God Favors Those Who Listen

𝐉𝐔𝐋𝐘 𝟏𝟐, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓: 𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐇 𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐊 𝐈𝐍 𝐎𝐑𝐃𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐑𝐘 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄

𝟏𝐬𝐭 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠: 𝐆𝐞𝐧 𝟒𝟗:𝟐𝟗-𝟑𝟎; 𝟓𝟎:𝟏𝟓-𝟐𝟔

𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐦: 𝐏𝐒𝐀 𝟏𝟎𝟓:𝟏-𝟒, 𝟔-𝟕 “𝐁𝐞 𝐠𝐥𝐚𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐲 𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬, 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐛𝐞 𝐠𝐥𝐚𝐝.”

𝐆𝐎𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐋: 𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐓 𝟏𝟎:𝟐𝟒-𝟑𝟑

𝑲𝒆𝒚 𝑽𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒆: "𝑨 𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒓." (𝒗.24) 

          A disciple is first and foremost a learner. He is one who listens and follows the teacher until such a time that he acquires the same qualities and character of the teacher. As Christian believers, we take pride in identifying ourselves as disciples of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

        And to be a disciple of Christ we are to share also in His suffering and there are two things that Jesus wants us to keep in mind in this Gospel reading in 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭 𝟏𝟎:𝟐𝟒-𝟑𝟑. One is that this is a warning that we as Christians must also carry a cross. What He is telling us is that if we want to identify ourselves with Him as a Christian and share His glory, we must be able to also share in his agony.

         The other is identifying ourselves with Christ is a privilege because it is only when we share in His suffering can we also share in His glory. And Jesus tells those who serve Him to expect these two things. What happened to Him will also happen to us as we bring the Gospel to others.

         This is to be expected because Jesus who is the perfect being was rejected and at times was branded as evil. What more with us who are imperfect but those of us who will endure are assured of eternal salvation (𝐯.𝟐𝟐). To share His suffering is to put Christ first in our lives.

         We whom He has called out from our comfort zones into a life of discipleship must bear in mind that as representatives of Christ we need to put Him first and those who will respond positively to His invitation of a life of obedience to His Will should never fear any threats or difficult trials because God has put so much value in us that He sent his only Son to die for us.

        Take note that Jesus always reverts to the word disciple and He does not limit it to the Jews only. This gospel passage today contains encouragement and instruction for His followers in today’s world. We are learners (disciples) and laborers (servants). He warns us against the fear of man (𝐯𝐯.𝟐𝟓-𝟑𝟏), as He also assures us that men treated Him the same way and that it is a privilege for us to suffer for His sake (𝐏𝐡𝐢𝐥 𝟏:𝟐𝟗; 𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝟓:𝟒𝟏).

        Let me also make it clear that Jesus isn’t talking about Satan in 𝐯.𝟐𝟖 since the adversary doesn’t have the power to destroy body and soul in hell. But God does and Jesus is telling us to fear Him and Him alone and no one else. When you fear God, you need not fear anyone or anything else.

         Jesus assures us of the Father’s love and care. Remember the words of Jesus when He said that God cares even for the hungry sparrows. And in 𝐯𝐯.𝟑𝟏-𝟑𝟑 He states the importance of an open confession of Jesus Christ and this would apply to us as servants and to others whom He has called to conversion (𝐑𝐨𝐦 𝟏𝟎:𝟗-𝟏𝟎; 𝟐 𝐓𝐢𝐦 𝟐:𝟏𝟐). While confession alone may not suffice to save us, it is the act of confession that brings us to its natural end-result which is reconciliation with God that will save us. 

         We must also remember that being a disciples of Jesus Christ will not take away all our troubles, the real test of our being of value to God is how well we go through the stress of daily living and proclaiming His Kingdom to the world around us.

        There are, however, a set of principles involved when we proclaim the Kingdom of God on earth. Those who bring the Good News to others must first listen. We must all have the discipline to have a moment of silence so that Christ can speak to us in the stillness of our hearts.

         We need to listen to Him who is the repository of all truth because we cannot proclaim that which we do not know. While it is true that we who have received the gift without cost also have to give without cost, it is imperative that we know the truth that we are to proclaim.

         Those in the renewal community who are tasked with proclaiming the Kingdom of God especially the Shepherds, those serving in Mission, the Witnesses, those who Teach and most especially those holding on to responsible positions of leadership – the Servant Leaders, Stewards, Ministry Coordinators and even the Class Shepherds – must be in a secret place with Christ to listen to the truth and learn from it.

         What we say is what we hear from Him who sent us and we must proclaim the underlying truth of the Good News even at the expense of being hated by the world to the extent of dying for what the truth represents because the Christian witness is a man who serves God without counting the cost because he knows that he is doing so in the presence of God.

         But as disciples in a life-long quest for holiness, we must be aware of how to go through our lives for there are times when our difficulties and struggles that we face may lead us to deny Him and there are many ways by which we unknowingly are denying Him. We deny Him with the kind of words that we speak that offend others.

         We can also deny Him by our silence or when we let opportunities go by without proclaiming the Kingdom of God. And we can also deny Him by our actions when we refuse to serve in places and or ways that do not conform to our set of preferences.

         We deny Him when we choose when and where to serve, when we choose the ministry where we want to belong, when we don’t recognize or respect those who exercise pastoral authority over us, when we let the stain of unforgiveness reign in our hearts, when we turn our backs to His call for us to testify to His transforming love in our lives.

         But Christ also assures us that those who will endure and persevere as we set forth to proclaim the Good News will receive great rewards as He promised in 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭 𝟓:𝟏𝟏-𝟏𝟐. To remain in Christ is one of the many ways by which we can become a Community of Disciples who are inspired by the Holy Spirit to be living witnesses for transformation in Christ to bring about a world of justice, human development and true peace. (𝘌𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘺 – 𝘑𝘶𝘭𝘺 12, 2025)