{"id":539594,"date":"2020-06-21T15:01:00","date_gmt":"2020-06-21T19:01:00","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2026-08-10T12:36:50","modified_gmt":"2026-08-10T16:36:50","slug":"sent-pentecost-3-a-june-21-2020","status":"publish","type":"sermon","link":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/sermons\/sent-pentecost-3-a-june-21-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"Sent, Pentecost 3 (A) &#8211; June 21, 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">[RCL]: Genesis 21:8-21; Psalm 86:1-10, 16-17; Romans 6:1b-11; Matthew 10:24-39<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-text-color has-green-color has-alpha-channel-opacity has-green-background-color has-background is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"200\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/playlist.megaphone.fm\/?e=DFMS8742238472&#038;light=true\" width=\"100%\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-text-color has-green-color has-alpha-channel-opacity has-green-background-color has-background is-style-wide\"\/>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Proper-7A-2020-1024x536.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-189595\" style=\"width:512px\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In today\u2019s Gospel, the tail-end of a commencement speech of sorts, Jesus prepares his twelve closest followers for their first mission apart from him. They are to demonstrate what God\u2019s Kingdom looks like, interrupting life-as-they-knew-it with new possibilities for healing, wholeness, truth-telling, and repaired relationships. Earlier in the chapter, Jesus empowered them to do the things Jesus does: cast out demons, heal people with every kind of sickness, teach about God\u2019s ways. It is a small miracle that Jesus trusts them with such spiritual authority so early in their understanding of who he really is. This miracle of Jesus\u2019 confidence in his twelve bumbling disciples offers us hope. We, too, struggle to comprehend Jesus\u2019 power and \u201ckeep the faith,\u201d as Presiding Bishop Curry frequently reminds us \u2013 yet we are sent out anyway to proclaim the Good News amid daily life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You can imagine Jesus on the cusp of sending his twelve na\u00efve disciples when he pauses to equip them with a final spiritual gift: the ability to persevere in the face of resistance. He doesn\u2019t sugarcoat the dangers of the mission; he gives it to them straight: \u201cSome folks will welcome the Good News, others won\u2019t. They\u2019ll resist the message and the change that comes with it. And you\u2019ll be the target of their resistance.\u201d Then, like a good pastor, he reminds them that our Heavenly Father is both incredibly powerful \u2013pronouncing judgments that yield life or death \u2013 and incredibly tender \u2013 noticing every sparrow that falls and counting every hair on our heads. By remembering the character and faithfulness of God, the disciples have what they need in order to endure beyond their fear of rejection and violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jesus\u2019 speech before the sending of his disciples is only one moment of their lifelong process of character formation \u2013 one moment in a life full of learning what it means to follow Jesus. Jesus shows the twelve: who they truly are \u2013 children of God; what they are capable of when they are aligned with God\u2019s grace \u2013 healing others and reconciling communities; and how to hold onto that truth even when the going gets tough \u2013 by remembering God\u2019s character, God\u2019s faithfulness, God\u2019s goodness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It took years of hanging out with Jesus, eating with him, watching him heal others, speaking truth to power, listening to his teachings, and overhearing his prayers for them to become the kind of men \u2013 and women, for we know Jesus had women disciples, too \u2013 who were willing to lose their lives as martyrs, testifying to God\u2019s shalom, God\u2019s peace, in a world still enraptured by powers and principalities. Christian identity and character formation are lifelong processes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One of the most troubling things about this passage to our ears is Jesus\u2019 talking about division in the family. We tend to idealize the nuclear family in our culture and thus, often idolize it. Many of us downplay family conflict. We are embarrassed by it. Admitting that our families are imperfect can feel sacrilegious. At the same time, having a \u201cdifficult childhood\u201d seems to be a cultural norm, rather than an exception.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Psychologists tell us that a key developmental task for young adulthood is differentiating from one\u2019s families of origin. This doesn\u2019t mean estrangement, but rather, figuring out how one can authentically be oneself and stay connected to the family or others. For example, if a young adult chooses to live a life of radical simplicity in a family that values climbing the social ladder, the family will have to navigate new ways of being together. The reality is that not every family has those navigational skills. Sometimes, literally and figuratively, it is beneficial, or even necessary, to be apart from our families of origin before God grants us the grace to reunite with them in life-giving ways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The peace that Jesus brings causes division and incites harassment and resistance. This is not forever, but for now, in this in-between time when values of the \u201cOld Self,\u201d which Paul discusses in Galatians, still have sway. We all have an Old Self \u2013 our sinful, fear-filled, greedy, prideful nature \u2013 that is left behind, crucified with Jesus on the cross, in our baptisms. Then we are re-born, freed from sin into a new life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That doesn\u2019t mean that the Old Self doesn\u2019t try to pull us back down; it does, and it can pull our loved ones down, too. As Jesus equipped the first disciples long ago, so today he equips us with the power of the Holy Spirit to confront the death-dealing ways of the Old Self and participate in Christ\u2019s triumph over them. By virtue of our baptisms, we find a new dimension of family beyond blood kin in the Church. There, we learn Sunday by Sunday about forgiveness, being released from what enslaves us, so that we can move joyfully into God\u2019s future. By hearing the Scripture, week by week, day by day, the Spirit equips us with knowledge of God\u2019s character \u2013 both the almighty maker of Heaven and Earth and the merciful Lord who watches over the sparrow. We come to know God, almighty and gentle, by remembering stories like the one we heard earlier about Hagar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Hagar\u2019s story shows God\u2019s grace working in and through a very divided family. Sarah, Hagar\u2019s mistress, is bound up by anxiety and fear. Hagar dutifully conceived a son at Sarah\u2019s request with her master Abraham and bore Ishmael. But now, Sarah is afraid that Ishmael may be favored more than her boy, Isaac. Though Sarah has literally borne the fruit of God\u2019s promises through the birth of Isaac, her Old Self (to borrow St. Paul\u2019s language) has gotten the best of her, and she can\u2019t abide even the presence of Hagar. Abraham is caught, not only between these two women but by his genuine affection for his first-born, Ishmael.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The family can\u2019t tolerate Sarah\u2019s anxious need to be assured that her son, Isaac, will be heir to God\u2019s promises. Hagar and Ishmael are cast out of the family to die in the wilderness. At first glance, this seems like a win-lose situation, with Sarah securing a future for her son Isaac, while Hagar and Ishmael perish. It is so human of us, isn\u2019t it, to assume that God\u2019s promises and God\u2019s grace are limited to our either\/or thinking?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This story shows that God\u2019s grace is bigger than we can imagine. God\u2019s faithfulness is worked out in ways we can\u2019t anticipate, and over the lifelong process of becoming a disciple, we learn to trust God. Like the disciples, we are sometimes sent out on risky missions, warned and equipped to face the danger. Other times, like Hagar and Ishmael, we are cast out into the wilderness without any choice. But even there, we discover God\u2019s grace goes before us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We learn to respond to division, harassment, even estrangement with greater patience and confidence, trusting that in the long game, in the End Time \u2013 and often before \u2013 God\u2019s mission of reconciliation of the Old Self and the New Self, of Sarah and Hagar, of Isaac and Ishmael, and of families divided by politics or money or jealousy or addiction, will be accomplished. Amen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>This sermon was written by <strong>the Rev. Joslyn Ogden Schaefer<\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-file\"><a href=\"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Sermon-English-Proper-7A-2020.docx\"><strong>Sermon-English-Proper-7A-2020<\/strong><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Sermon-English-Proper-7A-2020.docx\" class=\"wp-block-file__button wp-element-button\" download>Download<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-file\"><a href=\"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Sermon-English-Proper-7A-2020.pdf\"><strong>Sermon-English-Proper-7A-2020<\/strong><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Sermon-English-Proper-7A-2020.pdf\" class=\"wp-block-file__button wp-element-button\" download>Download<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[RCL]: Genesis 21:8-21; Psalm 86:1-10, 16-17; Romans 6:1b-11; Matthew 10:24-39 In today\u2019s Gospel, the tail-end of a commencement speech of sorts, Jesus prepares his twelve closest followers for their first mission apart from him. They are to demonstrate what God\u2019s Kingdom looks like, interrupting life-as-they-knew-it with new possibilities for healing, wholeness, truth-telling, and repaired relationships&#8230;.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":201212,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_tec_requires_first_save":true,"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_tribe_blocks_recurrence_rules":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_description":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_exclusions":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[43,52,33,3],"tags":[91],"class_list":["post-539594","sermon","type-sermon","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sermons","category-sermons-that-work","category-the-season-after-pentecost","category-worship-and-prayer-menu","tag-proper-7a"],"acf":[],"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":43,"label":"Sermons"},{"value":52,"label":"Sermons That Work"},{"value":33,"label":"The Season After Pentecost"},{"value":3,"label":"worship_and_prayer_menu"}],"post_tag":[{"value":91,"label":"Proper 7A"}]},"featured_image_src_large":false,"author_info":[],"comment_info":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sermon\/539594","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sermon"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/sermon"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sermon\/539594\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3477510,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sermon\/539594\/revisions\/3477510"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=539594"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=539594"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.episcopalchurch.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=539594"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}