Jeremiah 20:7-13 Psalm 69: 8-11, (12-17), 18-20 Romans 6:1b-11 Matthew 10:24-39

Jesus said, “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.”

We think and speak often of the peace of Christ.  We look forward to the time when we can once again exchange the peace of Christ safely with a handshake or a hug or even a kiss.

Yet, Jesus bamboozles us with this statement, “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.”  And, if we consider what we know about Jesus’ life and ministry, we would have to agreed it was not peaceful.  We might even have experienced this piercing sword for ourselves – a time when we have discerned with God’s help to do the right thing in spite of pressure from family and friends, in spite of the knowledge that our decision would bring anger and division, a sword inflicting deep injury in a human relationship that would be slow to heal.

These weeks of Ordinary Time have come; Pentecost has passed; we set off in earnest on our journey as Jesus’ disciples, learning from the true Teacher.  Matthew’s Jesus is symbolized in the human face of God.  Our study of Matthew’s Gospel through the coming weeks of summer and fall will be as students of the teachings of Jesus organized into five different discourses; today’s lesson is a significant portion of the Missionary Discourse.  Jesus, our teacher, is quite transparent as he shares the brutal truth of the great costs of our commitment as his disciples.

Jesus is not advocating family divisiveness; he is not encouraging us to be disrespectful or irresponsible in our relationships; Jesus is calling us to live into those relationships – to face the challenges of those relationships in ways that nurture and prioritize our call to discipleship in ways that further the transformation of this world toward the Kingdom of God.  We cannot shy away from disrupting the false peace that obscures or diverts our call to live into our covenant as people of God.

If you have been blessed with a loving benevolent father or father figure in your life, you know that, out of necessity and duty, fathers don’t always bring peace.  Misbehaving was one thing, but having my father know that I had misbehaved was an emotional sword through my heart that kept me from being in the wrong place at the wrong time more than once.  A true loving father does not turn his back on much-needed discipline out of fear of disturbing the superficially peaceful household.

Jesus knew that his call was to disrupt the status quo, to challenge the world’s injustice, to speak the truth that would at times divide even his closest followers.  Jesus’ teaching did not hide the reality of the dangers of the disruption of the superficial peace we are tempted to enjoy in spite of its shallowness.  These earliest disciples and disciples of every generation since continue to accept this reality and obey the call toward the transformation of the world into the kingdom of God.

If we do not recognize that God is above even our dearest loved one, where will we be, how will we go on if and when we lose that dearest loved one?  We mortals will pass, but God is real and everlasting.

God, through his Son Jesus, is asking us to choose.  First century Jews who made the choice to become Christians were banished from their synagogues and alienated by family members.  Our choices may very likely divide us from friends and family.  The choice to be a disciple of Christ and to follow his teachings has brought the literal sword of persecution and death into the lives of far too many Christians in our world.

The unifying principle – God’s message that is incredibly clear in Jesus’ words to his disciples, is that we are to follow without fear.  Rather than our own human determination and planning, which over and over obstructs our view of God’s promise to us, we trust God to heal our divisions – to embrace us into his grace, freedom, and destiny.

Our God is a god who cares even for the tiny sparrow – purchased for a half penny – the cheapest meat available for purchase by the poorest family in first century times.

This is God in whom we entrust our destiny; this is God in whom there are no divisions; this is God wherein lies the true peace that we seek beyond the sword.    Amen