The Rev. Dr. Jean-Jacques D'Aoust         V after Pentecost     6/19/05             St Paul’s, Ft Collins

Sheep Among the Wolves

How many of us have suffered persecution and oppression for what we believe and how we behave?  Do we find ourselves on the side of the victims or on the side of the avengers? Is our life motivated by forgiveness and compassion or by self-righteousness and revenge?  Why is it that our nation spends more money to wage wars than to feed the hungry, heal the sick, shelter the homeless, and foster justice for those who are oppressed?  How do our personal and national behavior compare with what Jesus exemplified for us?

Instead of promising victory through awe and shock, Jesus warned his disciples of the suffering and persecution that lies ahead because they are his followers. Although addressed specifically to the Twelve, these words on the cost of discipleship apply to all of us who claim to be followers of Christ.

Jesus warns of persecution in which the disciples will be reviled by both religious and political authorities and thus subject to physical harm – like sheep in the midst of wolves. Families will be divided, and the followers of Jesus will be hated by all because of his name. Therefore they must be wise as serpents in order to survive. They must also become as innocent as doves by living morally exemplary lives that will refute any charges against them.

When questioned, they need not worry about what they will say; God’s Spirit will speak through them, and they can trust that they will triumph in the end. When persecuted in one place, they should move on to the next. They are called to do what they can in the time given them; their mission will not be completed even when the Son of Man returns.

Jesus goes on to say that the disciples can expect the same trials that he himself has endured, since a disciple is not above the teacher, nor a slave above the master. Therefore, if the enemies of Jesus accuse him of acting on behalf of Satan, how much more will they slander his disciples?

This is the hard reality of discipleship; but the disciples are not to be intimidated. The truth will prevail, and the lies of enemies will ultimately be exposed. The teachings that Jesus has given them in private are to be proclaimed from the house-tops.

Jesus adds a further assurance: “Do not fear those who kill the body, but cannot kill the soul.” Rather, they are to be in awe of God, who alone controls both body and soul and knows them intimately. In times of trial, they can always depend upon God’s care. The Lord knows even when a sparrow falls to the ground.      The section for today concludes with a reminder that Jesus will acknowledge those who have been loyal to him. Likewise he will deny those who do not follow his example. Every act we do in the name of Jesus is an act of ministry, with the choice to deny or acknowledge him.

The Prophet Jeremiah also endured suffering, persecution, and rejection. During political turmoil in the Kingdom of Judah, Jeremiah proclaimed that the main threat came from the nation’s idolatry rather than impending invasion from Babylon.

In witness to that conviction, Jeremiah symbolized the destruction of the nation by breaking an earthenware jug and publicly condemning Judah for forsaking the Lord and worshiping idols. As a consequence, he was beaten and thrown into the stocks; but he continued to prophecy against Judah.

In the passage for today from Jeremiah’s sixth lamentation, the prophet complains that the Lord has enticed him into proclaiming Judah’s destruction. Jeremiah speaks out in anger and feels that God has deceived him by requiring him to deliver such a message. The word “entice” is used in the sense of a woman being seduced by a man; and something like rape is suggested when Jeremiah says God has prevailed.

Jeremiah’s message of violence and destruction has made him a source of reproach and derision, and he declares that “I have become a laughingstock all day long.” He has been nicknamed “Terror is all around!”  And even his friends watch to see if he will fail while his enemies plot against him.

Yet he could not hold back the message that he had been given. If he tried, he experienced fire in his bones. So he was caught between the urgency of the message and the cost to his own life that delivering it entailed.

Jeremiah’s tone of despair changes to one of hope, and his faith does not falter. He knows that the Lord is with him in his trials, and that there will be a vindication of the Divine Word. Thus Jeremiah can praise the Lord as Deliverer.

Throughout his ordeals, Jeremiah remains unmoved. “For to you I have committed my cause,” he says.  He refuses to compromise his message, and his testimony to the truth stands as an example of steadfastness.

Like Jeremiah, Paul wrestled with the problem of evil. Through human misuse of God-given freedom, sin and death had entered into the good universe that God created. To illustrate this truth, Paul used the Genesis story of the fall.

For Paul, sin could be traced to Adam, who had rebelled against God’s authority and plan for human life. Just as Adam disobeyed and sinned, so has all humanity. Caught in bondage to the power of sin, all humankind must bear the consequences of estrangement from God and one another.

.However, just as “many died through the one man’s trespass”, God the Father has sent another Adam – Jesus Christ – to give us life. It is God’s free gift of grace, offered for all, which makes up for the previous rebellion, thus making right the past.

The life of Jesus brings justification or acceptance before God. The curse of sin has been broken in Christ, and a new creation is possible.

By Jesus’ single act of obedience, through his Cross and Resurrection, many who were far astray became reconciled and made right with God. “For just as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.”

Here Paul makes a clear contrast between the actions of Adam and Jesus Christ. In Adam, humanity exists in alienation and sin, as disobedience brings condemnation and death. Through Christ, humanity receives God’s grace, is brought into right relationship with God, and receives eternal life.

The contrast Paul draws between Adam and Christ also serves to emphasize the choices we have before us. We can either live in disobedience and alienation, or we can serve Christ and live in right relationship with God. To serve sin is death; to serve Christ is eternal life.       

St Teresa of Avila once wrote these words which are a fine summary of today’s readings from Scripture:

            Let nothing disturb you,

            Let nothing make you afraid,

            All things are passing,

            God never changes.

            Patience obtains all things.

            Nothing is lacking to the one who has God-

            God alone is enough.

Amen!