Matthew 10:24-39.
Did you hear the gospel this
morning? It’s a continuation of last
week’s reading. Although Jesus is
sending out his disciples into the world to share the good news, the bulk of
what Jesus is saying today seems like pretty bad news. All that talk about being maligned, fearing
the One who can destroy both body and soul, coming not to bring peace, but a
sword, and ending on the particularly cheery note of setting family members
against one another. So much for getting
comfort from scripture for the week ahead!
It may be tempting to hear this litany of
hard sayings and dismiss it figuring that even the Son of God must get cranky
once in a while. But maybe, just maybe,
that is not the case. Could it be that
today Jesus is pushing back on our notions that he is simply a harmless,
predictable, do-gooder? Sure sounds like
it. “Do not think,” he says, “that I
have come to bring peace...but a sword.”
But it’s not a literal sword. In the garden of Gethsemane when Jesus is
being arrested Peter takes out his sword to defend Jesus and Jesus commands him
to put it away. The sword, rather, that
Jesus brings is God’s light of truth and love that cuts into the darkness of
this world causing disruption and division.
For living and preaching the good news of God’s great love can actually
be very dangerous and threatening to the powers that be. And just like Jesus himself, the Kingdom of
God work is more controversial than conventional kindness.
So much so that it gets Jesus killed and
puts those who seek to follow him, to love in the fullest possible way by
serving others and seeking justice, at risk as well. So before Jesus sends his
friends out he makes it clear that taking the path of being a disciple is not
an easy one. It can’t be done half-heartedly
or slipped in between other commitments.
Discipleship demands all of who we are.
And in order to even begin to hope to live such a life God knows we need
him. That to be a disciple requires an
intense bond and connection with none other than Jesus himself.
And because of this Jesus declares,
“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.” Jesus is calling us to let go of whatever competes
for our time, our energy, our loyalty and, ultimately, our love - he’s not
interested in being part of any love triangle in our lives.
You know what a love triangle is. Countless fictional as well as real-life
dramas are fueled by them - one person stuck between two love interests who
compete, knowingly or unknowingly, for the time, attention and love of the
third. This dynamic can go on for a
while, but eventually there comes a time when every love triangle forces the
question, “Who or what do you love the most?”
Jesus knows that what we need is to love
him most - more than parents, more than children - more than anything else that
seeks to compete whether it be other significant relationships or our own
desires, our work life, material possessions, devotion to country...they’re all
potential love triangles. And no matter
how lovely or honorable the competition may be, Jesus calls us to love him
more. Does that mean we are not supposed
to love anyone or anything else in this world?
No. Jesus is not demanding that
he’s our only love, but that he is our primary one.
Now that may be ok in church, but really
is Jesus asking us to gaze into the eyes of those we love and whisper the sweet
words, “I love Jesus more than you”?
That’s not going to go over so well.
But you know what? As crazy as it
sounds loving Jesus more than father, mother, son or daughter or anyone or
anything else is not only for our sake, but for the sake of all those we love.
A wise woman once told her husband, “When
you love God most you love me best.” Think
about that. When we seek to love God
most, we don’t cheat others out of being loved.
One the contrary, we are actually able to love others better because
God, not ourselves, becomes the wellspring of our love. And this completely changes the dynamic. No longer is there a competition between
loves. The triangle is broken with no
one left out or abandoned. In fact
everyone wins when we are open to and filled by God’s great love. It is then that we are able to love not only
family and friends more deeply and more fully, but the world at large. Because, quite frankly I don’t know about
you, but I don’t have it in me to love and follow and face the challenges that
Jesus speaks of today. My only hope is
that as imperfectly as I seek to love God first that God’s love might empower
me to meet whatever the world has in store.
Perhaps it is the same for you.
That even our feeble attempts to love God most allows God’s great love
to flow through us enabling us to love more freely, more richly, more faithfully
than we ourselves are able to do on our own.
Still Jesus’ words are not to be
tamed. Indeed, they are meant to give us
pause - I would imagine the disciples took a few gulps when they heard these
cautionary words - yet they still went out preaching the gospel, sharing God’s
love, bringing the Kingdom of God to a world that would fight against it, but
desperately needs it nonetheless. And
today Jesus sends us out as well. But we
don’t do this on our own. As we seek to
love Jesus more and more we are filled and empowered by God’s love which makes
us willing and able to go out into the world, take up our cross and follow -
come what may. For we are able to love
best when we love God most.
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