Shout It from the Rooftops!

In Nomine Iesu
St. Matthew 10:21-33
June 22, 2008
Pentecost 6A-Proper 7

[Jesus said,] “What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops.”

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus~

When was the last time you were up on your rooftop? Hanging out on the rooftop isn’t something that most of us do very often. In fact, if you’re on your rooftop, it often means that something bad has happened: the roof is leaking, shingles have blown away, or the chimney is in danger of collapse. As for me, I’ve never once been on the parsonage roof. About as close as I get to the rooftop is the four or five times a year when I have to clean out the gutters because the Maple tree has decided to drop yet another round of seeds or leaves. And when I’m up there near the rooftop scooping muck out of the gutters, the only words I’m proclaiming are probably not all that suitable for others to hear.


We generally understand Jesus’ words about “proclaiming . . . from the rooftops” to be just a figure of speech, perhaps a bit of hyperbole—exaggerating to make a point. (Jesus doesn’t really want us shouting things from our rooftops!) But two thousand years ago, when Jesus first spoke these words, He was being quite literal. You see, in Jesus’ day, in Israel, people proclaimed things from the rooftops all the time—every day. First of all, you need to know that most of the rooftops were flat, which is still common today in the arid places of the world. Hence, rooftops weren’t nearly as dangerous. Second, at a time before there was air conditioning, the rooftop was a great place to hang out to catch a cool evening breeze when the house itself was uncomfortably warm. In this way, rooftops actually became a place of socialization where neighbors would converse and kibitz and pass along the latest news. Rooftops in Jesus’ day served a purpose much like the front porches of small town America back in the last century.

In Matthew chapter 10 it’s the Twelve Apostles that Jesus is directing up to the rooftops. He was sending out the Twelve on their first missionary journey. They were being sent only to the lost sheep of Israel—only to fellow Jews. (Gentiles would be targeted later.) Jesus sent them up to the rooftops so as to give maximum publicity to His teachings. What Jesus had taught them in private was now to be proclaimed and preached in public. They were to seek out those rooftops and venues which would afford the maximum exposure—much like our congregation is attempting to do by marching in the Whitefish Bay Fourth of July Parade. Our goal there is to be seen by as many as possible; the goal of the Apostles was to be heard by as many as possible.

But here’s the rub: What about when the message we’re given to shout from the rooftops is unpopular? What about when the message we shout means that we will be mocked or rejected or persecuted or worse? What about when the message we shout seems to drive away more people than it attracts?

These aren’t hypothetical questions. This is the exact thing Jesus warns the apostles about before sending them out. This is also the exact situation faced by the prophet Jeremiah in today’s OT reading. Jeremiah was called by God to preach an unpopular message of death and destruction, and doom and gloom, for God’s people in the land of Judah. Jeremiah had to preach a message of judgment and law. Meanwhile, there was a multitude of false prophets who were busy proclaiming that peace and prosperity were right around the corner—that God would never allow His chosen people to be chewed up and spit out by gentile armies. You won’t be surprised to know that the pews in Jeremiah’s church were empty most of the time.

What do you do? What do you do when God gives you an unpopular message to shout from the rooftops? Again, this isn’t hypothetical. In just this past week you may have seen or heard about the same-sex marriages being performed in California. It’s easy to say and do nothing. It’s easy to just go with the flow. It’s far more difficult to proclaim from the rooftops that the wages of sin is death—that same sex marriage is not marriage at all, but a sinful rejection of God’s gift of marriage. Or what about that heterosexual couple you know that’s living together, but doing so without the benefits and blessings of marriage? Or what about God’s gift of human life so constantly threatened by abortion? You will not win applause and standing ovations no matter how lovingly you speak the truth in these kinds of situations.

What do you personally do when God gives you a difficult message to speak—when as part of your vocation you are called to confront sin—to call someone to correction—to say the unpopular thing? By nature we have no desire to proclaim God’s Word from the rooftops—or anywhere else for that matter. Rather than heading up for the rooftops, we usually make a beeline for the basement—down to where it’s easy to stay silent, to be safe, to keep comfortable, to make no waves, to do what’s convenient and easy.

But even if you do decide to head up to the rooftop, Jesus doesn’t promise that it will be easy; nor does He promise that the words you speak will always achieve their intended purpose. But for those who dare to dash to the rooftop—to faithfully give witness to the teachings of Jesus—Jesus does say this: “Do not be afraid.” In fact, three times He says it: “Have no fear. Do not fear. Fear not.” The fear that controls us and keeps us quiet—Jesus says, “Leave it behind. Trust me. Follow me. What is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the rooftops.” Come hell or high water, your body and soul are in His holy care. The One who knows when a sparrow falls to the ground—the One who knows the number of hairs on your head—He knows just the help you need.

The wages of sin is death. It’s true. But the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. He was killed on Good Friday. But by that death He destroyed death and brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel. He descended into hell, and on the third day He rose again from the dead. And what is true for the Master is also true for you, His servants. Imperfect though we are, sometimes hated and rejected—yet in Jesus we too will rise and live for all eternity. The forgiveness of sins and the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting—that’s God’s free gift for you and for all people. But some people may only come to know and receive that gift because you cared enough to leave the basement behind and head up to rooftop and tell the truth in love. Christ Jesus died to save sinners, of whom we are the worst. We are not perfect, but we are forgiven in Jesus, and that makes all the difference. That’s the good news we are privileged to proclaim from the rooftops—to neighbors, to family, to co-workers and friends. God has reconciled the world to Himself in Jesus.

That’s what we call the gospel. God Himself has proclaimed it from the top of Mt. Calvary. God Himself has proclaimed it from the empty tomb of the resurrected Jesus. God Himself proclaims it still today from this pulpit, from that font and from this altar. His loving care for you reaches into eternity, for that’s what He Himself is proclaiming today, loud and clear, for all to hear. Amen.