Luke 12.49-56, Jeremiah 23.23-29, Hebrews 11.29-12.22
“Seek the Truth, Come Whence it May, Cost What it Will.”
OK. Today’s gospel is not one that I would choose to preach. We are comfortable hearing Jesus’ sayings about love and peace and harmony and spirit. We like to hear about moral exemplars, like the Good Samaritan, and Jesus’ compassion for the outcasts. These are the emotions that draw us together and inspire our faith in the Almighty God. But not today’s passage, this is one that makes us squirm. Jesus said, “I didn’t come to bring peace but rather, division.” Jesus predicted quarreling among family members; even fathers against sons and daughters against mothers. These are not we hold to be “Christian values;” the set of ethics that paint our perfection
in agreeing about everything, loving each other, and seeking peace at all costs. That is what our experience has taught us, but that is not what Jesus taught his followers. He taught them to stand up for something radically different, to be outspoken prophets against injustice, and to practice the truth. And he told his followers, in passages like the ones we hear today, that doing these things makes our life uncomfortable, even downright unbearable. And in the place and time that he spoke, living out those ideals and proclaiming that faith would often lead to persecution and even death.
So I would choose not to preach on this challenging lesson, if it were my choice. There is a pressure out there to market the gospel in a way that attracts newcomers, makes everyone comfortable, and ensures that no one needs to change. There was an article in last Saturday’s New York Times that points out the modern church’s proclivity to be consumer driven rather than gospel driven.[i] There are pressures to make everything happy and to make everyone happy, so that the church can build something new. Everything we say is supposed to be couched in a package that won’t ruffle the status quo (or cause division) and will endorse the behaviors of now, rather than challenge someone to a deeper life in Christ. But is that what Jesus meant by gospel. You know that gospel means “good news.” Did Jesus mean by “good news” that everyone was ok and that it was good enough to simply show up and be seen as a member of the faithful. Or did Jesus believe that “good news” would make people uncomfortable? And that “good news” would cause someone to change in dramatic ways?
One of the great things about the Episcopal Church is that we think, and discuss, and learn, rather than reciting from rote what the church “believes.” We are seekers of truth knowing that the truth is something we will always be attempting to find. Knowing that truth is grounded in the mystery of faith. Even as a professional minister, I can’t say that I know the “Truth!” I do believe that I have glimpsed it, and I have confidence that my faith feeds me, and that I am a seeker on the path. But I don’t have the whole truth and nothing but the truth. There is still work to be done. And that is the case for everyone. Even those you might see on television or hear on the radio, who rail against those who don’t know the truth, all the while, insinuating that they do.
We live in a world that wants everything, including our faith, to be wrapped in a neat box and handed to us so that we can move on to something else. We want it to be a reward for good deeds and lucky circumstances, but the demands of faith are much more challenging. In today’s gospel lesson, Jesus revels in the divisiveness that we see around us, he actually takes credit for it. It is a world that he knows to exist, but one that his followers choose to ignore. They, and we, want to believe that there is only one way to see God’s Word. But look around, we live in a world of division and it will take effort to discern meaning and truth in such a wildly chaotic system. Each person is created by God and hears the Word of God in different ways. Jeremiah alluded to this when he wrote that the Word is “like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces.” Each of us claims a fragment of the whole truth, a piece of the rock, but we fail to understand how to put it back together, to make it whole again. We fail because we don’t make the effort to listen and hear what others say and do and we discount perspectives that differ from our own. We lack the patience to work toward a fuller picture of the truth. We fail to make an effort to truly understand what faith calls from us.
We, Episcopalians, have a tradition that respects learning and listening. Hearing others share their experience will help us understand the Almighty, the Almighty that is just beyond our grasp. But as we listen, we also must share. We have to be ready to share what makes us who we are, even if that means that we offend someone who doesn’t respect our perspective or who is unwilling to accept us as one in God’s creation. It is only in coming to better know the divisions, that we are able to get a fuller understanding of the wholeness of God.
Membership at St. Patrick’s begins with participation in our common worship. Each week, as we come to hear and reflect on God’s Word and feed on God’s eternal gift, the community gives us the strength to face the daily challenges of our individual lives. But our membership demands us to participate in a ministry that extends our faith beyond these walls. It may be a cause that you are drawn to through your own life experiences or one that is sponsored by St. Patrick’s. Whatever that work may be, remember to listen and hear what God is telling you, even through the people you encounter. If you listen carefully and acknowledge God’s involvement in everything that you do, you will experience the demanding call to allow your faith to invade everything that you do. This is a demanding proposition that, if followed, leads to growth and change.
I also challenge you to read and listen to the faith of others. This fall (beginning during the week of September 19), Andrea and I will be leading a class titled “Tell It Like It Is: A study of spiritual journeys (More info). Briefly, we will be exploring well-known spiritual awakenings of people like the Apostle Paul, and inviting a parallel discussion of personal journeys of faith. What we hope to do is acknowledge the experiences of the great cloud of witnesses, both from the past and in our present, who can teach us something about our own faith. It will be offered at three different times each week for six weeks to hopefully provide an opportunity for everyone to participate. There is information about this class on the website and in future Wednesday emails.
Earlier this week, I visited the library of the Virginia Theological Seminary to return two books that I had borrowed. Every time I visit the library, I notice the words carved in the stone to the left of the entry doors. The words are attributed to the seminary’s longest serving dean, the Rev. William Sparrow. According to his students, they were the essence of the great dean, who led the seminary through the Civil War period and inspired a generation of Episcopal leaders. His words, and his deeds, set the foundation of one of the finest seminaries in the country. The words are, “Seek the Truth, Come Whence it May, Cost What it Will.” As we seek to grow in spirit, let us hold dear these words. Realizing that truth comes from unsuspecting places and will demand from us a great sacrifice. Acknowledging these words will force us to face those things that divide us and, at the same time, make us who we are. That is the gospel Jesus preached and the one we, often, seek to avoid.
August 15, 2010
Washington, DC
Proper 15C
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