Whistling in the Dark

Dad served a church in Logansport called Wheatland Avenue United Methodist Church. As an aside I always wonder about the choice to name a church after a place rather than a statement of faith or history. I noticed in Anderson that the Church of God always names their churches after a place, you will never see Faith Church of God, or Trinity Church of God. It is always a place. Here we are! This is us. We are located here.
Well, Wheatland Avenue UMC was on Wheatland Avenue, duh. But I remember that church more for the trauma it induced in me than almost anything else. Every now and then, dad would send me to the church for something, late at night, in the dark. Creepy dark. Old churches are spooky places in the dark, did you ever notice that? There are all sorts of creaky sounds, that might be someone sneaking up behind you. All sorts of the wheezy sounds that might be the hot breath of some creature looking for a meal. All sorts of shadows, no matter how many lights you turn on, that might be demonic presences or rats scurrying out of the glare into the darkness. It was a troubling place for someone with an overactive imagination, like me.
So, I did what any self-respecting Christian boy would do in that situation. I came into the church singing hymns at the top of my lungs and didn’t stop until I was back outside again. "Amazing Grace" has a power that the creatures of the night can’t defeat! I know this. "What a Friend We Have in Jesus" is just the antidote to feeling alone and vulnerable. "Up From the Grave He Arose" strikes fear in the legions of undead looking for throats to bite. So, I knew I was safe as long as I could sing the hymns of faith. And upon the completion of my mission, I would pause before entering the house to catch my breath and make sure no one knew either of my fear or my singing!
We call it whistling in the dark. It is that activity that keeps the fears from overwhelming you and enables you to continue to function, to complete the mission at hand. Some complain that it is a process whereby we ignore just how serious the problems really are – "you’re just whistling in the dark!" But I would like to submit that it is something more than that. It is calling on a power that helps you face those fears. It is acknowledging the severity of the problems, but choosing to live in hope anyway.
At least I think that is what Jesus is trying to help us do in our Gospel passage for this week. Jesus is never one to say "Oh, this will be easy! Don’t worry." He is almost frighteningly honest about the kind of opposition we might be facing. But he gives us our mission anyway. And a simple mission it is - be like Him.
Matthew 10:24-38 "A disciple is not above the teacher, nor a slave above the master; 25 it is enough for the disciple to be like the teacher, and the slave like the master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household! 26 "So have no fear of them; for nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known. 27 What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops. 28 Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30 And even the hairs of your head are all counted. 31 So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows. 32 "Everyone therefore who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven; 33 but whoever denies me before others, I also will deny before my Father in heaven. 34 "Do not think that I have come to bring peace to
linethe earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 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; 36 and one's foes will be members of one's own household. 37 Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; 38 and whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me.
This passage begins and ends with that missional call to be Christ in the world. "It is enough for the disciple to be like the teacher," he tells us, and "whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me." Like he did. Be like me, he says. And then proceeds to tell us how difficult it is. "They’ll call you names," he says. This refers back and forward to an encounter with the religious establishment who tried to claim that he had power over demons because he was one himself! Even when you are doing good, you get attacked! Thanks for that, Jesus. And the other end of the conversation here is even more serious. Not just name calling, but a willingness to give our whole lives away – just like Him.
And then, to compound the call, he tells us that even those closest to us are likely to think we’ve gone crazy. Just like Him. Remember when his family showed up to take him away because they thought he was nuts? Well, it might happen to us too. There is no guarantee that when you decide to live your life for Christ that everyone around you is going to cheer you on. He’s asking us to choose sides, even if it means choosing against parents or children. Wow, tough stuff.
Throw us a bone here, Jesus. It can’t all be loneliness and fear. It can’t be us against the world, we aren’t strong enough. Are you ready? Here is the word of comfort: Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. 10:28 Um, OK, thanks Jesus. But wait, keep listening. He tells us that this power, this ultimate power beyond the universe is leaning in our direction. "You are of more value than many sparrows!" What a blessing! Seriously. If God, this God who has power of life and death and eternity cares about sparrows, for heaven’s sake, then we truly have nothing to fear.
This is the point that Jesus wants us to hear. It is not about the shadows that make us jump, it is about the light that brings us comfort. It is not about the enemies that lurk, it is about the Friend that stands with us. It is not about the unknown that causes our knees to tremble, it is about the faith in the One who shores us up. God is on our side - not in a I’m right and you are wrong kind of way. God is on our side in a there is nothing we cannot do for the Kingdom if we try kind of way. God is on our side in a life is deeper and richer and more satisfying despite the risks kind of way. God is on our side in a whistling in the dark, shouting from the rooftops kind of way.
So, start shouting. "What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops." 10:27 Jesus tell us that even though we feel like we don’t have all the answers, we can go on as though we do. Because we know where the answers are. Even though we don’t know how it will all work out, we know it will work out in God’s time. Even though we only have glimpses of truth, we can proclaim what we have heard with confidence. We live in the dark but we proclaim the light. We only hear whispers, but we shout with our whole lives our faith in the one who loves us with a love beyond description.
Those old hymns do have power, it is the power to remind us of our faith in God through Jesus the Christ. Keep singing.
Shalom,
Derek C. Weber