If you have been watching advertisements on TV, or listening to the radio advertisements, you will notice, that everything positive is mentioned.
For example, if you have seen the advertisement for Allegra, a medicine for allergy, you see a person radiant with joy and relief, dancing or playing with others out-of-doors.
What if they would show a person running to the bathroom holding his stomach, or sleeping in the middle of an important meeting, or yawning while the teacher is giving a lecture? And then you can hear the voice saying, “This product may cause nausea, drowsiness, headache, incontinence, irritability, or other side effects too numerous to mention.” Most likely, nobody would buy their medicine.
The first and most important rule of advertisement is to ignore or at least sugar-coat the negative by stressing the positive; emphasize the benefits the product will bring. Put the negative things in fine print that no one can read unless one uses a magnifying glass.
Jesus, as recorded by Matthew, sent his disciples on their mission. He did not sugarcoat anything. He told them up front the difficulties they would face if they chose to stick with him.
In our own standards today, Jesus would be the last person you would want responsible for your organization’s publicity and advertising.
Listen to what Jesus said to his disciples: take no provisions for yourself, no food, water, money, or extra clothes; you are to rely on the hospitality of strangers, who just may not help you. You will be hated; even your own family members will turn you in to the authorities. You must love Jesus more than your family. You must take up your cross, living and dying for others. If you want to have life, you will have to lose your life to Jesus.
Oh, there’s something in there, too, about not being afraid, because God will take care of you. But it is buried in the midst of, and swallowed up by all that other stuff.
If we listen to what Jesus said, who of us in our right mind would be motivated to follow him? Probably a few.
And by the way, what Jesus said really happened during the first two centuries after Jesus’ death and resurrection. Christians were imprisoned and executed. Family members indeed turned each other in to the authorities.
Today, most of us do not experience this kind of persecution. But if we truly follow Jesus, we have our own difficulties and obstacles as we seek to live out our faith.
Anyone who is serious about the Christians’ journey–about walking with Christ and fulfilling his intentions–knows that it is far from easy. Do we really forget about ourselves and think only of others and of Christ? Maybe sometimes. That’s hard to do, and a lot of times, I’m not very good at it.
I thank those persons who consented to be nominated to be officers of Silliman Church. As I talked with some of them, I told them that sometimes, you are asked to make a sacrifice. You are asked to give up some of your free time, and attend meetings, and sometimes, there are special assignments given for you to do. You may have to give up some of the things that you used to do and enjoy. But if you truly believe that this is what Christ is calling you to do, I hope there is no hesitation on your part to respond to this call. That is what “following Christ” means.
And Jesus tells his disciples, if you stick with me, you will get the blessing that comes from me. “Whoever welcomes you, welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me, welcomes the one who sent me.” Jesus then goes on to say that whoever welcomes a prophet, righteous person, and a “little one” will “receive the reward” (That is the presence of God.)
Most of us know a certain person, or a few persons whose lives are particularly transparent to God, who clearly manifest God in their manner, attitudes, and behavior. They seem to live out their faith so much better and easier than the rest of us. And we praise and thank God for them. Unfortunately, there are only a few of them.
And most of the time, we see the “little ones.” Jesus is not talking about children, but he was talking about ordinary, unspectacular Christians. They are you and me–ordinary Christians who daily strive to be witnesses of God’s presence in this world.
We stumble through our faith journey, relying on God’s grace and doing what little we can to help the church fulfill its mission. Nevertheless, we thank God for you and me.
Take a moment now and have a good, long look at the people around you. Remember those faces. Let them be etched in your minds for you have just glimpsed into the face of God. They are the ones who will help you when you have difficulties in your study. They will be there when you need someone to listen. They will be there when you feel down and you need a boost.
This is who we are–the Church of Jesus Christ. And I hope we in Silliman Church–yo and me–can be there for each other when someone needs help in one’s spiritual journey. May this realization strengthen you for your difficult journey in Christ.
There is this legend about the famous monastery which had fallen on very hard times. Its many buildings were once filled with young monks, and the chapel resounded with the singing of the choir. But now it was deserted. Only a handful of monks remained.
On the edge of the monastery woods, an old rabbi came there from time to time to fast and pray.
One day, the abbot decided to visit the rabbi. As he entered the hut, he saw in the middle of the room a wooden table with the Scriptures open. They sat there for a moment in the presence of the Book. After a while, the rabbi lifted his head. “You and your brothers are serving God with heavy hearts,” he said. “You have come to ask a teaching of me. I will give you a teaching, but you can only repeat it once. After that, no one must ever say it aloud again.”
The rabbi looked straight at the abbot and said, “The Messiah is among you.” The Abbot stood in stunned silence. Then the rabbi said, “Now you must go.” The abbot left without ever looking back.
The next morning, the abbot called his monks together. He told them that he had received a teaching from the rabbi who walks in the woods, and that this teaching was never again to be spoken aloud. Then he looked at each of his brothers and said, “The rabbi said that one of us is the Messiah.”
The monks were startled and thought to themselves: “What could it mean? Is Brother John the Messiah? No, he’s too old. Is it Brother Thomas? No, he’s too stubborn and set in his ways. Am I the Messiah? What could this possibly mean?” They were all deeply puzzled by the rabbi’s teaching. But no one ever mentioned it again.
As time went by, though, something began to happen at the monastery. The monks began to treat one another with a reverence. They were gentle with one another. They lived with one another as brothers once again. Visitors found themselves deeply moved by the genuine caring and sharing that went on among them. Before long, people were again coming from great distances to be nourished by the prayer life of these monks. And young men were asking, once again, to become part of the community.
Jesus said, “He who receives you receives me.” In one another, we see the face of Christ. Look around. The Messiah is in the faces of each of those around you.
