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Family matters, doesn’t it? Our children, our grandchildren, Our spouses, our partners, All of our loved ones, Provide a framework for our daily living and loving Family and family events mark our days And give them purpose. And even those who have difficulties and dysfunction in their families often seek the solace of a group of folks who become a new family to provide nurture and support. Imagine the photo album – Or the digital frame – of your life, the one that holds pictures of family times: Multiple generations gathered around a dinner table, Cheering for young ones at a ball field, Watching the sunset on the beach holding a toddler’s hand, Laughing at the same story, even though you’ve heard it again and again, Sitting together in the same pew at church across the years, Watching a child or grandchild walk across the stage at graduation or down the aisle on their wedding day, Visiting with a great aunt at the convalescent home, sitting at the bedside of dying loved one. These are the sacred snapshots of our lives, Framed by love and beauty, Touched up the by grace of God. And we also know there are other photos in our family albums, aren’t there? There are pictures of struggle and separation, images of division and discord. It’s true for most – I would say probably all – of us: however we have been given or however we have created our families, they are marked at some point by difficulties and resistance. A small argument turns into a years-long silence. A carless remark creates a chasm of anger and regret. A unexpected death unravels a close-knit family. These are the pictures that are hard for us to look at, That make us know a longing, a deep longing for connection and for a new picture of harmony and peace. The stress and pressures on families - Economically, socially, and spiritually, Are often the source of disputes and disagreements, Ones that bring us worry and anxiety and sleepless nights. Friends, Jesus also knew about family life, and talked about its stress and pressures, but not in a way we expect, and not always in a one that we can initially understand. We hear some of his words in the latter part of our lesson today. “I have come to set a man against his father and a daughter against her mother. One’s foes will be members of one’s own household.” They are words of separation and division, words that cut sharp into our hearts just like the sword that Jesus says he brings to the world and to our lives. And this is not the first time Jesus talks about families in the gospels, Says something strange about families, especially in Matthew’s gospel. The first disciples who responded to Jesus call to “follow me” left everything behind – Left everyone behind – fathers, mothers, and in Peter’s case, mother-in-law. When Jesus’ own family, his mothers and his brothers wanted to speak with him, Jesus pointed to his disciples and proclaimed: Here are my mother and brothers. Whoever does my will is my brother and sister and mother. It appears that Jesus has a new definition of family in mind and in heart, although I’m not sure how Mary and the rest of her children felt about that. And do you remember when the young man asks Jesus if he can bury his dead father before he turns his life over to him? Jesus’ answer appears to be a resounding “no.” Friends, maybe by now, you’re pondering what I’ve been pondering: Why is Jesus talking about conflict and confusion in families? These are hard words to understand, Especially where there is both conflict in our lives And a yearning for a closeness and connection in our families. Why would he encourage family discord? Maybe you’re wondering what I’m wondering: What could Jesus possibly be thinking? I’m not sure that anyone knows the mind of Christ, But I do know that some biblical scholars have sought to place these words in historical context. The families in the community that gave rise to Matthew’s gospel were indeed living in conflict, divided over their commitment to the Savior. These words would have been good news, An encouraging word that assures some that even if they were rejected by their families, they were accepted by Jesus. And indeed, life with Jesus was more important and more life-giving than lives with their families. Most of us are not faced with the same challenges that faced our Christian foremothers and forefathers. We aren’t regularly ostracized or cast aside from our families by choosing our Christian faith. We don’t know the reality of making a life and death – A physical life and death choice for the sake of the gospel. And yet today’s lesson reminds us that we are still invited to choose, friends. We are still invited to choose Jesus, To choose for Jesus and the way of the gospel. Jesus makes the same demand on us that he made on the earliest disciples – to acknowledge him and to find our true life through following him. Biblical scholar and story-teller Richard Swanson highlights the way that Jesus inserts himself, insinuates himself, into this text, into family life, and into our daily living. Jesus, it seems, will accept no idols – be it our precious families or the desire for harmony and peace. That might make us a little uncomfortable – It does me, anyway. But it seems Jesus will take us to uncomfortable places – individually and as a community of faith – so that we can find new life in and through him. I came across a story this week about Jose Ortega, a Spanish poet and philosopher, who lived and worked in the last half of the 19th century. Ortega had been asked about his contemporary, French painter Paul Gauguin. Some of you who are art lovers will remember Gauguin’s works, Some with religious themes – Including “Vision after A Sermon” and “Life’s Questions.” When he was a young man, Gauguin rose to great heights and achieved great success. The years passed and Gauguin struggled with his work and how it was received, eventually losing his productivity and ability to paint. He tried to take his own life. Ortega says this of Gauguin: “His creative energies degenerated into hobbies.” “His creative energies degenerated into hobbies.” How sad that the artist’s passion and commitment disintegrated into a mere pastime, something he did when there wasn’t anything else to do. Friends, God gives us the creative energy and passion for faith and discipleship through the gift of the Holy Spirit. How alive is it in us? Our Scripture invites us to ask ourselves some hard questions today: Is our discipleship a mere pastime, something we do when it’s convenient or when we have some leisure time? Have we become complacent and content in our Christian faith, ready to bask in the sunshine of security rather than walk in the way of risk? Friends, I don’t think Jesus is talking about giving up our families for more church activities or loving God a little bit more than we already do. Jesus is inviting to give up our old way of living complacently for a new way of living with passion and purpose for the gospel. But make no mistake, friends, The passion for discipleship, The passion of Jesus includes a cross, a cross that Jesus invites us to take up. A Christian faith that doesn’t degenerate into a hobby includes suffering – Not for suffering’s sake, But for the sake of the gospel – For the sake of the good news that Jesus preached and lived – Release to the captives, Sight to the blind, Abundance to those in poverty, Love and welcome to all those who are cast aside. These words, these deeds, this vision of Jesus was not welcome in his own time – It caused conflict in his time – And it won’t be any different for us. Be assured, friends of the promise of Jesus: There will be discomfort, There will be conflict, There will be pain when we truly follow the gospel Transformation, growth, and new life always brings struggle when they encounter current patterns of behavior and living. We can teach and preach and live a glossed-over gospel, One that preaches only love and joy and hope while avoiding the hard questions and the demands of discipleship. Or else we enter into Jesus’ invitation to live in the conflict and the struggle, To enter into what it means to be a follower of him. Our hearts will struggle to understand Jesus’ passionate call to discipleship. We’ll have to ask ourselves some hard questions about how we live, where we live, what we do with our time, our talents and our treasure. We’ll have to struggle in our community lives as we seek to proclaim the truth in love and to embody the good news in word and deed. Friends, part of the call to becoming a church is to experience some struggle, like the crazy storms we had this past week, when that Northern blast of cold air meets the hot humid air of the South. When they come together, there’s a line where the two fronts meet, and that’s sometimes where we are called to live. It’s hard, but remember: The storms can bring a clearness and a clarity of living more fully and deeply as followers of Jesus. We receive another assurance, Another promise of Jesus in today’s text. That the storms of struggle, That the pain of discipleship is not the only word Jesus offers to us. In the midst of challenging us to a new way of life, Jesus reminds us of the comfort and grace of God. Do not fear, he says. Do not be afraid to speak out and speak up. Do not be afraid of conflict or struggle. Do not be afraid because God is watching, tending, and taking care of us. Confident, then, of God’s grace and Asking for the grace to commit ourselves once again to the gospel, Let us go forward into a world with hope and love. Amen. |