Sunday's Message - Good News, Bad News

Here's the message I offered during the celebration service in the First Presbyterian Church of Mingo Junction, Ohio on Sunday, June 21.

Since it’s Father’s Day, I started the service with a Dad joke. Now just in case you don’t know what that is, let me tell you. It’s a sophisticated, insightful, extremely funny observation that’s loved and appreciated by everyone, except for one small group: those who aren’t fathers. In a nutshell, that’s a Dad Joke, and I’ve got to tell you, I love them. In fact, every morning, at around 6:00, as I’m walking our little dog, I leave A Joke from Dad on Instagram.

And you know, as I’ve explored the genera, I’ve found that some of the best ones focus on a person giving some good news and some bad news. For example, a doctor says to his patient, “I’ve got good news and bad news.” The patient says, “What’s the bad news?” The doctor says, “Because of your condition you’ll have to live on a very strict diet. No chocolate or sweets, no fried stuff, no coffee, no meat, no bread, no fruits, no vegetables, no salt, no spices, no milk and no milk products. In fact, you can eat only unflavored rice cakes. And you’ll have to keep this diet for the rest of your life.” After hearing this, the patient says, “That’s awful! What’s the good news?” And the doctor says, “Because of your condition, you’ll only need to do it for about a month.” Pretty good, right? And how about this, a dad comes up to his son and says, “Son, I’ve got good news and bad news. The good news is that I just found a present I forgot to give you last Christmas. The bad is that it was a puppy.” Now that’s the kind of joke I’m talking about, and I’ll tell you, what makes them funny is that you have news that’s both good and bad. The two kind of go together.

But you know, I think this good and bad going together is something a lot of folks sort of miss when they think about the Christian life and specifically being a disciple. You see, it seems to me that a whole bunch of believers fall into two groups. They either focus on stuff that’s almost all good, or they dwell on stuff that’s almost all bad. Let me explain.

For example, I think you could call a lot of Christians super optimistic about following Jesus. In other words, they seem to assume that once you believe in Christ, your life right now immediately becomes great. Now I think we see this perspective in a lot of Christian-themed movies and hear it in virtually every testimony. See if this rings any bells. A guy says, “Before I became a Christian my life was horrible. I was stuck in a dead-end job. My marriage was on the rocks. And my kids were running amuck. But since I accepted Jesus, I got a promotion, my marriage is great and my kids appreciate all my Dad Jokes.” Do you see what I mean? After coming to Christ, life is all good, right? That is, until all of a sudden it’s not, because as we’ve all learned from COVID-19, the coronavirus doesn’t care if you’re a Christian or not, and let’s get real, neither do disasters and depression and death. As they say, into every life a little rain must fall. And because of that, the reality of living can really blind-side you, if all you expect are rainbows and flowers. You see, life in the world we’ve got and not the world we want can offer a pretty rude awakening for those super optimistic believers. Now that’s one group.

But I’ll tell you, I think there are just as many, if not more Christians on the other end of the spectrum, you know what I mean, folks who seem hyper-pessimistic. For example, they’re the ones who’ll tell you in a heart beat how bad the world is right now and how worse it’s getting each and every day. In fact, it’s gotten so bad, that any day now, Jesus is going to return and God’s going to tear the whole mess down. You see, for them, we are now in the last days. And while we wait for the end, maybe the best thing we can do is sort of hunker down and read the signs and leave our bunkers only to point out another reason why our world is going to Hell in a handbasket. Now that’s what they expect and so that’s what they look for. And as a guy told me years ago, a pessimist is never disappointed. And neither are they. And so there you have it, some disciples of Jesus Christ who expect only the good while others who expect only the bad.

But you know, I don’t think that’s how Jesus saw it at all. As a matter of fact, in the passage we’re going to talk about this morning, I believe he’s very realist about what his followers should expect out there in the world. In fact, in what he said, there was a remarkable balance of the good and the bad. And I’ll tell you, I think this is something we need to remember, as we go about living our lives. And like I said, it’s something we can find right here in the tenth chapter of Matthew.

But before we look at what he actually said, I believe it’s important to understand that, in this part of the gospel, Jesus was talking to the Twelve Apostles right before he sent them out to “...announce that the kingdom of heaven will soon be here” and to “heal the sick, raise the dead to life, heal people who have leprosy, and force out demons.” [Matthew 10:7b-8a, CEV] Now that was going to be their job. And to prepare them for doing it, Jesus was extremely honest and open about what they  should expect, both the bad and the good. And you know, when we listen and accept that this applies to us too, I think it can shape both the assumptions that we carry and the work that we do. Let me show you what I’m talking about.

For example, when he told his disciples what they should expect as they were doing their job, man, Jesus described a pretty harsh world. Just listen to what Jesus said: “I am sending you like lambs into a pack of wolves. So be as wise as snakes and as innocent as doves. Watch out for people who will take you to court and have you beaten in their meeting places. Because of me, you will be dragged before rulers and kings to tell them and the Gentiles about your faith. But when someone arrests you, don’t worry about what you will say or how you will say it. At that time you will be given the words to say. But you will not really be the one speaking. The Spirit from your Father will tell you what to say. Brothers and sisters will betray one another and have each other put to death. Parents will betray their own children, and children will turn against their parents and have them killed. Everyone will hate you because of me. But if you remain faithful until the end, you will be saved. When people mistreat you in one town, hurry to another one. I promise you that before you have gone to all the towns of Israel, the Son of Man will come. Disciples are not better than their teacher, and slaves are not better than their master. It is enough for disciples to be like their teacher and for slaves to be like their master. If people call the head of the family Satan, what will they say about the rest of the family?” [Matthew 10:16-25, CEV] Now that’s what he said.

And given this, I think you’d have to delusional to assume that, as the camp song says, a disciple can expect to be “inright, outright, upright, downright, happy all the time.” No, sir, Jesus knew that wasn’t going to happen, not in the world 2,000 years ago, and trust me, it’s not going to happen today either. Some things just don’t change. And so, if we want do the work we’ve been called to do, and I’m talking about announcing through the words we say but more importantly, through the lives we live in this real world, we really need to be realistic about what we face. In other words, we may need to take off the rose colored glasses and recognize that it’s no longer valid to take a “Field of Dreams” kind of approach to doing ministry, “if we build it, they will come.” Instead, we may need to toughen ourselves up, something I think the Apostle Paul was talking about when he wrote this to the Ephesians: “Be ready! Let the truth be like a belt around your waist, and let God’s justice protect you like armor. Your desire to tell the good news about peace should be like shoes on your feet. Let your faith be like a shield, and you will be able to stop all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Let God’s saving power be like a helmet, and for a sword use God’s message that comes from the Spirit.” [Ephesians 6:14-17, CEV] You see, since the world on the other side of the stained glass is a challenging, maybe even a hostile place, we need to be tough. We also need to be clear and intentional about the message we’re sharing, even if that means learning a language which the folks out there can understand and speaking to issues with which they can identify. Man, we can’t assume they’re going to come to us; we need to go to them. And when we do, not everybody is going to accept us or our message. In other words, we’re going to need a thick skin. As Jesus said a little bit later in chapter ten, “Don’t think that I came to bring peace to the earth! I came to bring trouble, not peace. I came to turn sons against their fathers, daughters against their mothers, and daughters-in-law against their mothers-in-law. Your worst enemies will be in your own family. If you love your father or mother or even your sons and daughters more than me, you are not fit to be my disciples. And unless you are willing to take up your cross and come with me, you are not fit to be my disciples. If you try to save your life, you will lose it. But if you give it up for me, you will surely find it.” [Matthew 10:34-39, CEV] I’m telling you, Jesus didn’t hold any punches in describing the harsh reality of our world. And since that’s the only world we’ve got, that’s bad news for anybody expecting painless discipleship. And you know, if that was it, I mean, if that was all Jesus said, I believe we’ve got every reason to become card-carrying pessimists.

But of course, that’s not all there is, not in what Jesus said to his disciples and not in what he promises to us. I mean, right after telling them to be “wise as snakes and as innocent as doves” and right before saying that he “came to bring trouble, not peace,” this was what Jesus said: “Don’t be afraid of anyone! Everything that is hidden will be found out, and every secret will be known. Whatever I say to you in the dark, you must tell in the light. And you must announce from the housetops whatever I have whispered to you. Don’t be afraid of people. They can kill you, but they cannot harm your soul. Instead, you should fear God who can destroy both your body and your soul in hell. Aren’t two sparrows sold for only a penny? But your Father knows when any one of them falls to the ground. Even the hairs on your head are counted. So don’t be afraid! You are worth much more than many sparrows. If you tell others that you belong to me, I will tell my Father in heaven that you are my followers. But if you reject me, I will tell my Father in heaven that you don’t belong to me.” [Matthew 10:26-33, CEV] Now that’s something else he said.

And I’ll tell you why that’s important, at least to me. Just like we need to be realistic about the world we have, we also need to be clear about the nature of the God we serve. You see, regardless of how bad things appear to be, we never need to worry. Why? Because God is always with us and he’s going to empower us to do the work we’ve been called to do. You know, it’s just like Jesus said in his very last words he said to the disciples: “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth! Go to the people of all nations and make them my disciples. Baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teach them to do everything I have told you. I will be with you always, even until the end of the world.” [Matthew 28:18b-20, CEV] I’m telling you, he came to be Emmanuel, God with us, and that’s exactly who he was and who he is right now. And for that reason, we can step forward with confidence but not because it’s going to be easy, rather because we’re not doing it alone. In fact, it’s like Paul wrote to the Romans, “What can we say about all this? If God is on our side, can anyone be against us? God did not keep back his own Son, but he gave him for us. If God did this, won’t he freely give us everything else? ...In everything we have won more than a victory because of Christ who loves us. I am sure that nothing can separate us from God’s love—not life or death, not angels or spirits, not the present or the future, and not powers above or powers below. Nothing in all creation can separate us from God’s love for us in Christ Jesus our Lord!” [Romans 8:31-32, 37-39, CEV] I’ll tell you, this is the one we follow. And because of that, this isn’t just good news; it’s the Good News.

A little while ago, I started this message with a “good news, bad news” Dad Joke. And remember, we said that one of reasons these jokes are funny is that both the good and the bad are mentioned. And I’ll tell you, I think the same is true of our lives as Christian disciples. You see, even though a lot of believers tend to be either super-optimistic or hyper-pessimistic, neither reflects what Jesus taught his apostles right before he sent them out. And brothers and sisters, it’s not what he says to us either. You see, he warns us about the harsh reality of the only world that we’ve got but he also tells us about the loving nature of the God whom we serve. In other words, in presenting what we can expect as disciples of Christ, Jesus was honest about both the good news and the bad news. And as we go about sharing and living the gospel, that my friends is no joke.