June 21st Sermon – 3rd Sunday after Pentecost
A difficult Gospel this week, a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law, our foe would be members of our own household. Jesus and his vision of a non-utopian future. A future in which would drill its way even into the foundations of the family unit. A future in which generations would clash over allegiances and values. It is a grim picture indeed.
Fortunately in 2000 years of steady progress finds us in a 21st century utopia in which such talk of division can scarcely be found, int the news, or on social media, or around a family gathering. We so many years removed from these words of Jesus, I’m sure we are relieved to find ourselves in the comfortable state, unaffected outsiders curiously glimpsing the struggles of the first century faithful, it must have been hard. It is almost impossible in modern America to imagine such division. Especially in ones own family, I mean if you take politics out of it, and race out of it, and religion out of it, and opinions generally, the world in which this sort of conflict would happens seems inconceivable. Or perhaps not.
It is amazing how timely these 2000 year old texts can be. Jesus is talking to that 1st century Palastinian audience and he could just as well be talking directly to us, to our nation. To a people who know division all to well. Families are still not perfect. Neither are the individual members and division does happen. Sometimes, despite our best efforts, and deepest desires. But reality makes it no easier to hear these words coming from Jesus. Not just because of our lingering scars and fractured relationships, because not only does Jesus name the thing, in this gospel passage, Jesus owns it. Before listing the divisions I previously mentioned, Jesus says I have come to set a man against his father.
This is a difficult gospel passage because when read in isolation it confronts us with a picture of Jesus that feels odd, even disconcerting. How do you make sense of a Jesus who comes to set family members in opposition. With a Jesus who brings a sword instead of peace. With a Jesus who warns his followers to temper their love for their own parent and children.
Lutheran pastor and scholar David Lose remembers that as a child he recalls that this passage always troubled him because no matter how many times he heard it in church and Sunday School, he never could get past the feeling that he really loved his parents more than Jesus. And as a 10 year old he concludes that he is in serious trouble with Jesus. And he confides his indiscretion his mom, who in turn tells her child that she made the same confession to her dad as a young girl. This passage has been haunting Christians for centuries. It is an image of Jesus that tends to clash with those images that most often dominate our Christian piety. The image of Jesus carrying a lamb over his shoulders. The image of a compassionate Jesus feeding the hungry crowd, or touching the lepers clean, or raising a little girl from her deathbed with his gentle hand, or blessing a group of children, it is difficult to see that Jesus in this gospel.
Here Jesus says “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth, I have not come to bring peace but a sword.” But also, this is the same Jesus who says “blessed are the peacemakers.” And commands Peter to put away his sword in the Garden of Gethsemene. This is the same Jesus who the prophets named the Prince of Peace.
Here Jesus says “I have come to set a man against his father, but this is the same Jesus who takes care of his mother while dying on the cross, who restores dead and dying children to their grieving parents, who gives to his followers the ministry of reconciliation.
Here Jesus says “whoever loves father and mother more than me is not worthy of me and whoever loves son and daughter more than me is not worthy of me, but this is also the same Jesus who twice in this gospel of Matthew quotes the commandment to honor one’s father and mother, who once in a confrontation with the Pharisees who he believes do not take this commandment seriously enough, and the same Jesus who asks a rich young man which commandments he must keep in order to enter into eternal life. This is the same Jesus who says let the little children come to me, for it is such as these in which the kingdom of heaven belongs.
There is more to Jesus than what we find in todays gospel passage, but this too is Jesus. Earlier in this same chapter of Matthews gospel Jesus sends out his disciples. He gives them their mission, and he promises them a fruitful ministry, they will cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. In short, they will be like Jesus, they will preach his message, they will proclaim the good news of his love. They will do his amazing works.
But also, he makes this quite clear, they will experience his suffering. They will go into the world to do good, to proclaim the good news of Christ by word and deed, they will do justice and offer mercy and share God’s love and for their reward they will be persecuted, they will be beaten, they will be disowned.
Those who follow in the footsteps of Jesus find that those footsteps end at the foot of the cross. This gospel, this gospel passage is difficult. It is difficult because we want to believe that good things happen to good people. We want to believe that we get what we deserve, we want to believe that folks understand that the Good News is good news.
But then Jesus comes along and his good news causes family strife, his good news breeds conflict, his good news finds him nailed to the cross. Jesus is preaching the good news, but that good news is shaking things up. Redefining family, overturning tables, clashing with powerful people, ruffling feathers.
Walter Bruggerman reminds us that the gospel is a very dangerous idea. We have to see how much of that dangerous idea that we can perform in our lives, there is nothing safe about the gospel. Jesus did not get crucified because he was a nice man.
The problem with the gospel and why it raises our human defenses is that it is just so bothersome, so confrontational, so disruptive. It brings life to dead places and shines light in dark corners, and heals sicknesses and breaks the bond of addiction. Love could really put some folks out of business. God is making all things new and that is good news unless you are invested in the old stuff.
Jesus in the gospel is launching a revolution, a revolution built on love. Richard Rohr writes that it is no surprise that the Christian icon of redemption is a man offering love from a crucified position. Cupid is not our icon of love, the crucified Christ is. Our great hope as Christians is that we share in Christ resurrection, but of course, one does not share in Christ’s resurrection without first dying with him.
The goal of the gospel is not to make nice people. It is not to make polite citizens. The goal of the gospel is as C.S. Lewis says ‘to draw people into Christ, to make them little Christs, to live out the love of God until it hurts, and sometimes it will’.
This is a difficult gospel passage. And maybe we have been reading it wrong. It is not a prophesy or a threat. It is not just Jesus being realistic. Its obviously not Jesus hope for the world. This gospel is lament. This gospel is the heartbreaking reminder that since the Garden of Eden, since our very beginning, human brokenness has time and time and time again caused us to rebel against God’s love.
Jesus revolution was opposed back then and it is opposed now. Nonetheless, God’s love is on the move. God is not discouraged. Its funny how peace brings out our swords. And still God continues to reach out in this world in love, and now through us, sending us out into the world as little Christs. Where there is hatred we sow love. It is good news, God is making all things new, Jesus is leading a movement that promises to overwhelm this planet in his love. But change is hard and not everyone is going to get on board. It wasn’t easy for Jesus, and it won’t be easy for us.
This gospel passage is difficult because it is true. Love in this world is both threat and salvation. And yet this is the work that Christ calls us, this is what we are sent to do. It’s not an easy job, Jesus knows that better than anyone. Those who follow in the footsteps of Jesus find that those footsteps end at the foot of the cross. Those who stand at the foot of the cross will find Truth.