Do Your Discipleship Math Homework!

5th Sunday after Pentecost, 7/2/23 Matthew 10:34-42 Do Your Discipleship Math Homework! I. Division II. Addition III. Multiplication I realize that there are schools that hold classes year-round, but most schools don’t. And that means that most schools and most students are currently enjoying summer vacation. So, if you’re a student, it means that your mind is empty of such subjects as reading, writing, arithmetic, science, history, and social studies. You currently aren’t taking any daily quizzes or regular exams. You’re done with them for the past school year, and you won’t start thinking about them once again until you absolutely have to—such as the first day of the coming school year. And that’s OK, because this is the “lazy” time of the year. We’re taking a break from academics. Our schedules, even as parents or as adults without any parental responsibilities, are lighter. It’s the time of year for outdoor ball games, cookouts, and vacations. In fact, that vacation mentality is at its zenith this very weekend—a lengthy 4th of July holiday weekend. Almost everybody has already started taking a holiday break and it might even extend two more days. What summer bliss! It’s unfortunate, but we’re tempted to view our relationship with the greatest teacher in history—Jesus Christ—the same way. We don’t hold most church classes for adults or children during the summer. Worship attendance tends to take a dip during these summer months. And I get it—people use this time of year to go away, especially on weekends. But that temptation to put less effort into our relationship with Jesus isn’t seasonal; it’s constant. Let me explain. Isn’t it true that every day of your life you’re tempted to put your relationship with Jesus on hold while you pay attention to other people and things in your life? And Jesus doesn’t seem to mind. You don’t hear him clamoring for your attention when it’s elsewhere. But Jesus focuses our attention on that very topic this morning here in Matthew 10. He speaks to us about our lifelong calling as his disciples. He wants us to analyze what he means to us. And he calls on us to make adjustments where our loyalty to him is lacking. He wants us to think about what we’ve learned about being his disciple and he encourages us to commit ourselves more fully to him. To borrow wording from your days as a student, in a way, he urges you to do your discipleship math homework. Math homework? I’ll explain what I mean by that. Let’s take to heart the words of Jesus, shall we? Part I. Is this the most divisive period of our country’s history? Some people—maybe many people—think so. But I’m not sure. I’m not sure because, like all of you, I didn’t experience the strife before and during our country’s Civil War. I can’t imagine it. And I was born in 1961, so I was too young to realize the strife that racial unrest and the Vietnam War caused. But it doesn’t matter where this divisive period ranks in our history; it’s still divisive and there are many calls from all over our country for peace and healing to occur. And, in a way, peace is a very Christian concept and ideal. The angels at Christ’s birth proclaimed the peace that he had come to bring. Jesus repeatedly greeted his disciples with the single word, “Peace.” But then he blows that comforting peace to pieces with these words, “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn ‘a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law— a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’ Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.” How can Jesus state that he didn’t come to bring peace? Well, he did come to establish peace between sinful people and the holy God. He completed that peace-bringing work on the cross. But here Jesus is speaking about a different kind of peace—peace between people, even family members. Don’t get Jesus wrong—he wants you to have a peaceful relationship with your family members, but not at the expense of your relationship with him. In other words, if the choice is between a family member and Jesus, he demands that we choose Jesus. If the choice is between what a family member thinks and believes and what Jesus says is the truth, we’re to choose Jesus. And not just some of the time; every time. That’s what he means when he speaks about loving father or mother more than we love him. Does your love for Jesus surpass your love for others, even close family members? In other words, if the choice is between following your loved one or following Jesus, whom do you choose? Do your discipleship math homework! Jesus is talking about division here. Do the teachings of Jesus divide you from family members? If not, there are only two possibilities. Either your family member and you believe exactly the same thing about Jesus, or you’re compromising your relationship with Jesus in order to have a peaceful relationship with a family member. You can’t have it both ways. Do your discipleship math homework! Jesus brings division! Part II. There are two false views of looking at the Christian life. One of them comes from Christians themselves who believe that, if I am truly living a Christian life, I will attain glory here on earth. That simply isn’t true. The other false view of the Christian life comes from non-Christians. They view the Christian life in terms of what joys in life Christianity would take from them. That’s false and Jesus declares it with these words, “Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.” Do your discipleship math homework! First, Jesus speaks about subtraction. He tells us we need to take up our cross and follow him. The crosses of the Christian life are not the joys; they’re the sorrows, the difficulties, and the hardships that result from our relationship with Christ. For instance, you refrain from playing the corporate games or the games of your employment position because you know they are contrary to what Jesus says. But then you miss out on some employment perks. You’re an outsider. You’re not a team player. You suffer for your connection to Christ. But that’s not all. Jesus even goes so far as to require you to lose your life. Is he kidding? Not at all. Please understand that he’s speaking about the priorities of your earthly life and the priorities of your spiritual life. Are you willing to miss out on what this world has to offer you so that you can retain what Christ has already given you? Is Jesus worth more to you than the world? If so, then you have subtracted something from your earthly life and Christ has added something to your spiritual life. He has strengthened his relationship with you through his word and sacraments. You’re further from the world but closer to Christ. Make that choice! Do your discipleship math homework! This is an addition lesson. Cherish what Christ has added to your life! Part III. The academic world is a rewards-based environment. If you put in the work, you get rewarded for it. You pass the test. You transition to the next grade level. Your superior academic performance produces opportunities for you that others don’t receive. You do the work, you get the prize. In the last verses of our text, Jesus speaks about a reward. He states, “Anyone who welcomes you welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. Whoever welcomes a prophet as a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever welcomes a righteous person as a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward.” Hold it! Stop! As confessional Lutherans, we believe that we don’t get any rewards for our behavior when it comes to our spiritual lives. So why does Jesus speak about rewards? He’s not speaking about rewards of merit; he’s speaking about rewards of grace. He speaks about a righteous person receiving a righteous person’s reward. Recall what the rest of the Bible says about that righteousness. We don’t attain it on our own. Jesus won it for us and he gives it to us by grace. We do nothing. Jesus does it all. And we trust him for it. We also trust that he has given us a new life as his dear child when he brought us to faith in him as our Savior. I do nothing; Jesus does it all. We don’t even do anything to earn life in heaven. It’s all by grace. Eternal life is ours as a gift from Jesus to all who trust in him. And we show our appreciation for those gifts as we interact with others. Chiefly, we show our appreciation in acts of kindness and mercy toward others. Do those, out of love for Christ, and watch as Jesus blesses you for it. Do your discipleship math homework! This lesson is multiplication. As we live our Christian lives, Jesus continues to bless us here, and eternally in heaven. Division. Addition. Multiplication. Taking up a cross. Losing your life. Discipleship homework. It’s not the kind of thing we relish by nature. In fact, at times in our lives we take measures—sometimes painful measures—to avoid being the disciple Jesus calls us to be. Look what Peter did to avoid being identified as a disciple of Jesus. Where can we find the motivation to do what Jesus is calling us to do? Where can we find forgiveness when we fail? In our Lord Jesus. He’s the one who took up a cross for us. He’s the one who suffered in our place. He’s the one who gives us his holiness by faith in him. He’s the one who loved us more than anyone else. He’s the one who has made us his own so that he can bless us eternally. So, before you set out to do anything as a disciple of Jesus, ponder what he did for you and why. Make your discipleship all about Jesus. Then get busy. You’ve got discipleship math homework waiting for you. Amen.