The Fourth Sunday of Pentecost 06/25/2023

Weilding Christ's Sword

Good morning and welcome to the fourth Sunday after Pentecost. I’m a little salty this morning; you’ll see why at the end.

In our Gospel reading this morning, Matthew retells a lesson from Jesus where Jesus says in verses 34-36 that he comes not to bring peace but a sword. How do we, as followers of a man called The Prince of Peace, reconcile this statement? Jesus goes even further by saying he will pit father against son, mother against daughter, in-laws against each other, and family members against each other.

Right now, here in our Diocese, we have 38 Immigrants whom some in our combined faith communities are helping while their fates are sorted out. This simple act of “loving our neighbors as ourselves” has created a firestorm of hate even within the larger community of “Christians.” This is the sword Jesus is referring to. Jesus meant this when he talks about not bringing Peace but a sword. The unconditional love Jesus displayed in his ministry and called us to as his followers fly in the face of our “me first” culture. People feel so threatened by unconditional love, so angered that someone else is getting “something for nothing” while espousing how they walked uphill in a blizzard both ways to school wearing sackcloth. We have denigrated those with less to the extent that helping them is now anti-societal, verging on the criminal. I’ll save my discussion on what constitutes sheep for another time.

Following Jesus means doing “unpopular” actions. In Matthew 5:13, we are said to be “the salt of the earth.” Paul tells us in Romans 12:2, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.” A dear friend, Fr. David Bridges, and I had lengthy discussions about our varied religious backgrounds. Fr. David was raised as a Jehovah’s Witness. He left and is now an Episcopal Priest and Dean of a Deanery in Oklahoma. His family has shunned him. At least mine only tried to pull me back to the “right.” At the reception, after my dad’s interment at his church, the pastor asked me who the two “turtles” were. They were Pastor Christine Leigh-Taylor and then Transitional Deacon Bridges, who had come to support me in grieving the loss of my father.

As odd as this may sound to those who practice peacefulness before violence, I challenge you to “wield the sword of Christ” this week. Act in such a loving way to your neighbors that we piss someone off with Christ’s love.

Amen