverty might be made rich.”  

    The name that so many in this world despise and ridicule, is the name that is above all names. Jesus came into the world to lay claim to you, which He has done in the water of your baptism. You are His and He is yours. And somewhere, in being “the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace, the Bright Morning Star, the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last, He has numbered the hairs on your head, and said, “behold, I have bought you with a price, you are mine.”

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus unto life everlasting. Amen.

+ Soli Deo Gloria +