The All Star Team - A Sermon For Sunday June 25 2023

GOSPEL: Matthew 10:24-39

The holy gospel according to Matthew.

Glory to you, O Lord.

Jesus warns his disciples that their ministry in his name will meet with opposition. However, he assures them that they need not fear for the truth will come to light. Life is found in Christ.

[Jesus said to the twelve:] 24“A disciple is not above the teacher, nor a slave above the master; 25it 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 Beelzebul, 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. 27What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops. 28Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. 29Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30And even the hairs of your head are all counted. 31So 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; 33but 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.

 35For 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;

 36and one’s foes will be members of one’s own household.

37Whoever 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; 38and whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.”

The gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you, O Christ.

When I hear Jesus’ words today, and last week,

I consider it more than a minor miracle

that people come to faith.

Last week, Jesus says;

“see, I am sending you out like lambs

into the midst of wolves”

and here’s the part we didn’t hear:

“they will hand you over to councils

and flog you in the synagogues.

you will be dragged before governors

and kings because of me”

And much like today’s reading:

Brother will betray brother - to death,

and a father his child,

children will rise against parents, to death!”

I have come not to bring peace,

but to bring a sword.

That sounds awful.

Who would possibly sign up for that?

Yet just one week ago,

3 young Christians confirmed their faith.

And today we welcome a new member to our congregation.

It seems God is going to call who God is going to call,

whether it makes sense to us or not.

But that’s faith. That’s faithfulness,

it is less about intellect,

less about the ways of this world,

less about what seems rational to us,

and more about God’s Spirit at work.

Consider the first reading,

Jeremiah,

pouring out his soul to God,

in his own dire situation:

Terror is all around, denounce God!

even close friends are watching for me to stumble…

Yet Jeremiah ends with praise to God,

the one who delivers the life of the needy

from the hands of evildoers.

God called Jeremiah to be a prophet when only a boy,

and he served amidst war after war,

Babylonian exile,

destroyed temple,

destroyed traditions

uncertainty,

unfaithfulness,

persecution,

rejection,

anger

and insecurity.

Jeremiah is clear:

God brought this calamity on the people;

divine judgment on the people

for their unfaithfulness.

Yet the God who judges is also the God who can save.

It makes no human sense that Jeremiah would be God’s prophet,

we can debate how popular Jeremiah was,

but God is going to call

who God is going to call. (Pause)

Many years ago,

my dad and I coached a baseball team.

My brother played,

along with a dozen other young teens.

Much like the 12 disciples that Jesus called,

this group of ball players

were not considered the cream of the crop.

They were all passed over for the top teams;

we were second tier.

I remember those first couple practices.

At the risk of offending the team…

they were misfits.

Some ran awkwardly after growth spirts,

some had health concerns that we didn’t understand,

some seemed anything but athletic.

I wondered what I got myself into,

it looked like a long, losing season ahead of us.

We practiced regularly to prepare for the season,

and something incredible happened…

One such misfit on our team was our lead-off hitter.

I’ll call him Henry.

Henry had never played baseball before,

and was easily the smallest player in the league.

Henry was lucky to be listed at 4 feet tall.

His first at bat,

he stood at the plate,

bat on his shoulder.

Ball 1. Ball 2. Ball 3. Ball 4.

Henry’s strike zone was so small,

no pitcher could throw him a strike!

He took a base on balls every single at bat.

Even without seeing a strike all year,

He’d walk to first,

and the kid was fast,

so he’d steal second.

And then steal third.

He scored our first run every single game.

I thought the kid had no business playing ball

with kids more than twice his size,

but Henry showed up and played his best.

There were 11 other kids like him on the team,

so-called misfits,

different sizes,

different abilities,

different awkwardnesses

and by just showing up,

practicing,

playing,

having fun,

the misfits quickly turned into an all-star team.

Our team went undefeated that season.

When playoffs came,

Henry was in the lead-off spot.

He knew the game plan:

take the walk,

steal the bases,

score the runs.

But Henry came up to the plate,

and the bat wasn’t on his shoulder.

It was up - he was ready to swing!

We coaches looked at each other,

confused,

anxious,

The pitch came in,

and Henry swung with all his might.

The pitch was a full foot above his head,

but he didn’t care,

he swung,

and nailed a single to centre.

Base hit!

Henry had a 1.000 batting average that year,

1 for 1 with about 80 walks.

I talked to Henry the next inning,

I said “you know,

you swung at a ball well out of the strike zone.”

And he said “No one has thrown me a strike all year!

I want to hit”

We laughed,

of course Henry wanted to hit.

That’s why you play baseball,

to hit the ball,

not to be walked every at bat.

We did our best to coach them,

to play these so-called misfits equally and strategically,

but the misfits turned themselves into an all-star team,

with loyalty and allegiance to the team,

and to improving while having fun.

Henry taught me

not to limit people to what I think they are capable of.

Henry reminded me not to put people into boxes,

or categories

that limit who they are,

Henry, like every other ball player,

just wants to hit the ball,

even if no one will throw them a strike.

Henry taught me not just to make space

for the so-called misfits,

but to let them swing the bat too. (Pause)

Jesus calls misfits.

The 12 disciples were not the cream of the crop.

They were working the family business,

work that remained for those

who would not become scribes

or followers of the Rabbis:

Fishermen,

tax collectors,

Canaanites,

outsiders and outcasts.

These are the 12 Jesus welcomed in,

that Jesus taught,

that Jesus sent.

Jesus values and believes in the misfits.

I don’t know if you caught it last week

but we named the 12 apostles,

and the last name was Judas Iscariot,

the one who betrayed Jesus.

These 12 - including Judas,

Jesus sent into the towns and villages,

to proclaim the good news

that the kingdom of heaven has come near

to cure the sick,

raise the dead,

cleanse the lepers

and cast out demons.

Even Judas was valued and sent.

Judas participated in Jesus’ ministry.

It is more than a minor miracle that people would follow Jesus,

and God is going to call who God is going to call.

Dear Church,

we are the modern-day apostles,

we are the ones who by God’s minor miracle

follow Jesus.

We are the ball team,

we are the group of seemingly misfits,

who by God’s grace will not be defeated.

Who knows who might look to join our team.

Maybe it’s someone like Henry,

who just wants to hit the ball

but has never been thrown a strike.

Maybe it’s someone like Judas,

who comes with baggage

and might just let us down,

but is still valued and sent by the Holy Spirit.

Every person who walks through these doors is a gift.

How can we presume to say

how one ought to serve,

or who is in and who is out?

Jesus invites us into loyalty.

Not loyalty to the way we’ve always done things,

not loyalty to Christians who are just like me,

not loyalty to the ways of this world,

Not loyalty to the old paradigm

of who is in and who is out

but to love God above all else,

even more than love for family.

Jesus does not mince words,

times might get hard,

conflict awaits,

a cross awaits,

not peace, but a sword;

yet you, child of God,

are of more value to God

than any of the sparrows sold at market.

God knows you so deeply,

that God, the majestic mathematician,

even knows how many hairs are on your head.

Some heads are easier to count hairs than others,

but you get the point,

God knows you, inside and out,

and God calls you,

Jesus calls you to follow,

to lose your life:

Those who find their life will lose it,

and those who lose their life for my sake,

for Jesus’ sake,

and for the sake of the Gospel,

will find it.”

This is the same for you

as for Henry

as for Judas,

as for all.

It is more than a minor miracle that people come to faith today,

but this is God’s work.

You are more than a minor miracle,

You are a Gospel,

you are a story of God’s good news,

you are filled with the Holy Spirit,

you are a new creation,

You are the Church,

and like the church the apostles grew,

like the little league team of misfits,

we too can show up,

with loyalty to Jesus above all else,

which means loyalty to loving neighbours,

loving enemies,

loving all God’s people

and all God’s creation,

loving the stranger,

loving the person who just wants to hit the ball

even though they’ve never seen a strike.

Like the baseball team,

may we show up,

welcoming one another,

with our unique giftedness

and witness God’s victory among us.

Like Jeremiah,

may our lives point to the God who has power to save

even amidst our suffering

Like the apostles

may we be God’s minor miracle

of faithfulness sent.

Thanks be to God. Amen.