Fourth Sunday in Pentecost Matthew 10:24-39
Jesus said to the twelve disciples, “A disciple is not above the teacher, nor a slave above the master; it is enough for the disciple to be like the teacher, and the slave like the master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household!
“So have no fear of them; for nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known. What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops. Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. And even the hairs of your head are all counted. So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.
“Everyone therefore who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven; but whoever denies me before others, I also will deny before my Father in heaven.
“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the 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 one’s foes will be members of one’s own household.
Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.”
Sermon by the Rev. Carole Horton-Howe
Do you ever struggle to make sense of the seemingly contradictory statements in the Bible? We’re almost six months past the Christmas season, but we all still remember vividly being reminded of the peace that God has brought to the world through his son, Jesus. As the angels declared, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
Now, we encounter the babe in the manger all grown up and saying, “I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.” A former parishioner in Temecula told me once that these verses - “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” - were the reason her son turned away from the church and told her he cannot be a Christian. How tragic that is! Most of us would not make such a drastic about face. But we do wonder what’s going on here?
After all, we connect easily with gentle Jesus, meek and mild - the Jesus who summons us to love our enemies, the one Isaiah calls the Prince of Peace, the Jesus who promised the world will know his followers by their love. And yet this Jesus in today’s gospel is telling us to hate those closest to us: spouse, children, parents and everyone else we live with. Or is he? Elsewhere in Holy Scripture we are told to love them. What could Jesus possibly mean by this incendiary ultimatum?
If we take a closer look at the surrounding context, the nutshell meaning of his distressing words is as clear and concise as it is radical and revolutionary. Jesus is telling his followers: “If you truly want to be a Christian, I must have it all.” We may be scandalized by this “hate” speech, but I suspect in stumbling over Jesus’s plain talk, we can miss the real scandal of this text. And that is that there will be rivals fighting for supremacy over the throne of our hearts. Difficult choices will have to be made. Relationships that we think are essential need to be examined. It’s not an easy path. But our love for God through Jesus must defeat every one, every time.
Matthew’s gospel was especially aimed at the readers of his day – about 70 CE – when it was still early days for the church. Persecutions of Christians were commonplace. Sent on a mission of healing and preaching, the disciples quickly learned what it means to face opposition. The cozy days of breaking bread with Jesus seem far distant when in response to the good news of the gospel, they are rewarded with persecution. In fact there was no easy path in Christian faith until the Emperor Constantine converted in the early 300’s CE. Before that it was a treacherous path.
The story of Perpetua, Felicity and their companions is hard to hear but I think it helps us understand the realities that Jesus is talking about. In 202 CE the Roman Emperor issued a decree forbidding conversion to Christianity. At that time, Perpetua was a 22-year-old educated noblewoman who was nursing an infant son. And Felicity was an enslaved woman who was heavily pregnant. Both were converts to Christianity. They were arrested alongside three other converts, all men. Despite the danger, their teacher joined them in prison, where the group was baptized. Perpetua recorded her experience in a personal diary. Her writings form one of the only surviving first-hand accounts authored by an early Christian woman.
While in prison, Perpetua’s father, a pagan, repeatedly came to her and begged her to renounce her faith. But she refused. She had recently given birth and her father, family members and her husband’s family came to her repeatedly insisting that she abandon her faith in Jesus Christ for the sake of her child, and for the sake of her family which would most assuredly suffer for having a Christian daughter and daughter-in-law.
Perpetua and her companions were confined to the worst part of the prison in dark, stifling conditions. She was told that all would be well, that she could return to her comfortable life, that her father’s business and her family’s fortunes would thrive if she would only pray and make an offering to one of the pagan gods. But this she would not do.
After a trial whose outcome was never in doubt, Perpetua, Felicity, and their companions were condemned to be executed in the local amphitheater during public games. In an act of courage so profound that we can scarcely take in, Perpetua and her companions entered the arena singing Psalms. They survived the attacks of the wild animals and were eventually put to death by Roman soldiers - all for the entertainment of the crowd. Perpetua and her companions have been honored for the strength of their faith since those ancient times.
Jesus is not demanding that we literally hate your family – not hate in how we understand it today. “Hate” had a different meaning in ancient times. We throw around that word hate pretty easily – everything from “I hate Brussel sprouts” to “I hate…” a certain political or philosophical point of view. It carries much emotion. But in ancient times, hate was less about emotions and more about choice. To hate something meant that you turned away from it, you did not choose that thing you chose something else.
So in these verses, Jesus is using hyperbole to illustrate that there is a steep cost of following him. Our affections for Christ must be of such an intensity and quality that, by comparison, all other loves seems like an afterthought.
What Does It Mean for Us? Following Jesus may not make our lives easier. There will be times when allegiance to Jesus causes a crisis of loyalty and forces a decision. This gospel shakes up values, rearranges priorities and reorients goals. I think Jesus wants us to know that to give one’s life away in the name of Christ is to be given everything that makes life free, holy and good.
The sword that Jesus carries is not meant for our destruction or harm but is meant for our good! It is a sword of healing and hope carried in the hands of a faithful and loving surgeon. Jesus the Great Physician looks upon us, his children with compassion and love, and he invites us to come to him and find healing for our wounds and rest for our souls and the peace that only God can give. The price is high. The reward still higher.
Yes, we naturally feel dep affections for our closest earthly kin. But what Jesus is saying is that we must choose him. Love of Jesus inspires love of all people and all things created by God. This day, Father’s Day, is the perfect time to acknowledge and celebrate this. Journalist Steve Hartman does a segment on one of the networks called “On the Road.” And this one comes close to home, to the heart and to family this particular Sunday.
A small mylar balloon drifted into the parking lot of the Local Heroes Cafe in Auburn, California. The manager found it and saw that there was writing on it and that it was signed by a 16-year-old girl named Ashlyn from Whittier, 450 miles away. Ashlyn was happy to learn that someone found the balloon, although the restaurant was not her intended destination.
“Have you ever let a balloon go and watched it?” she asks. “It really does look like it’s going to heaven. I wanted to let him know that still love him.” It was intended for her father, Scott, who died of an aneurysm several years earlier. She’d been sending him balloon messages each year since then on his birthday.
“Dear Dad, you’ve missed so much. And I miss you. There’s a sweet and funny guy I met, Brian. I’ve been playing softball and I hope you’ve been helping me get those homeruns.”
Ashlyn wanted to share her life. And she wanted to apologize to her dad for all the times when he was alive that she didn’t call or write to him. There had been difficult times which led to their separation. Her dad had tried to stay in touch with her, but she ignored most of his letters and phone calls including the one he made to her right before he died. “I didn’t answer his call,” she says tearfully. “Maybe he wanted to say, ‘I love you’ and I would have liked to say that back. But I didn’t get to.”
How many of us live with potential for this kind of regret? How many of us might one day long for one last contact, just like Ashlyn longs for that chance to say, “I love you.”
Fortunately for Ashlyn, she’s pretty sure she got through this time. On the balloon she asked her dad for a sign. And when someone, some how, found her note in the Local Heroes Café parking lot, of all places, that was enough for her. “It gave me hope. It’s pretty amazing.”
Even in times of anxiety the gospel will be true. Believers who know that their fate is in the hands of a loving God will understand that in this life there is nothing to fear. Jesus invites us into to recognize a faith that is able to overcome fear during persecution, to keep on because of our love for him and because, in the end, it will be real and everlasting life that we find. Like Ashlyn said: It gives hope. It’s pretty amazing. Amen.