Sometimes our cherished childhood images of a gentle Jesus are challenged. Sometimes things rattle our cage and our faith and make us call everything into question.
Those questions might come from something someone said, as it does this week when Jesus does not hold back as he instructs that peace comes with sword!
It is at times like this that we might want to argue with the text or, let it look us into a deeper understanding of what God may be doing.
Matthew 10:24-39 New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
24 “A disciple is not above the teacher nor a slave above the master; 25 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!
26 “So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known. 27 What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops. 28 Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, fear the one who can destroy both soul and body in hell. 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30 And even the hairs of your head are all counted. 31 So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.
32 “Everyone, therefore, who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven, 33 but whoever denies me before others, I also will deny before my Father in heaven.
34 “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace but a sword.
35 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, 36 and one’s foes will be members of one’s own household.
37 “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, 38 and whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.
Each week I turn to Seasons of the Spirit for inspiration and prayer. This week’s Gospel reading was countered by a poem of hope and faith that I truly want to share with you.
It Is Enough by Lauren Hodgson
With God, we are all enough:
disciple, teacher, worker, boss.
None above the other;
no one above another,
in God’s sight.
So have no fear.
The truth is complex, but it is real.
Nothing is covered up.
It will all, in its time, be uncovered.
Have no fear and proclaim it from the housetops.
Let it be heard.
Yell! Sound it out! Shout!
And have no fear.
Because in the arms of the Beloved,
you are cherished.
You are known so deeply
that not a head on your hair
can escape the depths of this love.
Each hair counted.
Each hair matters.
Just as you matter.
In knowing so fully, we are known.
In loving so wholly, we are loved.
In denying, we are denied.
And in acknowledging, we are acknowledged.
We are not called to choose the simple path:
no one said this would be an easy journey.
Things won’t make sense.
You will look for peace and find nothing but a mess.
You will encounter violence,
and through it,
discover a world of love and compassion.
The road is rocky.
It feels lonely.
There will be doubt.
But still...
Keep going.
Keep walking that road of uncertainty.
Even when you feel alone, you are not.
Even when the thorns reach at your flesh,
and the branches capture you with their claws,
keep going.
Even then, keep going.
Because it is enough.
Because you are enough.
Enough.
For whatever situation you may be facing this day, let the words of this poem be the light that guides you onward, even when you think you cannot take another step. For myself, I am going to put these words in a place where I can easily find them, read and breath them.
My prayer for you this week is:
Jesus, you call us to live our faith and travel beside you in a world filled with tension.
As you bring peace to the world, you also disrupt our peace, turning our lives upside down.
May we be reminded of your constant love for us.
May we feel your disturbing presence in our lives as a reminder that we are heard, known, and loved as cherished children of God.
Amen
In peace,
Pastor Beryl, DLM