In last Sunday’s Gospel reading, Jesus instructed his disciples, “Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give.” (Mt 10:8)  This instruction was included in the Gospel to provide Matthew’s church community with a way to judge between false prophets and true prophets.   

Prophets, in the early decades of Christianity, were preachers; some were itinerants and others resided with a Christian community.  Apparently, not all could be trusted.  A faithful preacher, according to Jesus’ teaching, is one who does not charge for the content of his preaching.  This instruction is no longer directly applicable to the Church community, although it does cast doubt on the trustworthiness of the televangelists who collect money for a second or third private jet. 

This Sunday’s Gospel contains a similarly outmoded instruction.  Jesus told his disciples, “What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light; what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops.” (Mt 10:27)  This was Jesus’ response to a strongly held cultural value of the time. 

Jesus lived in a culture that made today’s paparazzi, tabloid newspapers, and social media trolls look like amateurs.  In Jesus’ culture, neighbors spied on one another, friends lied to one another, and everyone was on their guard all the time.  In that very enmeshed, adversarial culture, people made great efforts to keep their personal affairs secret.   

For example, those who belonged to religious reform groups (like Jesus’ group) never professed their beliefs publicly out of fear of persecution.  The leaders of religious reform groups never publicized their teachings; rather, their teachings were restricted to insiders, that is, to trusted members of the group. 

As their first inclination would have been to keep the content of Jesus’ preaching secret, the disciples probably found it surprising, even disturbing, to be told to proclaim his teachings publicly.  Jesus wanted everyone to hear his message of reconciliation, and he was not bothered by the possibility that some might reject his message.   

Today, this instruction by Jesus no longer serves its original purpose; for example, those interested in a second or third private jet seem not to be bothered by publicizing their luxury transportation costs.  There remains, however, something valuable for us in this admonition from Jesus. 

Much of Jesus’ teaching was as counter-cultural as his instructions to discern the character of preachers and to proclaim his message publicly.  Although our culture is very different from Jesus’ culture, his willingness to defy cultural norms deserves our attention.  Jesus did not intend to be disruptive of society; rather, he wanted to inspire all people to build a more stable and just society.  His challenging remarks were aimed only at calling people to repentance and reform and, thereby, away from conflict and dishonesty.  His discerning attitude toward cultural norms is still authoritative for his disciples today.   

Your family probably has family traditions associated with the Fourth of July; even if those traditions are no more elaborate than a barbecue, those traditions serve to maintain a stable family identity and stable relationships within the family.  Culture is one of the ways a society maintains stability, and social stability is to be promoted, but not at the expense of faithfulness to God and neighbor. 

Culture, whether it is a family’s or a society’s, is the product of human activity.  Culture is neither divine nor divinely inspired, and it can make no claim to be irreformable.  Moreover, Jesus’ message of repentance and reform intends to dismantle the societal status quo of dishonesty, conflict, and injustice.  Jesus intended to upset the established order by calling people to change their thinking and their behavior.  He did not intend to be disruptive, but he did intend to transform his society into the likeness of God’s reign. 

This part of his message remains applicable today; his disciples are sent into the world to continue his work of personifying repentance and inspiring people to reform their lives. 

It is worse than insufficient to be merely disruptive; it is of unsurpassed value, however, to be a source of inspiration that leads others to be more responsible, more honest, more generous, and more merciful.  In every age, Jesus’ message deserves to be spoken in the light and proclaimed from housetops; everyone who acknowledges him by acting justly and rightly will be acknowledged by God. (Mt 10:32)