Sermon – June 21st, 2026
Hope Lutheran Church, Port Coquitlam BC
Text: Matthew 10:5; 21-33
Theme: “Hated and loved by His Name”
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Intr – Here’s a new word for you in case you haven’t come across with it yet: contronym. The definition of contronym is: “a word that is its own antonym.”[1] That is, depending on the usage it means both one thing and its exact antonym. Some examples:
_“Because of the agency’s oversight, the corporation’s behavior was sanctioned.” What does “sanction” mean here, a penalty for a transgression, or an approval by default?
Left – This word can mean either remaining or departing. If I withdraw from the Church after a regular Service, and the members remain here, I have left the room but many members are left here.
Fast – It can be moving fast, or unmoving. “I run fast to the room where the boy was holding fast to his toys”
Off – means “deactivated,” as in to turn off, but also “activated,” as in the alarm went off.
Many other examples could be tossed out here… oops, what does toss out mean in this context? Anyways, contronyms express what you want to say but also it could be used as its exact opposite.
What does that have to do with our Gospel for today? Let me put it out to you. (Well, here it means “making it visible to you”, for it can also mean “invisible”, like when you put the lights out.) The text brings a contronym that is a part of our life of faith” The name. Jesus tells his disciples, “and you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.” (v.22). Jesus’ name will bring hate of some kind upon our Christian life. However, God is Love, Jesus is love, and we know that there is no salvation in no other name under heaven that the name of Jesus. His Name means hate. But also means Love – Salvation. A contronym. Hate and love under the same name.
The same name we worship, adore, place our hope and security is the same One that if spelled out clearly may bring hatred. From light topics to the harder ones, if we venture to express our faith in the biblical teachings we might draw some love and consideration for sure, but we will certainly draw many words of condemnation and even hate, as free speech rapidly becomes “hate speech”. Jesus’ name means love. But it also spells out challenges. We prefer when things are calm and peaceful for us to live out our faith. But we shouldn’t get too used to it.[2] As we live our faith, challenges will come. And we want to be prepared to have answers in truth and love.
It is hard, isn’t it? But we must never forget that it is the Word of God that carries power and efficacy, not human strength and argumentation. That is, it is not by political articulation, better rhetoric or the loudest tone of voice, as important as they may be sometimes, that we will make the Gospel prosper. The Holy Spirit alone can make it go forward as He acts through us. And He always fulfills His purpose, even if it’s not exactly the one we anticipated.[3]
Look again to the Gospel: the text has this movement:
1)You will be hated.
2)Confess anyways. Because
3) in the end what matters in not being acknowledged by people, not even by your own family if they are against your faith. What matters is to be acknowledged before the Father.
In that context, it doesn’t matter if the name JESUS triggers hate from the world. It will always trigger the love of the Father for His children. All those who confess this name do not trust their own strength, but hold on to Jesus, crucified and risen from the dead, whose Word carries all the power.
Parallel readings today help us to deepen our understanding. Jeremiah 20 shows the prophet facing mockery, isolation, and persecution because of the Word of the Lord. Hate. Jeremiah may want to quit preaching, but God’s Word is not going to quit him. Love. A similar idea is present in Psalm 91. God is shelter, refuge, and fortress, even amid pestilence, terror, and attack. This psalm is not a guarantee of a trouble‑free life -hate may come -, but an assurance that a life centered in the NAME – Jesus – is a life guarded inside God’s saving care. LOVE.[4]
The Gospel for today seems largely bleak and gloomy. (Well, it is in a way. There may come the day when you will enter a store and they’ll recognize you. Then they’ll say: “Oh, you are from that Church that doesn’t support this or that, or that teaches this or that…” and they’ll mention whatever ideology is going around that as Christians we can’t really back up. And then the invitation might be: “You are invited to leave, you are not welcome here. Go to another place”.[5])
But Jesus’ words are very promising because as we learn we can’t stand on our own, we know someone does that for us. Christ is the one who went to the cross. Christ is the one who reconnected us with God. His Name brings salvation, peace and love. He brings meaning to the words of The Word to our hearts as we hold fast to the Script. We have in His name everything we need.
But here’s where I want to encourage you with the best way to be ready and able to stand persecution. To love Jesus and His word and to know Him more and more, day by day. Let me illustrate this point.
If you’re a Lions fan and someone says, ‘I hate Lions fans,’ does that shake you to the point of changing teams? Probably not. In fact, the more people mock your team, sometimes the more loyal you become.
Now take something a little closer to home. If you’re raising your children in a certain way, and you hear opinions like, ‘It’s terrible that parents do that,’ do you suddenly change everything? No—you hold your ground, because your conviction is not regulated by other people’s superficial opinions.
And then take it even deeper. If holding to what you believe starts to cost you—if relationships become strained, if people distance themselves from you—do you abandon what you know to be true just to keep the peace?
We show that kind of loyalty to a sports team, or that kind of commitment to our personal convictions because of the importance, love and care we place on them.
What about Christ, then? Yes, as we love Jesus and know His word, we don’t simply change or abandon it if people start to challenge, hate or disconnect from us. We learn and continue to press on learning Him and His love.
And here’s the beauty of it: to be noticed for your faith, for good or for bad, should be a source of joy for anyone who is a follower of Christ. When our faith is noticed to the point of being contradicted and even insulted that is actually another reason to be thankful to the Holy Spirit for maintaining us steadfast in God’s Word and Love.
And of course, we need to underline that our work is based on courage and consideration. It takes courage to be firm and affirm our faith. And it takes consideration for others, because or mission is to connect real people to the real God. For if the wages of sin is death, the free gift of God is eternal life. Love.
Cc – So we won’t toss that word out. We will toss His Name out there, so that many people may come to know Him. Don’t walk out of your faith; live out of it.
This is the Name that may be hated in the world, but will always bring love, and forgiveness to every heart connected to Him by faith. In a world constantly arguing over free speech and hate speech, only one Name remains saving speech: Jesus.
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[1] https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/49834/14-words-are-their-own-opposites
[2] It may come from outside. We need to deal with it, with firmness, but also with patience and love, we endure ordeals for His name sake because we ultimately want to share salvation with the very ones persecuting us. Remember Jesus saying, “pray for your enemies” (Matthew 5). One of the main reasons for this is because Jesus died for them too.
But it may also arise from inside the Church. For example, if Christians pull together to pay back with the same currency others use. Or if they are simply trying to gain, or not to lose, political space, instead of mainly taking a stand for Christian faith. This is forfeiting their duty to care about the polis (city) and its inhabitants. If we really want to engage in a battle, we cannot forget what weapons God, through St. Paul assigned to it in the Bible (Ephesians 6).
[3] This does not mean, of course, that we should not position ourselves and ‘fight’ in the field of dialogue, especially when it comes to the witness of our faith. But we can’t conclude from there that we would be free of persecution, disdain, anger, hatred or even imprisonment – physical or intellectual. At this point, brothers further east from here in different points of the Globe can help us to remember and relearn what it means to be physically persecuted for our faith.
[4] That’s why a better definition for Jesus’ Name would be not a contronym but a soteronym. Soter, in Greek, means “Saviour”. Salvation is both inclusive – is for all, and exclusive – in Christ alone. The soteronym JESUS brings with it hate and Love, Law and Gospel, condemnation and Salvation, distancing and closeness.
[5] We must remember though that God is the one who sets the limits. “The enemies of the Gospel can persecute Christians only within the limits set by our heavenly Father. Since he is in charge of our lives, we need not be afraid of those who oppose us, as we confess ourselves to belong to Christ. And we are confident of his love, not because of what we have done, but because He died and rose to redeem us from sin, death and the power of the devil. The nature of following Jesus can result in conflicts and divisions within families, as well as the family of faith as incredible as it may seem. Jesus wants his disciples to strive for eternal life, even if it means sacrificing earthly benefits. Focus on Christ, see Christ, seek strength in Christ and rely entirely on the Savior Jesus Christ!” (Rev. Paulo Brum, Sermon on Matthew 10, June 21st, 2020).
