Year A
Season after Pentecost
Proper 7 (12)
Matthew 10:24-39

Contextual Background:

Jesus tells the disciples not to fear those who kill the body. He acknowledges division, even within families, but calls them to take up the cross and follow him.

Within the Jewish Tradition:

Prophets like Jeremiah were opposed by their own people. Faithfulness often brought conflict. There is immense social pressure on people to go with the crowd. Prophets resisted the confirmation bias of their time, and made God their first and only priority. But this truth-telling was not, ultimately, against the people or the even the leaders, but for them.

The command to “honor your father and mother” within the collectivist society of the first century and within the status keeping system made change very difficult. Jesus is saying that for change to happen in that time, that people would need to not only “stay in touch” but also “to differentiate” themselves from each other.

The Challenge Then:

The challenge was to remain faithful despite rejection, persecution, or even death.

The Challenge Now:

Our religio of safety and success tempts us to avoid costly faithfulness. Jesus names the cross as discipleship — embracing vulnerability and responsible power even when it provokes conflict. Taking up the cross includes both the inner work of embracing our mortality in Baptismal Awareness, but also to take up risky leadership in the world.

Given how different our culture is, how individualistic it is, Jesus might encourage us to stay in touch with other humans, to be engaged in group-to-group work across cultures and traditions and ideologies. Change requires us, as Ronald Heifitz taught, to both stay in touch and to differentiate.

Implications for Leaders & Communities:

• Leaders: prepare people for costly faithfulness.
• Communities: stand with those who suffer for justice and truth. Engage with those who see things differently.

What I Am Learning:

Fear shrinks discipleship; trust frees me to live boldly.

The Question I’m Sitting With:

Where is fear holding me back from the way of the cross?