Questions

Matthew 11:2-3 - When John in prison heard about the deeds of Christ, he sent through his disciples a question: Are you the one who is coming or are we to look for/expect another?

I think we all have questions about our faith. It is natural to want the answers from some authority. John suspects that Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ. Yet he is unsure. So he asks. There are no stupid questions, right? I would add there are only stupid motives. The Pharisees and the scribes ask questions to trip Jesus up but this is not what is happening here. John has heard of Jesus' sayings and doings. He suspects he knows the answer and he sends people to ask. From prison, that is probably the best he can do. His motives are innocent.

What about our motives for asking questions of Jesus or others? Do we need all our answers to be clear as black and white? Or are we comfortable with letting things happen as they will? Are we able to act on our understanding of God's working through the Spirit and trust that if we are wrong it will still be okay? Questions are necessary. If we ask questions, waiting until everything is perfect before we act, sometimes, it will be too late. Sometimes things will never be clear. Living with ambiguity and unanswered questions is part of the struggle the Scots Confession talks about. Israel means one who struggles/fights with God.
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Receptive

Matthew 10:40 - Whoever receives you receives me and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.

We can no longer receive Christ in the flesh, yet we have the Spirit. We can receive those around us in love as Christ. What do I need to do today to keep my heart open to do this?

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Challenging society

Matthew 10:35-36 - 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; and a person's enemies will be those of their household.

Jesus has come to challenge the society in which poor people and widows are not taken care of. He has come to explain the law of love. However, there are many that profit from the current system. They will defend it - the Pharisees, Scribes, and Sadduccees. Generationally, we are at war even today.

How can we overcome such divisions? By working to understand our "enemy". By accepting that they have a right to think and believe as they do. They probably have a good reason. Figuring out that reason leads to communication rather than argumentation.
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Peace

Matthew 10:34 - Do not think that I have come to bring peace over the land; I have not come to bring peace but a sword.

I am puzzled by this. He is still talking with his disciples and giving them advice. Or is he? Is he now talking to those left behind or to all of them in a new location? The answers would help with the exposition.

How does this fit with the Christmas story of peace on earth? What does it mean to bring a sword. What does a sword do? Divides, kills, cuts. So, probably division rather than death. This is a continuation of his warning about those who will treat his hearers contemptuously. He is saying war and / or division is coming and we must accept it. He recognizes that his actions are going to irritate many. His actions as well as his ideas.

How does this apply to me today?
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Worth

Matthew 10:29-31 - Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And yet not one of them falls to the ground without the will of your father. Even the hairs on your head are all numbered. So, do not fear for you are worth many sparrows.

Precious. Yes. We talked about this a lot at CPE yesterday. We must first understand our own preciousness so that we may be present to another. I we cannot see how we are precious - every part of us - then we will not be able to see it in another.

So, be happy. You are worth many sparrows.
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Whom to fear

Matthew 10:27 - Do not fear those who are able to kill the body but who are not able to kill the soul. Rather fear the one who is able to kill both body and soul in Gehenna.

Who is able to kill both body and soul? Why does the soul seem more important here than the body? What does it mean to kill a soul? How does one kill a soul? Does the body necessarily have to die? What/Where is the place Jesus is referring to by "Gehenna."

Now, we often take this to mean - fear the devil. Yet, as someone whose own soul was slipping away, I think there is much more than just the devil to fear. Fear those things and/or those people that do not support life. Not just bodily life, but soul life as well. What kinds of things are those?

Attitudes, withholding help from others, incorrect assessments of harm, evil, the rationalizations that support evil, those who support actively doing harm to the least of these, policies and systems that destroy rather than build up. In short, the world. Not only should we fear these things, we should work against them to the best of our ability. We need to understand them. THis is very much a building of a bridge ...

Lots to ponder today as I recover from my cold ...
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Speak!

Matthew 10:26-27 - So do not fear them. For nothing is covered that will not be uncovered or hidden that will not be known. What I tell you in the dark, speak it in the light and what you hear whispered, shout from the rooftops.

Them - it seems we are back to those who will persecute you. Do not fear. Tell them what I have told you. That is the calling of the disciples. What you hear in secret, proclaim in the streets. In other words, do not keep silence. When someone asks for an accounting, tell them. Do not worry now about what you will say then.

Do not be afraid - or ashamed.
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Humility?

Matthew 10:24-25 - The disciple is not above his master and the slave above his lord. It is sufficient for the disciple to become as his master and the slave as his lord. If they call the master of the house, "Beelzebub", how much more the members of the house?

I have been thinking of this for several days. I think it might have something to do with humility. We are not to think of ourselves too highly nor strive to be the best. Clearly the class distinctions are kept - I don't see any social rearranging going on in this passage. I wonder if it was added later to tone the rest of the passage down? To reassure outsiders that the Christians were no threat to society?

So, I am going with humility here. Knowing our place in relation not to our betters, but to God.