This homily was delivered on June 25, 2023 at Christ Episcopal Church in Yankton, South Dakota.
May the words of my mouth and the meditation of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen.
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“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 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.’” Matthew 10:32-36
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA,
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Wow! That is a lot to take in!
Such passages makes one wonder why those trying to ban books that seemingly attack family values haven’t pushed to ban the Bible s from public libraries and schools? In the conflicted political and social climate of today ’s world might not Jesus’ saying, “I have not come to bring peace, but a sword” be considered a radicalizing enticement to violence? In fact, there are reports of movements to ban the Bible from public schools in places like Utah, Texas, and other states; in part, as pushback against people who would ban books, old and new, that talk about race and gender identity.
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Setting such issues aside, there does seems to be something off about Jesus in today’s reading from Matthew. It prompts one to question if Jesus actually said this, given his Sermon on the Mount and his parables like, the Prodigal Son and the Good Samaritan. We can never be certain about what Jesus actually said or in what the context he originally said it. Knowing when something was written, along with textual hints, offers some insight into why something like today’s reading is found in both the Gospels of Matthew and Luke.
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A pivotal time in the history of both Christianity and Judaism was the destruction of the Temple by the Romans in 70 CE, which marks the approximate point at which Christianity and Judaism went their separate ways. The Gospels of Matthew and Luke, where Jesus says he came to cause division in families is found, were written some ten to twenty years after the Temple was destroyed. Interestingly, the Gospel of Mark, which was written ten to twenty years before the destruction of the Temple, mentions nothing about Jesus bringing a sword and not peace or causing divisions within families.
In last Sunday’s Gospel from Matthew, Jesus tells his followers they would be persecuted and flogged in the synagogues and dragged before governors and kings. While this sounds like prophesy, the time in which this was written suggests that is what was happening at that time. It accounts for the strong language we hear Jesus using about being denied by Jesus if they denied him. Matthew uses it to address the problem Jewish Christians being enticed to deny Jesus as the Messiah.
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Today it is established mainline churches that are increasingly experiencing division, throwing out members who challenge long held doctrines and practices as such individuals no longer see their relevance in a changing world. On the other hand, some are leaving their church because their denomination has changed, having become less doctrinally rigid and more inclusive to a diverse population with diverse needs.
For Example, the Southern Baptist Conference recently voted to remove one of its largest congregations, The Saddleback Church in California for ordaining women. Churches like our own Episcopal Church are becoming increasingly concerned about following what Jesus taught; his inclusive way of unconditional love and seeking reconciliation with all of God’s children; especially the dispossessed and those living on the fringe of society. Of course this has led some members and congregations to leave it, not only for ordaining women but also for ordaining openly LGBTQ priest and bishops.
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When I look at today’s reading from Matthew, what comes to my mind is the paradoxical nature of God; the God to whom dark and light are both alike (Psalm 139:12) and who causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust (Matthew 5:45). What comes to mind is the paradoxical symbol of the cross representing both the inescapable finality of death that is essential for the emergence of new life.
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In today’s reading, the Prince of Peace did not come to bring peace. He did not come to remove that which would disrupt or disturb our personal comfort. Jesus’ teachings of love and reconciliation remain disturbing and disruptive within the world of our making, where might makes right and forgiving and loving one’s enemies is seen as a losing proposition.
Today, denying oneself and taking up one’s cross has more to do with refusing to be lured into accepting a false image of who one should be, an image that others will try to impose on a person.
To pick up one’s cross is being your authentic self, recognizing oneself as a child of God; a unique creation.
To follow Jesus is to experience God by living into being the child God created one to be and to enter into the paradox of God, where there is neither male nor female, Jew nor Greek, slave nor freeman, where all are one in Christ (Galatians 3:28); the perfect peace which passes all understanding (Philippians 4:7).
Amen.
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Until next time, stay faithful.
Norm
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