In this section of the gospel, Jesus is instructing the disciples before they go out into the towns of Israel to proclaim the gospel. These instructions could be said to be the disciple’s marching orders. Jesus gives them instructions about what they are to do and not do among the people. As Jesus winds up his instructions, he talks to his disciples about the reality of the reception they may receive or the unrest they may cause among those to whom they bring the gospel.

Since the people have called Jesus names, the disciples of Jesus can expect no better treatment. However, since people truly do not have power over one’s true self, they are not to be feared. Everything that people try to hide will be uncovered. Everything that people whisper behind another’s back will become known. Wait a minute! Are these supposed to be comforting words because they don’t seem too comforting.

Do we really want to be exposed like that? Don’t we want to keep some things hidden, shoved back into the depths of the closet? But Jesus calls the disciples to boldly proclaim the gospel they have received from him – to shout it from the rooftops in the bright light of day. Then, just when we want to wrap ourselves all the more securely and hide ourselves in the darkness of our homes, Jesus talks about fear. He says, "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." Goodness! Are these really supposed to be words to motivate the disciples to go out and preach the gospel? What kind of pep talk is this?

Ah! But then it happens – those words of comfort, veiled in metaphor, come from Jesus’ lips. Sparrows are a dime a dozen and God cares about them. You are of much greater value than a sparrow, therefore, God cares so much about you that even the number of hairs on your head is known to God. Whew – we might think. God will take care of us.

Pat read earlier from the book of Genesis about Hagar and Ishmael being cast out into the wilderness because Sarah was jealous of the attention Ishmael was getting. But when in need of food, water, and a direction in which to go, God came to Hagar and promised that her son would live and become the father to a valued people of God. Hagar and Ishmael are of such value to God that God rescues them from certain death in the wilderness.

But Jesus doesn’t stop with these words of comfort. Lest Jesus give us the idea that there will not be any difficulties in our way, he goes on to call on his followers to take up their cross and lose their lives for his sake. Then there’s also that whole bit where this man whom we hailed at Christmas as the "Prince of Peace" quotes Micah’s words about divisions within families and promises to bring a sword in the place of peace. This is some tough stuff that Jesus is talking about here. What could he possibly be saying to us?

Many of you are farmers so you know much better than I what is necessary to get a crop to grow. Let me ask you a couple of questions about growing crops. When you go out and decide to plant a crop do you simply go out into a field, stick you finger into the compacted ground, put in a seed and then squish the soil down on top of it? No.

So then what do you do? First, you get out your plow and take it around the field, loosening up the dirt, tilling the soil and preparing it to welcome the new life you are about to plant. Then, you carefully take your seeds and place them in the tilled ground careful not to bury them too deep that they cannot find their way to the light. In order to get things to grow, you must first use the blade of the plow to bust up the compacted soil and clear away the roots that can get in the way of new growth. Could it be that way with the gospel?

This Spring, Eric and I bought a rose bush to plant in front of the house. We carefully read the tag and selected a spot where it would get the right amount of sun. Then instead of just trying to shove the plant into the ground we got out the shovel and began to dig. We hit a few roots and broke those up. We also hit a lot of rocks and carefully removed those from the hole. Then even after the hole was just big enough for the plant we dug a little bit more to break up the ground around where the plant would be, allowing it to spread out its roots and get a good hold on the earth that would nourish it.

Could it be that way with the gospel? If we try to shove the seed of the gospel into our already cluttered lives, it cannot live. If we just make a little compartment in our lives and label it "gospel" can it thrive? No, Jesus seems to be saying that the gospel the disciples are to go out and preach is transformative. It cannot be shoved in among all the other things of life. It cannot simply be one more knick-knack shoved up onto the already crowded shelf.

In order for the gospel to take root, our whole lives must be tilled to welcome it. The blade of a plow cuts through the ground disrupting what is there that cannot support the new life to be planted. The sword of the gospel that Jesus claims to bring cuts through those things in our life that cannot support the new life of the gospel about to be planted. It breaks up our settled lives and breathes fresh air into the fertile ground of our lives.

Jesus has some tough words here and those among us who have close-knit families may shrink back from what he has to say in this passage. "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." Matthew has a much softer version than Luke who quotes Jesus as saying, "Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple." These are some tough words to hear in a "family-friendly" church.

Tom Long in his commentary on this text said, "It is simply a fact that the gospel shakes up values, rearranges priorities, reorients goals. The gospel is not a salve; it is a sword that pares away all that is not aligned to the kingdom, and this often causes strain and strife in family relationships."

I have had the good fortune to grow up in a family that supported involvement in the church and my becoming a minister. However, not every family is like that. I have heard many stories of families casting out members who decide to be Christian. These stories don’t only come from far off nations where Christianity is not a predominant religion but these stories happen in the United States as well. Some of these stories are obvious; talking about families who cast out family members who become Christian – refusing to speak to them and even holding funerals for them as though they had died.

However, many of these stories are much more subtle. Sometimes the dilemma is not choosing between one’s family and following Christ but something the dilemma is choosing between doing what one’s family calls one to do and doing what Christ calls one to do. These are the heart-wrenching decisions that can easily cause the types of divisions that Jesus mentions in this passage.

Christ is not telling those who follow him that they should not love their family or care for them. Instead, Jesus is telling those who follow him that Christ must come first – before self and before family. God must be in the rightful place of God in one’s life – that place is number one. Love of God should take top priority. We are to love the Lord our God with all our heart, with all our soul, with all your mind, and with all our strength. We are to have no other god before the one true God.

In Paul’s letter to the Christians at Rome, he says that through our baptism we die with Christ so that we may live with Christ. Through our baptism, we enter into the life of faith and are freed to live the life that God has prepared for us. Because we have the confidence given to us in our baptism, sealed by the resurrection of Christ, we can truly disrupt our lives, stir up the soil of it to welcome the seed of the gospel and go out with the marching orders that Christ gave. With our lives disrupted by the gospel, we may find that in losing the life we thought we had we find that true life which God has prepared for us.