SERMON: June 22, 2014 Proper 7, 2nd Sunday after Pentecost.
“Let the words of my mouth and the
meditation of my heart be acceptable to you,
O Lord, my rock and my redeemer…”
To get a discussion going, I
used to ask my students in my Religions of the World classes at Mesa College, “With all the wars and acts of violence done
in the name of religion, or someone’s god, does religion do more harm than
good?”
And it was always interesting
to see where the discussions would go. In
some classes, the majority of the students would conclude ‘yes, religion does
do more harm than good’. In other
classes, students did not blame religion, but rather people and the violent
nature of humanity.
And what does the Bible say about this? Violence, that is.
Many have the perception that
the Old Testament is full of violence.
Yes, we are familiar with “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.” “Violence begets violence …sevenfold.” “Vengeance is mine, sayeth the Lord”…
An NCO friend of mine decided
to really read the bible. And really
read it, she did! She commented after
reading the first few books of the OT, “Holy cow! Rapes, murders, wars,
genocide, affairs, revenge, this is the BIBLE?
In comparison, we tend to
view the New Testament as much more peaceful.
But is it really?
The New Testament does have violent
stories & passages. For example, in John’s gospel, Jesus tips over tables
of the money changers in the Temple and chases them out with a whip made of
chords! In Mark and Matthews gospels,
Jesus curses a fig tree when it does not have any fruit for him to eat, and the
poor tree withers & dies on the spot!
And then there’s that
troublesome Gospel passage we just heard in today’s reading, where Jesus says, "Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not
come to bring peace, but a sword…”
And it doesn’t stop there. Jesus goes on to say, "For 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 are we to think? What
did Jesus mean by this?
Talking about violence makes us all uncomfortable. I noticed so many biblical scholars and
preachers tend to avoid this perplexing passage. And no wonder, it is not easy preaching on
violence! How much easier it would be to
preach on a happier, more peaceful topic with little humorous anecdotes here
and there to make you smile & chuckle!
But it was this passage that tugged at me. Perhaps it is all the recent events in the
news. It makes me wonder, why
are we humans by nature, violent?
And so, because I found no
satisfactory answers in my theological and biblical resources, I explored other
sources, & I found a few very thought provoking and interesting articles on
this topic.
Author, minister & blog
writer Mel Lawerenz comments that much of the
media coverage of violent acts tend to center on surface issues and hardly get
at the root cause, or causes of violence. He challenges us to contemplate the
deeper aspects of violence. The
roots.
So what does
the Bible say about violence, at its roots?
Right at the very beginning,
in the book of Genesis we have violence, Cain murders his brother Abel. God’s tells Cain: “your brother’s blood
cries to me from the ground!”
Why did Cain kill his brother? He was jealous. His jealousy and resentment turned to rage
and hate…which led to an act of intense violence.
Violence does
not begin with huge armies, generational ethnic hatred, & or longstanding
social inequities. It begins right
inside us, in our own hearts.
In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus said: “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not murder,
and anyone who murders (or is angry) will be subject to judgment.’ ….” Matt. 5:21-22
It begins with
bad feelings, holding onto negative emotions like jealousy, resentment, envy, anger,
rage, revenge, and so forth, that plant the seed.
And then there
is this important teaching, again from the Sermon on the Mount:
“Again Jesus called the crowd to him and
said, ‘Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. Nothing outside a person
can defile them by going into them. Rather, it is what comes out
of a person that defiles them…. For it is from within, out of a person’s heart,
that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed,
malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils
come from inside and defile a person’
Yes violence—comes out of the human heart.
Jesus is a realist.
In our gospel reading for today, Jesus
is addressing reality & harshness of the world, & human behavior. He was sending his disciples out there, into
the world, like sheep among wolves. He
was preparing them for what they would face, for it would not be easy.
All of this is known as the cost of discipleship. The very early Christians sometimes had to
choose between their family, & their faith.
As we know, conversion to another faith causes much tension and conflict
in families. In fact, we still face
this today!
How many of us have divisions in our own families based on
religion and or differing beliefs?
How many of us have fallen
into this trap: Someone says a mean-spirited
or “snarky” comment to us, and we snap back.
It’s a knee jerk reaction.
Intellectually and rationally, we know this doesn’t really resolve
anything, but we have fallen victim to our emotions. And as we know, these situations can easily
escalate and spiral out of control into a yelling match, and more…
Violence begets violence.
Is the Old Testament really violent? Perhaps it is
not that it, the Bible in itself that is violent, or teaches violence. As we know, it tells stories of generations
and generations, of two, three & four thousand years ago. And
unlike many stories told today, it tells stories “straight up”, with no
euphemisms. It does not tiptoe around controversial
issues or taboos, it just tells it like it is!
It is, in all actuality after
all, the story of us. Humanity. And
that includes violence.
“I have not come to bring peace, but a sword”
said Jesus. But Christ does not bring
false peace. Old Testament prophets, like Jeremiah complained of people who say
“peace, peace, where there is really no
peace.” (Jer. 6:14).
What passes under the name
of peace is often only a mask, a
false peace. Wars and
winning wars is an example. Just look at
WWI when it ended. The Great War may
have been won by the Central Powers, but the deeper issues were never really
resolved. For twenty years later,
another world war erupted.
The passage in Genesis where
God says anyone who avenges Cain will be avenged sevenfold is stating a maxim,
a truth. For violence only begets more
violence. And violence never
really solves anything.
It is sad truth that yes, we
live in a violent world. Perhaps this is
what Jesus meant when he said, "…I have not come
to bring peace, but a sword…”
Jesus does not bring a false
peace. The sword of Jesus, is a metaphor
for true peace. The light and love of Christ, is
the sword of Christ.
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King
Jr. said, “Returning violence for
violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid
of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate
cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”
Let us pray ….‘Eternal God, in whose perfect kingdom no sword is drawn but the sword of righteousness, no strength known but the strength of love: So mightily spread abroad your Spirit, that all peoples may be gathered under the banner of the Prince of Peace, as children of one God; to whom be the glory, now and for ever.’
Amen.
[Sermon given at St. peter's Episcopal Church, Casa Grande, AZ on June 22, 2014 by the Rev. Laura Adelia, Vicar]
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