A friend of mine from seminary enrolled in a January term course one year which was to take place in Germany. Upon his return from Germany, he shared with me his intense reactions to the experience of visiting a former Nazi concentration camp. He was so moved by the experience, that he vowed such atrocities would never happen again as long as he lived. Yet as he spoke, Sarajevo had come under attack and Bosnians were fleeing their homes as bombs fell.
We mean well. Our intentions are good, but it is much easier to "talk the talk" than to "walk the walk". I think Jesus knew how it would be for us. Matthew writes about it here in what we might call his mission discourse. The disciples "have been on the road with Jesus, following him as he proclaims the good news of the kingdom and cures the sick who press in around him in all the cities and villages in Galilee. Tired and worn, they probably welcome the thought of having some privacy, and sleeping in the same bed for a few nights in a row. (1)
But this is no vacation for the disciples. Jesus has something else in mind. Here he pauses, withdraws momentarily from the crowd, and sits with his disciples. He calls them to ministry and then offers direction as to how they should proceed. This morning's text picks up in the middle of Jesus' teaching as he reminds the disciples of the difficulty they will face in carrying out their ministry. In being disciples and working out the mission of spreading the good news, Jesus cautions the disciples to fear God alone, not human beings who can only harm the body. Then he reminds them to trust in God's care for them. Finally, he assures them that their steadfast confession of him will be rewarded.
Jesus knew it would be easy for his followers to lay claim to the words he spoke, but he also recognized that the way would be difficult, and many would be tempted to just "play it safe" or run away altogether. He does reassure the disciples that God will care for them, and that their reward will be great. Jesus knew the talk would be easy but the walk might bring about danger, temptation and betrayal.
"It has often been remarked that persecution is good for the church. When not beleaguered by outside pressure, the church tends to slip into a comfortable religiosity that takes all too lightly its commitment to God and God's purposes..." (2)
I would hate to think that this is true, but in comparison, the church in the United States has become quite comfortable. Our greatest debates are over things such as the style of worship or the expenditure of funds.
During this past week, I had the opportunity to speak with the Mission Interpreter from our sister presbytery in Eastern Virginia. Many of you might remember Ettienne Bote-Tshiek as our mission speaker one year as we began work on the Pig Project of the Congo. In our conversation this week, Tshiek talked of the situation his people face in the Congo and of their undying faith and hope that God has and will continue to care for them, even in the face of their struggles. Their faith and courage in the face of adversity and persecution profoundly moves me. Even at the expense of their homes, their land, their families and even their own lives, they hold on to what they have and fight against the political opposition as well as the malnutrition which claims their health.
In Friday's paper, I read an article tucked away neatly into the middle of the first section. It was another article about the awful situation the NATO troops are discovering in Kosovo, but this article was different than most of them. It recorded what the Associated Press reporter called "bravery" on the part of a group of monks in southwest Kosovo. As the Serb forces pillaged the village, the abbot of the Serbian Orthodox monastery took in scores of the predominantly Muslim ethnic Albanian villagers and sheltered them within the walls of the monastery. Serb forces had come looking for the townspeople, but the monks told them there were none. These acts could have cost the monks their monastery or perhaps their lives. Some might call it bravery, but we know it was something much more. The abbot said later that this act was the "Christian thing to do. It was the human thing to do." (3)
The courage and faith of these monks reminded me of stories which emerged from Nazi Germany and surrounding countries as scores of Jews fled from the hands of their persecutors - stories of bravery as people, even whole villages, gave shelter and assistance to the fleeing Jews. They were willing to lose their lives for Christ's sake in order to find them.
In another conversation I had earlier this week with a member of our Mission Committee, we discussed one of the mission projects we are currently working on. As we contemplated the cost and the commitment that would be necessary to carry out this project, we realized how much it would require of our congregation in order to help those in need. He was reminded of the verse from the Bible about losing our lives for Christ's sake in order to find them. How funny that I was working on that very passage from Matthew for this morning's sermon! His comment helped me over the week to frame my study and meditation on this passage.
How hard it is for us to give up our comfort for Christ's sake. How much more difficult for us to surrender our very lives. Jesus was able to live that to the end, dying on the cross for our sakes. We are asked to give our lives in return, sometimes to the point of death, sometimes, like the monks in Kosovo, to the point of risk, but more often, most of us are simply asked to surrendering our self-centeredness in order to live with God at the center of our lives.
Last week in worship, I asked the children to help me put together a puzzle which graphically displayed this concept. I was struck by one of the children's comments. I had asked if money or play or school or family and so on was at the center of our lives. One of the children wisely responded, "Sometimes."
You see, we are comfortable. Fortunately, we don't face persecution, but there are still those who do. Some face the overt persecution of hostile forces like the ethnic Albanians. Some face the persecution of classism, living in poverty while we comfortably adjust our thermostats before bed. Some of us can't afford medical care, some can't work, some are plagued by physical or mental adversities which leave them helpless or dependent on others. And there are many more.
Perhaps persecution is what we need to move us from our comfortable religiosity, but I believe there is another force which can move us to action without our having to suffer persecution. Jesus calls each of us in the same way he called his disciples. For some of us, it is more difficult to hear the call, but we each have a mission in the church and in the world, and we have received our instruction.
We must muster our courage and faith, together with the other members of the body, and place our trust in God. God has promised to be with us and to care for us. We need to read his word and study it until we are able to trust as he desires. Once we have developed that trust, it will be far easier for us to let go our of faithless fears of this world which keep us from fulfilling our mission. People may hurt us for carrying out our God-given mission. People may laugh. We may face risks, but God will be with us. We are told that Jesus will acknowledge us before God if we are willing to take our part in this mission. There will be nothing greater than this reward, but we are afraid. We like our lives just the way they are. We don't want anybody or anything to shake us from our comfortable place, but God calls us to find our lives by giving them to God, losing them according to our worldly standards, and finding them in his eternal care.
In the next moments and in the coming days, I encourage each of us to find the things in our lives which we have given center stage. Listen for God's call to serve as he desires, and allow God to help us find our eternal lives as we lose the self-serving lives of this world. May we remember to trust God, fear only God, and remain steadfast in confessing Christ, and Christ alone, as Lord of our lives. Amen.
Notes
1) Adapted from an article by Wendy J. Miller, "When the Going Gets Rough," Lectionary Homiletics 10 (June 1999): 30.
2) Douglas R. A. Hare, Interpretation (Louisville: John Knox Press, 1993) p. 115.
3) Ellen Knickmeyer, "Serb monks' bravery helps save Albanians," Richmond Times-Dispatch, Friday, June 18, 1999, A8.
© 1999 Michelle James, all rights reserved
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