The Gospel - Matthew 10:24-39
Homily by the Rev. Dr. David Smith
I Wish He Hadn't Said That.
How often do we read the gospel lessons and shift a bit in our seats? How often do we hear Jesus’ words and say to ourselves, “I wish he hadn’t said that”. Today is no exception. In no less than 6 verses, Jesus says three things that make us cringe a bit.
However, before we look at any of them, it might be interesting to figure out why there are things we wish Jesus had never said.
We don’t mind hearing the parts about love and forgiveness and the promises of eternal life, but in the great scheme of Jesus’ teachings those sayings were few and far between. Especially when we realize Jesus had five times more to say about money than he did about prayer.
So what is it about these sayings we don’t want to hear?
Most of the time, they do not
serve our self-interest.
Instead of making us feel warm and fuzzy about who we are and our lifestyles,
we are confronted with our prejudices and excuses. They make us squirm
because we realize there is a greater good than the one we are living and we
don’t like to be reminded of our shortfalls.
It’s sort of like hearing your recorded voice played back, and our first reaction is, “I don’t really sound like that!”
But on the other hand, the tough sayings of Jesus are very good for us to hear.
We get a swift kick in the pants because it is very rare that another person is going to shoot that straight with us. The tough sayings challenge us, inspire us, and give us a goal and something to shoot for. They make us think and can change our lives. In fact, these tough sayings can be a blessing, giving us a good reason to adopt more faithful lives and explain our reasons for doing so to a world that has a difficult time understanding.
It’s like telling a child always to use you, the parents, as an excuse for not doing something a friend might want to do – the “my dad would kill me”, excuse.
The hard sayings give us a reason for a lifestyle much different than one promoted by our rather whacky culture; and one of the most challenging cultural components we need to push against is behavioral relativism…of which I see a great deal in my students.
Not long ago, a history professor in
a leading university asked his freshman students whether they thought the Nazi’s
were morally wrong in their genocide of 6 million Jews during WWII. Were
they immoral people? The vast majority of the incoming freshmen believed
the genocide was indeed a tragedy and should never have happened, but they were
not willing to stipulate the Nazi’s were immoral.
The going perspective was that at the time and in their era, the Nazi’s thought they were doing the right thing. They believed they were doing God’s bidding and if they thought they were doing something right, then how could it be immoral? Who am I to say another person’s behavior is morally bankrupt and in error. What is right for them may not be right for me, but who am I to say it is wrong?
Why is it so difficult for us to say someone or something is wrong? Maybe we will be branded as intolerant, or as some kind of religious fundamentalist and Christian bigot. We might be called small minded, or worse yet, close-minded.
However, Jesus recognizes the presence of relativism and the effect and conflict being a Christian can have on that point of view.
“Do not think that I have come to bring peace on earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. 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; and a man’s foes will be those in his own household.”
The sword brought is division. “I have not come to bring peace, but
division.” Jesus is not concerned about pleasing as many people as
possible. He is not concerned with preserving his constituency. He is not
concerned with being politically expedient, but rather being faithful to God’s
intentions for humankind, and those intentions are often contentious.
The most contentious of all is ultimate loyalty. When a person makes one’s relationship with God the primary directive in all matters of life, then the fur can fly and relationships crumble.
I remember a fellow classmate in seminary whose family had completely disowned him for choosing that path rather than going home after college and becoming part of the family business. I’ve seen marriages fall apart because the faith walk of one person was dramatically stronger than that of her spouse. I’ve performed weddings where the parents of the groom would not attend because the wedding was taking place in a Christian church.
Division comes when one’s primary loyalty is not family, spouse or child.
I remember as a boy asking my mother whom she loved most – my sister or me. And she said neither of us. She made it very clear that first of all she loved God first and always would; then came my father and then my sister and me equally. That perspective makes sense and would have made sense to Jesus.
The second hard saying: “He who does not take up his cross and follow me is not ready for me.”
How often have we referred to some troublesome or inconvenient aspect of our lives as “just my cross to bear?” Well, take fair warning before that happens again, because, cross bearing has nothing to do with a thorn in our side or inconvenience.
Cross bearing is not drudgery or a chore. Cross bearing is an honor.
The cross was God’s way
of clearly showing all of us what it means to live for God instead of
ourselves. The cross is an unmistakable symbol of forgiveness and the
promise of life after death that is a privilege God gives us. Bearing the cross is a blessing not a curse.
The third saying: “He who finds his life will lose it and he
who loses his life for my sake will find it.” Typical of the Bible, we learn
the most and come face to face with God most clearly in a paradox; when two
things are seemingly opposite yet equally true.
I was watching the news the other
night and saw President Bush present the Congressional Medal of Honor
posthumously to the parents of a 19-year-old Marine private who, when a grenade
landed in the humvee in which he and 5 other fellow Marines were riding, threw
his body on the grenade, absorbing the explosion saving everyone else.
War is rife with acts of selfless
heroism. And in a way, being a disciple is doing the
same sort of thing every day; acting instinctively for the well being of
somebody else. We dive on the cultural grenades that denigrate people and keep
them from enjoying life to its fullest.
Self-interest evaporates.
Selflessness is not age specific. We
can see it in people of all ages.
However, I think it becomes more profound the older we get. After we have recovered from the blush of
our acquisition years, the years when we feel compelled to make our mark, to be
somebody, to make a name for ourselves, to build our portfolio; after we have
recovered from all that, we finally realize how much nonsense it all has
been.
What we truly want is not
recognition or comfort; what we want is significance. We
want what we do to make a difference for someone else’s well being. We want the world to be better because we
lived in it.
So there we have it: three hard
sayings at the center of being a Christian person. If
we are going to adhere to God’s truth displayed in Jesus, we can expect
controversy and division. Loyalty cannot be divided. Carry the cross with
distinction and pride. It is not a
burden, but rather a symbol of distinction and love.
And finally, there are seven simple words that should direct our lives, “What can I do for you today?”
In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit,
Amen.