Matthew 10:24-39 (NRSV)
Jesus said to the twelve apostles, “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.”
… Homily…
In the Gospel for last Sunday, we heard the beginnings of a hard topic. In the Gospel for last Sunday, Jesus said the following:
Brother will betray brother to death, and
a father his child, and children will
rise against parents and have them
put to death; and you will be hated by
all because of my name. But the one
who endures to the end will be saved.
Did you notice what I did with this last week? I preached on Abraham!
It would be easy to ignore this Gospel also. Today's Gospel picks up where we finished last week. The theme continues. Today we hear Jesus say:
Do not think that I have come to
bring peace to the earth; I have not
come to bring peace, but a sword.
He goes on and speaks of divisions in relationships where there ought to be unity, not discord. Only note that such unity does not come cheap, nor is it easy. There is a way in which unity can be realized among us all in the many and various relationships we share with one another. But if we are to find that unity, we will have to seek it intentionally, and then benefit from the presence of those around us who are willing to do likewise.
If you forget everything else I say in preaching this Gospel, remember these two things:
1. Jesus, who acknowledges that his presence brings not peace but division, longs for peace among us all, but with conditions.
2. The cause of division and of peace always centers on our setting forth of our priorities, and our willingness to live according to them.
That's the short version of a homily on this passage. Let me unpack that and dive deeper.
In this Gospel, my friends, Jesus asks us to examine our hearts and our lives. The purpose of this examination is to find our priorities and our treasures. The question that is set before us in this pursuit is simply this:
"Who is our first love?
Whom do we love the greatest?"
The answer to that question says volumes about us as people. We live in a society that is so focused on the self, that often tempts us to consider ourselves first and foremost, if not exclusively. In our society, those who consider others first before the self are praised by some and mocked by others. A parent who sacrifices for their child, or a spouse who takes their partner's needs and desires first before their own will be a role model for some and the object of scorn for others.
As Christians, we can be tempted easily to be among those who praise those we see setting others ahead of themselves. Only, dear friends, consider the words of this Gospel. Jesus sets standards for us that are higher than simply placing others ahead of ourselves. It is not enough that we take the lesser place in deference to those around us. When we are asked who is first in our lives, the Christian needs to do more than simply point to other humans. The one who should as always be first, who should have our greatest attention and should be our greatest love, is none other than God, who has been revealed to us and for us in Jesus, God from God, Light from Light, True God from True God. Jesus should not come second to anyone; not our parents, nor our spouse, nor our siblings, nor our children. Jesus Christ comes first! And whenever we find ourselves in a place where someone or something has pushed our Lord and God out of that primary place, we as Christians need to examine our hearts and reorient our lives, making it clear that above all else, we are Christians who in daily living love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, above all else, and who then from that place of right relationship with God, love all our neighbors, no matter what relationship we have with them.
This is a challenge for us to be sure. If we truly place God first in our hearts, and show that our love of God is greater than any other love that flows from our hearts, there will be a sword in our midst, and we will feel it's presence. That's why Jesus said these words. He does not wish for it to be so. But Jesus knows that there will be people in our lives, even people whom we love dearly, who will not accept taking second place even to God. And the shocking thing is that Jesus knows that among these we will even find some who would say in theory that God always comes first. The difficulty is that this Christian life of ous is not lived in theory. This life is to be put into practice, not just inside the Church, and not just on Sunday. This Christian life gets messy. We actually mean what we say about the faith and the living of this faith.
Truly to love God first, to make God our greatest treasure, is not an easy task. Left alone, we will likely fail at this again and again. But the good news is that we are not left alone. As Christians, the greatest thing we can do is to remind one another that God always comes first. I think here of my wife, who would cringe at my mentioning her. I have no doubts whatsoever that she loves me. But I also know that she would never wish for our love for one another to overshadow our love of God. And if I were ever to forget that, she would quickly redirect me back to the one who is and always should come first: God. We need people like that in our lives who are so willing and so bold as to point this out and push us first and foremost to God.
Does that mean that the should ignore all those who don't? No! We should learn from our greatest love and our greatest lover how to seek them out in love and in prayer. Remember after all that God is able to transform the hearts and minds of others that they too might love as they have been loved, and find with us the peace that passes all understanding, that comes to us only when God is our greatest treasure, apart from whom we have no life, and no ability to love anyone; not God, nor parents, nor spouses, nor siblings or children, not even ourselves.
Father Timothy Alleman, Rector
The Church of the Holy Cross
No comments:
Post a Comment