In today’s Gospel, Jesus instructs His apostles about the cost of discipleship, and it is clear that He is saying proclaiming the Gospel is not an easy life. In fact, we may be handed over to councils who will flog us, be dragged before governors and kings, be betrayed by our family, and hated by all, why?, because of the very Name of Jesus.
In this passage, Matthew is addressing, not a group of Christians, but a group of Jews. While Paul carried the Gospel into the world of the gentiles, Matthew and the community that formed around him stayed within the synagogues. These Jews listened to what Matthew preached and they came to believe that Jesus was indeed the long-awaited Messiah. They saw no conflict between this belief and their Judaism, and they went on attending synagogue and leading the life of pious Jews – that is, until they became something of a problem, a disruption to the normal flow of worship within the synagogue.
The Pharisees decision as to how to handle the problem was to expel these early believers from the synagogues, to cast them out. It must have been terrible. How could this happen? The Matthean community felt upset, angry, and helpless. And so, we have today’s Gospel, which helps those who heard it then, cope with what had happened to them, cope with the treatment they had received at the hands of their fellow Jews. Though we are not in their shoes, the Gospel still holds great meaning for us today.
As in His parables, what Jesus says in today’s Gospel is shocking. What kind of Sunday message is it to hear that “children will rise against parents and have them put to death”? We are brought to immediate attention. However, Jesus goes on to say some things that have more comfort value. Do not fear death, for the forces of evil may kill the mortal body but they cannot kill the soul. And He follows this with the beautiful, poetic image: the sparrow, worth half a cent, is cared for and loved by God. Every sparrow. And every hair on your head and on mine.
In this intense Gospel, Jesus lays out two fundamental principles of Christianity: First, we are not spared from suffering, and, second, when we suffer, God suffers along with us. These are two basic tenets of Christian life.
Suffering: we may not be flogged before governors or hated by everyone - but we do struggle – all of us. We contract diseases, grieve the death of loved ones, lose jobs, and undergo a myriad of nasty experiences - some trivial, and some catastrophic.
And part of what Jesus says in today’s Gospel is that we can expect we will continue to suffer. The Christian life is not a magic fix to the woes of this mortal life. Though we prefer to downplay suffering in our daily lives - within the Church suffering is often set forth as a road to holiness, as a sign of God’s love for us.
If Christian life was meant to ensure a life of ease, we would not have the manifestation of any evil or hate in the world. Instead, our lives would be continually joyful, and everything would be just lovely.
Imagine: There would be no war in Ukraine, no struggles for political power, no endless news coverage of murder, mayhem, war, theft, cruelty, and all things unholy. But, as beautiful a picture as that might be, it is a picture of the fulfillment of the Kingdom of God, what we hope and pray for, what Jesus came to earth to proclaim was coming, and - let’s face it - what is not yet here.
So how are we to live in this world where hate and violence are so rampant? How do we live with suffering?
We need the help of God.
And that’s the second point laid out for us: our God is with us. “He shall be called Emmanuel, God with us”—remember that from Christmas? The promise made by Jesus is that we are not alone in our struggles. God is here, to comfort us, to help us through the difficult times, to show us the way when we don’t know where to turn, to help us when we cannot help ourselves.
It is absolutely certain that we will sometimes suffer in this mortal life, but it is equally absolutely certain that God is with us - to comfort and guide us.
Perhaps we might think of this when we consider the many controversies that we seem to be currently entwined in – be they in the church, in our nation, maybe even in our families and communities. Voices on both sides of every issue want resolution—they want to be out of the struggle. But could it be that no less than our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is calling us not to make an end to our struggle, but instead to be in the midst of it? And could it be that, once we accept our place in the very midst of it, the Holy Spirit will show us the way forward?
That is certainly how Jesus imagines it.
Time was when society was different. We were respectful and polite. We listened to each other. We didn’t agree on every issue, but we agreed to continue in conversation. Listening, which is one of the spiritual gifts, is something we do not do well these days. We do not listen because we want to be “right”, and, somehow, we think that forging ahead and being “right” will alleviate suffering
It’s really odd, when you think about it, that nowadays, God-fearing people of every political stripe and theological persuasion - faithful, caring, loving people – presume, in their quest to be right, to know the mind of God, in painful detail and with absolute certainty. It is as if we have forgotten we need God to guide and direct us, and have instead taken over the role of gods ourselves.
It ought not to be necessary to point out - this is not our calling. Our calling is to proclaim to everyone that God, out Triune God, is here, in the midst of us, and to share with every human being, each and every person we meet, the love that we know in Christ Jesus. We are called to live in the midst of the struggle that is Christian life, not to solve it.
Robert Frost once wrote in his poem “Fire and Ice:
Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I’ve tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.
Every human heart has the capacity to love and the capacity to hate. Every human being wishes to live a life of peace and contentment and to be free of suffering. No one really wants to forgive their worst enemy and to love everyone, even in Jesus’ Name, but our Lord tells us, “Whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.” Jesus assures us that, though we may not understand how it is so, suffering, done in His Name and according to His will, has a holy purpose.
In this Christian life, we are not spared from suffering, which helps us prepare for eternal glory, but when we suffer, God suffers along with us. And in this life, when we love, God love us, and in the depths of our hearts, even in suffering, we find joy.
In his letter to the Corinthians, St. Paul tells, “this light momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal”
Jesus Christ is risen from the dead, the kingdom of God has come near, let us rejoice, even in suffering, and give thanks to God.
Let us pray:
Dear Jesus, our beloved Savior, in Your great kindness, look upon us and our brothers and sisters in these times of great stress, personal suffering, and global upheaval. Comfort us, be with us in our pain, help us not to ask “why”, but rather to ask “how” – how can we better serve You and others in Your Name, always being grateful for Your continual Presence among us, and for Your never-ending Love. Amen.