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Matthew 10: 34-42
Let's review where we've been. Since January, I have been preaching about apostles - those sent out to represent God in this world. I have been reading scriptures from Matthew 8-10, which have been called “Instructions for Apostles.” This was Jesus' way of saying that his closest followers were not simply going to be disciples, sitting at his feet and learning, but apostles, sent out to be proclaimers and examples of Jesus Christ in the world.
My sermons have revolved around a group of 'A' words that come out of these scriptures. First we read how Jesus came out of the Sermon on the Mount and started healing people - a leper, a centurion's servant, many more. And we said that showed that apostles - if they are going to be like Jesus - must be people of "action". Then we read the teaching from Jesus that he had chosen a traveling life, with 'no place to lay his head.' And we said that was to show that apostles must be "available". Jesus then calmed the storm at sea, to show that apostles are "anchored". Then he drove out demons, to show that apostles are people of authority to command amazing things.
We read how Jesus was scorned for spending time with sinners, and said that apostles must be "accepting" of others. We heard Jesus ask two blind men, "Do you believe that I am able to do this?" And they said Yes, and he healed them, and showed that Jesus and his apostles are able to do God's work in the world. Then he said that the 'harvest was plentiful, and the laborers are few,' and we said that God needs ambassadors, and that's the next 'A' word that describes what apostles must be. Two weeks ago, we read about Jesus telling his disciples that he was sending them out as 'sheep in the midst of wolves,' so apostles would certainly be "afflicted" by many of the things they would encounter in this world. Then last week, the 'A' word was "accountable", and we read how the very hairs on our heads are counted by God, and we will give account for the way we have represented God in our lives.
We may all be happy to note that today I will lift up the last' A' word for apostles. I'll also say this right up front. It is a stretch to get this word out of the scripture lesson for this morning's sermon - some of the most difficult words Jesus ever spoke. But it is an important word. In fact, I've come to believe that it may be the key word that trumps all the other ones. That is, Apostles are "Authentic". Apostles are spreading the real heart of what their teacher has sent them to convey - not something they made up, or something they picked up from what are called the 'false prophets.'
It may seem that this should go without saying. If you're going to take the name of Christ - call yourself 'Christian' - then naturally you would want to stand for what Jesus stood for. His message is your message. But the fact of the matter is that one of the most widespread and destructive forces in the world today is inauthentic religion. There are people walking around saying the most outlandish things in the name of Jesus. There are societies claiming to represent teachers they ignore regularly.
We are quick to spot that kind of hypocrisy in the actions of others. When Muslim leaders in Afghanistan sentence a young man to death because he converted from Islam to Christianity, we know that is not real religion. It is too prideful and narrow to have come from a great teacher like Mohammed.
What we fail to see is the hypocrisy in ourselves. When a proclaimed Christian leader like Pat Robertson, kept on the air by contributions from millions of Christian people, advocates the assassination of a Muslim leader, and systematically attacks Islam as a religion of hate, that, too raises questions about authenticity. Just where in the New Testament do you find Jesus advocating assassination, or hatred toward another sincerely-held faith? Yes, he challenged the Jewish leaders, but that was because they weren't practicing authentic Jewish faith. There was nothing real about it, and Jesus saw the deadly danger in it. That happens everywhere, it seems.
Our United Methodist Annual Conference has set as one of its critical issues "Dismantling Racism." And every pastor is mandated to attend an awareness training on the issue. Mine is in May, so I'm doing the advance reading now. And it's amazing to be reminded again of how effectively the Christian faith was used to justify some truly atrocious behavior. Under the banner of Christ, Europeans wiped out whole civilizations; stole land from natives in Africa and the Americas, without a twinge of conscience; and kidnapped and enslaved hundreds of thousands of Africans. People would go to their churches and pray and sing hymns on Sunday, then build structures of racial prejudice on Monday through Saturday, and say this was the way God intended for it to be.
There are many hateful powers that drag down on a good and just world. But none are more powerful and dark than those that wrap themselves in inauthentic religion. And we see it happen all the time.
It is especially hurtful when it gets into our closest relationships. The words Jesus says in this morning's scripture lesson are some of the toughest he ever said. "Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword." And then he goes into all of these family nightmares: "I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and one's foes will be members of one's own household."
What in the world does that mean? People have accused Jesus of being anti-family because of these words. Did he really mean that homes should split over religion? I think it's important to read those words in the context of his whole teaching - which was all about living a life of authentic peace and love.
Here's what I have seen happen in some families: a person has a religious experience - one that is life-changing. They bring it home, and it is pretty much the way Jesus describes it - it turns parents against children, spouses against each other, and brothers against sisters. The problem there is not the truth of the Christian message - it's the way it is applied in an inauthentic way. What we see sometimes is people who have a faith experience, and then they come into their families with the best of intentions, but they come with judgment, and with demands, and with disrespect, and with evangelistic zeal. "I've found the faith, so now I'm going to tell you what you're doing wrong, and how you better change."
If faith turns you into that person, then you need to ask if it is authentic faith. I've had people say to me, "Boy, I sure liked her better before she found Jesus." That means that the real Jesus hasn't fully taken over. Authentic faith in Jesus is the most attracting force in the world. We know, of course, that Jesus made some people mad - mad enough to kill him. That's because he would not back down from the real heart of faith that challenged the powers-that-be. But, other than those who needed to maintain their places of power and prestige - people flocked to him in droves - children, outcasts, rich and poor, influential and forgotten. They wanted to be around Jesus - why? I believe it is because they found Somebody real.
Here's the thing: I truly believe this. There is a lot of religious garbage floating around. There are people saying and doing terrible things in the name of Jesus - judging, bombing, insulting, hurting - the name of Jesus is being attached to all of those things and worse. And more and more, people don't want to be around it.
But what I've found is that authentic Christian faith - faith that invites instead of coercing; faith that respects instead of judging; faith that builds a bridge instead of a wall- that kind of faith that truly reflects Jesus can cut through the garbage just like that. And it's so rare, and it's so beautiful, and people are so hungry for that kind of message, that it starts to attract people. It's the kind of thing many people want to be around, Sure, not everybody. Some people just don't want it. But that authentic faith is more likely to draw together than push apart, more likely to shine than to darken.
This may seem like an odd moment to use a statement from a clown, but I think it fits. Lou Jacobs, one of the kings of the circus clowns, once said this: "When you're a clown, you can't just go out there with the idea you'll be funny - no, no, no. You gotta put your own self into whatever you're supposed to be. You're a dad lecturing his daughters, an old geezer... whatever. Then that character takes over and does what's funny... You gotta be it, not just imitating."
I think that's kind of like faith. Jesus comes in and takes over, and then the real You and the real Me can come out. We're not just imitating; we're transformed by the character of Christ inside us. And when it gets that real, it's dynamic, and inviting, and life-changing. One of the things you'll hear sometimes is, "Wow, I didn't realize you could be a Christian and still be like a real person." What that means is we are close to the most powerful and beautiful thing in the world - the faith of an authentic person shining with the light of Jesus Christ. We have some wonderful examples of that kind of faith in our church - and it's something we all can strive for.
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