Fourth Sunday after Pentecost

 Video of Service

Fourth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 7A)

June 21, 2026

Text: Matt. 10:5a, 21-33

Courage, dear Christian, courage.  Courage, dear Church of God, courage.  It takes courage to live as a disciple of Jesus.  To confess Him.  To speak His Word.  To bear His Name.  Because “you will be hated by all for my name’s sake,” Jesus says (Matt. 10:22; ESV).  “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master.  It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master.  If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household” (vv. 24-25).  

So, it takes courage.  Jesus is forthright about the challenges a disciple may face.  Last week, we heard about opposition from coreligionists: “they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues” (v. 17); and persecution on the part of governing authorities and unbelievers: “you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles” (v. 18).  This afternoon, as we hear more of what we often call our Lord’s “Missionary Discourse,” Jesus tells us our own family members may hate us because we follow Jesus.  That is a painful heartache many of you know intimately.  There are places in the world today where family members don’t just say mean things to their Christian relations… where they don’t only cut off contact and shun (as painful as that is)... but they actually do what Jesus says here they will do: Brother delivering brother over to death, and the father his child, and children their parents (v. 21).  Whole communities, chasing the Christian out of town (v. 23).  And, we know, beatings, imprisonments, and the loss of all earthly possessions.  That has happened to Christians throughout history, and is happening today.  Lord, Jesus, strengthen Your persecuted disciples in every place, and grant them Your Holy Spirit, to confess You faithfully unto death.  And give us the strength and Your Spirit, should that ever be us!   

So, that is why we need courage.  And that courage, understand, is not something you can draw deep from the wells of your own heart.  It has to be the gift of God.  It has to be a fruit of the Spirit.  Because this is spiritual warfare.  You’re actually not wrestling against flesh and blood.  You love the people who do such things to you.  That is why you want to tell them about Jesus.  They are your blood relatives, your friends, your neighbors, your community, your people.  The opposition actually comes from the demons: The rulers, the authorities (not earthly rulers and authorities, but ranks of evil angels), the cosmic powers over this present darkness, the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places (Eph. 6:12).  These maleficent beings specialize in turning human hearts against one another, often violently.  God is love, and those born of God love one another (1 John 4).  But the demons are filled with hate, and those in their grasp are likewise filled with hate.  

Beloved, you are born of God (Baptism).  Redeemed by Christ, who pours out His Spirit upon you.  So you love, even as you are loved by God.  And, you have this courage.  It is piped into your ears in the hearing of the Gospel, and in a very particular way in the Holy Supper, with Christ on your breath, and invading your very body with His crucified and risen body.  His blood, beating in your heart and coursing through your veins.  St. John Chrysostom famously said: “Let us then return from that table like lions breathing fire, having become terrible to the devil.”  I love that quote, and think of it often.

Our Lord tells us the crosses we have to take up, if we are to be His disciples, but so also, in this discourse, He gives us very precious, encouraging (as in, puts the courage into us) Good News.  Listen to these five reasons you can be courageous… “have no fear of them,” as Jesus says (v. 26)... in the face of this heartbreaking, and even violent, opposition:

First, He says that “the one who endures to the end will be saved” (Matt. 10:22).  That Promise can carry you through any trial or tribulation.  Because you know there will be a happy ending.  Why can children make it through Snow White, or Sleeping Beauty (or pick your Disney princess movie), in spite of the evil queen, and the death-sleep of the princess, and the seemingly hopeless mortal peril of the savior-prince?  Because they know that, in the end, the prince will rescue her, they will all live happily ever after.  Well, you know that, too.  As bad as things may get under the devil’s seeming reign, and his threats toward you and the Church.  Jesus is coming, our Savior, our Prince.  He died, yes.  But He is risen.  He lives.  And He is coming to awaken you and give you life, so that, in the End, you live happily ever after with Him.  The one who endures to the end will be saved.

Second, “nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known” (v. 26).  That is, justice is coming.  Vindication.  The Gospel will prove true, and disciples of Jesus will be manifestly righteous.  Your suffering is seen.  God knows it.  He cares.  He will make it good.  So… courage, because in the End, everyone will know the truth, and your righteousness in Christ will be manifest.  

Third, the worst they can do to you is kill your body, but they cannot kill your soul.  So, don’t fear them.  Fear God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell.  But also, trust Him.  He’s redeemed you by the death and resurrection of His dear Son, Jesus.  So, if they kill your body, what will God do?  Take your soul to safety in heaven.  And then what?  Raise you, bodily, to eternal life.  Courage, then, dear brothers and sisters.  They can inflict some pain, but they cannot, finally, hurt you.

Fourth, not a sparrow falls from the sky, or a hair from your head, apart from your Father’s knowledge and care.  And you are of more value than many sparrows.  What is the point?  If God so cares for birds of the air and the hair on your head, how much more does He care for you?  He who is Almighty, and All Good?  He loves you with an everlasting love.  So, courage.

And, fifth, what does Jesus promise for those who confess Him before men?  He will confess you before His Father in heaven.  That is, He will say to His Father, “This one is mine.  Purchased with My own suffering, blood, and death.  And this one is also Yours, dear Father.  You sent Me, to make it so.  This is Your beloved child.  Bring him… bring her… into the joy of Your Kingdom, for My sake.”  And God’s answer to His only-begotten Son is “Yes.”  In Christ, it is always, “Yes.”  Therefore, courage.

Live in Jesus.  No matter the cost.  No matter the pain.  Order your life according to His Word, and not according to the world, or your own sinful passions.  Live openly in Him.  Speak of Him.  Season Your speech with His Word and His Name.  Teach your children.  Remind them, even when they are old, that Jesus loves them, and died for them.  Confess Christ to your friends and neighbors.  Invite them to Church.  Do not hide because you are afraid.  Courage, dear Christian.  Courage.  Always be prepared to give an answer for the hope that is within you.  But remember to do it with gentleness and respect (1 Peter 3:15).  But do it.  Because you have been given to speak the Word of eternal life to the people around you, the people God has given you.  That Word saves them from death and hell.  That Word gives them salvation and life.  Even as it does for you.  Because that Word gives them Jesus Christ.

And what if you suffer?  You will.  A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master.  Jesus suffered.  So will you.  Okay.  Take up your cross.  But remember the Promises.  They will not fail.  Because Jesus does not fail.  He loves you.  He died for you.  He lives and reigns for you.  So, you can count on it: The one who endures to the end will be saved.  That’s you.  Courage.  Because that is you in Christ.  In the Name of the Father, and of the Son +, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Third Sunday after Pentecost

 Video of Service

Third Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 6A)

June 14, 2026

Text: Matt. 9:35-10:20

The Lord Jesus is moved with compassion… for you.  He would not leave you as sheep without a shepherd.  He would not leave you unprotected, untaught.  He sees the danger of your prideful ignorance.  He knows the wounds your sin has wrought.  And He is well aware of every maleficent power that stalks you in the darkness.  The temptations.  The demons.  The false teachers.  The wolves.  So, He, Himself, comes, and what does He do?  He goes about teaching and proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom… that’s how He shepherds His sheep… the preaching, the Word… healing every disease and every affliction.

And then, He establishes an Office for the continuation of all of that… that kind of shepherding… to the end of the age.  Because our Lord’s earthly ministry will culminate in His sin-atoning death, His resurrection from the dead, and His ascension into heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father and rule.  So He will not be here, visibly, in the way that He was when He was 33 years old.  But that will not be the end of His shepherding.  Now, He will shepherd through men, whom He calls for the purpose, and to whom He gives His authority.  Authority… to do what?  What He did.  Teach.  Proclaim the Gospel of the Kingdom.  Heal.  Make whole.  See, what is happening in Jesus’ ministry, and through the Office He here establishes, is nothing less than New Creation breaking into the Old.  To undo the curse.  To heal the corruption.  To release from the bonds of death and the devil.  To restore Paradise, and bring it to its fullness by the reconciliation and Communion of God and men.

I love how Jesus bids His disciples pray that the Lord of the harvest (the Father) would send out workers into His harvest field (ministers of the Gospel sent out into the world).  And then Jesus, Himself, answers that very prayer by calling twelve of His disciples to be appointed and sent to do that very thing.  They are the answer to their own prayer.  It does sometimes work that way, and actually, that would be a very healthy thing for us to recognize.  We so often pray for someone to come and do something that so desperately needs to be done.  Sometimes… perhaps to our initial shock, and even denial… the Lord’s answer is to appoint and provision us to be that someone.  Here I am, LORD.  Send me.  Send me (Is. 6:8).  

He appoints the Twelve to be Apostles.  As we mentioned last week, disciple and apostle are not synonymous.  All believers in Christ are disciples, but not all are apostles.  Apostles are called from among the disciples.  So, the Twelve are both.  An apostle is literally a sent one, one officially designated to bear the authority of the sender in the matter for which he is sent, so that in that matter, his word is as good as the word of the sender.  Well, that means that when an Apostle of Jesus Christ teaches and proclaims the Gospel of the Kingdom… or enacts that proclamation by rebuking a disease or commanding a demon to hit the road… that Apostle’s Word is nothing less than the Word of the living God.  With all the performative power pertaining to it.  That is why we can believe every word of the New Testament, because the New Testament is the Apostolic Word, which is to say, the Word of Jesus Christ, which is to say, the Word of God.  And that is why we know it is inerrant… without error… no mistakes!  (By the way, we know that of the Old Testament, as well, because that is the Word of the Prophets, likewise sent by God [the word for sent one is  שָלִיחַ Hebrew], thus the Prophetic Word is the very Word of God.  Who spoke by the prophets?  The Holy Spirit did, we confess.  And so, by the Apostles.)

Now, the Apostles are unique.  Only Twelve (in the sense in which they are called in today’s text).  Twelve, constituting the New Israel, which is the holy Christian Church.  And we don’t replace them when they die.  Judas was replaced, not because he died, but because he forsook his office, and there must be Twelve.  But they continue in office beyond death, because they are in Christ, and so, dying, they live.  And they still teach, because to this day we still hear them in the reading of the Scriptures.  Paul is a special case, as you know.  The 13th Apostle?  Well, yes, but the point is, he is sent primarily to the Gentiles, who are given to be grafted into Israel (Rom. 11).  So, Twelve for New Israel, a 13th for the Gentiles now included in New Israel.

And, of course, not just anybody could be an Apostle.  The Apostles also had to meet particular qualifications that we couldn’t possibly meet if we tried to replace them today.  Do you remember what they were?  When the Church met, after the Lord’s ascension, to fill the apostolic vacancy left by Judas, they had to appoint a man who had accompanied them since the Baptism of John, AND (and this is the big one) one who had been an eyewitness of the risen Lord Jesus (Acts 1:21-22).  They put forward two candidates, prayed over them, cast lots, and we know that the lot fell to Matthias (v. 26).      

What were the Apostles given to do, though?  Same things as Jesus: “proclaim,” He commands them, “saying, ‘The Kingdom of heaven is at hand’” (Matt. 10:7).  Then, enact and exert that Kingdom, with all the authority of the King: “Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons” (v. 8).  Say the things Jesus said, and do the things Jesus did.  See, they were to continue Jesus’ ministry.  Not their own ministry.  That is really a mispeaking, when we talk about a pastor’s ministry.  We all do it, and it’s fine, as long as we understand that it’s really Jesus’ ministry (Who on earth cares about a ministry of and about Jon Krenz?  Lord, have mercy!  There’s no power in that.  Or, rather, there would only be evil power in that, which is why we must always avoid ministries that are cults of personality.  Paul talks about that very thing in 1 Corinthians, doesn’t he?).

Jesus’ ministry is the direct result of His compassion for the crowds, who are like sheep without a shepherd.  Jesus’ ministry is the direct result of His compassion for you.  And because His compassion never fails, never runs out, never stops… He bids His Church pray for workers in for the harvest, and He answers by giving those workers.

But if we don’t have Apostles anymore… or better, we do, but they’re in heaven, and we’re here on earth, and we need boots on the ground, so to speak… how does Jesus shepherd His sheep today?  You know the answer.  Pastors.  He gives to His Church, pastors (the word pastor means shepherd).  He calls some from among His disciples, and appoints them… ordains them… pastors.  And what are the pastors given to do?  Same things as Jesus.  Same things as the Apostles.  Proclaim.  Speak the Word.  And then… heal?  Well, yes, in a manner of speaking.  Now, most pastors today do not have the gift of physically healing diseases and afflictions as consistently and spectacularly as the Apostles did.  That is true.  But then, you do call me when you go to the hospital.  Why?  Because, when you are sick, or weak, or wounded… when the icy fingers of death touch your body, robbing you of health and inflicting you with pain… you want to hear the Word Jesus has given me to speak.  The Word of Jesus Himself.  Which does heal and give life.  Not temporarily (as an earthly miracle would).  But ultimately.  And eternally.  That is, you want the Gospel of the Kingdom proclaimed to you.  You want the New Creation to break into the Old, which is passing away.  You want the undoing of the curse, the healing of corruption, release from the bonds of death and the devil (and your own stupid sinful flesh), and the restoration of Paradise… reconciliation and Communion between you and God.  Which is to say, the forgiveness of sins.  You want the Holy Absolution.  The Voice of Christ.  The Word of the cross.  And His crucified and risen body and blood.  

So, the Lord Jesus sends you pastors to give you that.  Because He is moved with compassion for you.  They bear an Office, to speak and act in His stead, but understand, He is the Minister.  He is the Shepherd. It is His speaking, and His doing.  And in this way, He heals you, body and soul.  And raises you from the dead, spiritually now, and bodily… and eternally… soon.  And cleanses you from sin and all uncleanness.  And sends the demons packing.  What great compassion.  Jesus sees you, and Jesus loves you.  Therefore, Jesus shepherds you, and gives you shepherds.  Christ be praised in all things.  In the Name of the Father, and of the Son +, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.