Collect:
Lord Jesus Christ, You tell us not to be afraid: Challenge us to abandon ourselves; Encourage us to risk the sacrifice; That we may find the abundant life you promise; For you live and reign; With the Father and the Holy Spirit; In the unity of the Blessed Trinity; One God, for ever and ever. Amen
Readings
First reading: Genesis 21:8-21: 8
The child [Isaac] grew, and was weaned; and Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned. 9 But Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, playing with her son Isaac. 10 So she said to Abraham, ‘Cast out this slave woman with her son; for the son of this slave woman shall not inherit along with my son Isaac.’ 11 The matter was very distressing to Abraham on account of his son. 12 But God said to Abraham, ‘Do not be distressed because of the boy and because of your slave woman; whatever Sarah says to you, do as she tells you, for it is through Isaac that offspring shall be named after you. 13 As for the son of the slave woman, I will make a nation of him also, because he is your offspring.’ 14 So Abraham rose early in the morning, and took bread and a skin of water, and gave it to Hagar, putting it on her shoulder, along with the child, and sent her away. And she departed, and wandered about in the wilderness of Beersheba.
15 When the water in the skin was gone, she cast the child under one of the bushes. 16 Then she went and sat down opposite him a good way off, about the distance of a bowshot; for she said, ‘Do not let me look on the death of the child.’ And as she sat opposite him, she lifted up her voice and wept. 17 And God heard the voice of the boy; and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven, and said to her, ‘What troubles you, Hagar? Do not be afraid; for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is. 18 Come, lift up the boy and hold him fast with your hand, for I will make a great nation of him.’ 19 Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. She went, and filled the skin with water, and gave the boy a drink.
20 God was with the boy, and he grew up; he lived in the wilderness, and became an expert with the bow. 21 He lived in the wilderness of Paran; and his mother got a wife for him from the land of Egypt.
Psalm: 86:1-10, 16-17
Second reading: Romans 6:1b-11: 6
...Should we continue in sin in order that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin go on living in it? 3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.
5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin. 7 For whoever has died is freed from sin. 8 But if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 10 The death he died, he died to sin, once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. 11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
Gospel: Matthew 10:24-39: 24
‘A disciple is not above the teacher, nor a slave above the master; 25 it is enough for the disciple to be like the teacher, and the slave like the master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more will they malign those of his household!
26 ‘So have no fear of them; for nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known. 27 What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops. 28 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. 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground unperceived by your Father. 30 And even the hairs of your head are all counted. 31 So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.
32 ‘Everyone therefore who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven; 33 but whoever denies me before others, I also will deny before my Father in heaven.
34 ‘Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.
35 For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; 36 and one’s foes will be members of one’s own household.
37 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; 38 and whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.’
Our gospel passage is one of the more difficult of Jesus’ teachings – it starts reminding us we can’t expect to be treated better than our master Jesus was treated, and encourages us, reminding us to have no fear of those who persecute us because of Christ, reminding us that God loves us, that we need have no fear, encouraging us to acknowledge our faith, publicly.
Even if it costs us, setting “a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law” ….
Jesus reminds us that “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword” …
We live in interesting times, in fact, I believe every generation has its challenges, and we need to stand firm as Christians as we LIVE & BECOME the change we want to see…
However, there is a gem in this passage, a precious stone, that I believe will help us, especially when we are facing scary or trying times…
When I’m afraid, feeling lost in a big scary, uncaring, hard world, I remember this passage…
One of my favourite aspects of God is how God looks to the little things, the humble, seemingly insignificant things, in this passage, the very few hairs on our heads (in my case especially), and each and every humble little sparrow…
Dennis Davidson reminds us that JESUS’ EYE, GOD’s EYE, IS ON EACH SPARROW…
All efforts aimed at educating, healing, and caring for human beings or creation are based on the assumption that every creature is worthwhile. Jesus teaches us that every person and every one of God’s creatures has immense value.
After emphasising the stark reality that believers may experience emotional and bodily harm, Jesus changes the focus to our souls and their eternal worth. Jesus assures His followers that there is One always watching over us who places great value upon us, and who will always watch out for us, ensure the best for us, even if it means allowing us to go through trials and tribulations…
Our passage encourages us to look at ourselves through the eyes of Jesus. He tells us we are valued and precious in the eyes of our Heavenly Father. He urges us not to underestimate our worth, but to realize we have our origin in God, our destiny is with God and our lives are constantly under the care of God.
Jesus’ begins His argument for freedom from fear by pointing out the goodness and providence of God, reminding us “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground unperceived by your Father ".
Who isn’t fascinated by birds?
Did you know our God is a bird watcher too? He watches not merely to observe, but to know, feed, care and protect His creatures - God even watches over the sparrows.
Jesus uses this truth to reassure His disciples. He had told us we would be belittled, hated, persecuted, and rejected. Then He said not one sparrow falls to the ground apart from the Father's will.
Not only is God more powerful and authoritative than those who can only kill the body, but He cares for those who serve Christ. Little sparrows were of little worth in the marketplace and basically were unnoticed by people busy with daily life. Yet the Father takes note when each one dies.
[Two sparrows were sold for a copper coin worth about 14 cents in our money.]
The SPARROW is the commonest bird in the world, but its life and habits make a more interesting study than those of many rarer birds.
Mated sparrows fly long distances in gathering material to build their nest. The nest of two sparrows, when dissected was found to contain - among other components - over two thousand poultry feathers. The birds could only carry these one at a time - and the nearest chickens were two hundred and twenty-five yards away. Their journey there and back totaled 480km!
If all the offspring of one pair of sparrows were to survive for ten years, the number of their descendants would be 275 trillion. But there is no danger of our skies being darkened by vast clouds of sparrows for nine out of ten hatched live less than one year. Yet God takes note when each sparrow dies. He does not let the physical life of a seemingly insignificant and invaluable sparrow die without His notice.
Jesus is reminding us that if God's providence is so involved in the lives of the least of His creatures, His care will be much more involved in the most valuable of His creations, each person made in His image.
The God who cares for the insignificant will not fail to care for you.
Theologically you may accept the doctrine of God's sovereignty as biblical and true. Yet when your life seems derailed by the loss of a job, your home, or a loved one, do you question God's sovereignty?
The One who knows the number of hairs on your head, who hears your cries during the night, who understands your confusion amid heart-breaking loss, is able to use your circumstances to accomplish His ultimate purposes. “Nothing is a surprise to God; nothing is a setback to His plans; nothing can thwart His purposes; and nothing is beyond His control” [Joni Eareckson Tada].
Have you been feeling that God's plans for you are thwarted by misfortune? Not so! Rejoice that a loving God carefully holds you in His hand…
Jesus’ point is that God knows of our suffering and that we must not fear because God is in control. “So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows”.
Jesus is ASSURING US - Do not be afraid of it being foolish to give your life to God and using it to testify for Him…
Do not fear slander because God knows and will one day bring the truth to light…
Do not fear bodily harm because it is not permanent and insignificant in comparison to the value of an eternal soul…
Do not fear people for they can’t even harm a hair of your head without the Lord’s consent and if God consents, there is good reason…
In fact, Jesus ASSURES Us that we should fear NOTHING, because our heavenly Father places such high value on us...
Conventional wisdom is that no doubt God controls great matters, but many question that God’s care extends to such little things as the concerns of one individual person. Jesus says God takes care of the smallest and most trifling things and therefore we may be sure He cares for us, His children, who are so much more important…
There is no comparison between your worth and the sparrows God meticulously cares for, so be assured that God cares for you...
You are so valuable to God that He sent His only Sen to die for you to show you the extent of His love…
Because God places such value on you, you need not fear personal threats or difficult trials. These can't shake God's love or dislodge His Spirit from within you.
But this doesn't mean that God will take away all our troubles - the real test of value is how well something holds up under the wear tear and use of everyday life. When stand up for Christ in spite of our troubles, we show God to the world, and we remind every other little sparrow that we all have eternal value….
So, friends, do not fear, do not be afraid, there is no condemnation for us in Christ Jesus, and God will be with us, loving us, caring for us, especially when we go through trying times, as I know many of us are…
I pray you feel encouraged, my fellow sparrows, sparrows of great worth…
AMEN!
Rev G Smith
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