Living Faith Out Loud

A portion of the Gospel today is:

Jesus said to his Apostles: “Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth. I have come to bring not peace but the sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and one’s enemies will be those of his household.” (MT10:34-11:1)

I found this passage hard, and it made me want to call “Uncle!” I have only a very humble thought to share this morning.

Often people say their faith is a private thing just between them and God. It is possible to hear that from churchgoers and non-churchgoers alike. They see their relationship with God as restricted. There are spiritual “No Trespassing” signs at the doors of their soul. 

Jesus never meant our faith to be an exclusive relationship. It is true that there is a dimension of our relationship with God that is intimate, deeply personal, and not easily or freely shared. It is a treasure, and we tend to protect it. Faith limited to the private is not enough. It is not what Jesus called us to live.

Jesus’ example was to share His relationship with His Father. He gave freely to all those who followed Him what he learned from His Father. He did this in His fidelity to God, not because it was easy. In fact, it was so “not easy” that it brought Him to His death on a cross.

So how on earth did I get here? I made my way from a reading that spoke about Jesus not bringing peace but the sword to the importance of living our faith out loud. 

Jesus didn’t mean a literal sword. Instead, He was speaking about something sharp and sliced through what seems to unite us. If I proclaim my faith in word and action at all times and places, it will divide. 

Jesus’ words were to bring about the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom where love and peace reign. It will not come without a battle. Battles always leave us divided, broken and hurting. 

It was not so unlike the Civil War in our country when it was fought brother against brother. The question of slavery deeply divided our country and caused passionate divisions between members of families. 

The Civil War of Faith is not fought on the literal battlefields of the earth. It is fought on the battlefield of the heart. When we live our faith out loud, we are going to rub people the wrong way. There will be division, broken relationships, and harsh words.

Faith in the message of Jesus calls us to a standard of behavior toward others that is not always accepted or easy. This is not so different from Jesus’ own time when His words and actions caused division. Jesus spent time with sinners, healing lepers. He spoke of the Kingdom of God. God’s Kingdom is a place where the meek inherit the earth. It is a place where Pharisees are cast aside in favor of the lowly and humble. A sharp division was inevitable, and no doubt, even families were divided between those who found truth in Jesus’ words and those who saw them too much, outlandish, and impossible. Faith is not meant to be a private thing between God and me. It is intended to be lived out loud.

We live in a country that was founded on faith. God was always a part of the conversation and decision making in the formation of our country. Perhaps, the division we see now is because faith has gone from the core of our decision making to banished from the conversation. 

It is simple and naïve, but I wonder what kind of conversations would happen in Washington and state capitals if we changed the first questions. If we asked, “What would Jesus do?” and “What decision will bring us closer to building the Kingdom of God among us.”

Jesus never meant faith to be lived out in our Churches. He wanted it to be lived out in the streets. Our Churches give us the strength, renewal, and support we need to live our faith outside its doors. Our personal relationship with God provides us with the wisdom to know His Word in us. Our intimate relationship with God guarantees us His unconditional love and healing when we return to him broken and hurting from our efforts. 

This is a hard and uncomfortable message because we all want to “keep the peace.” Jesus, in this reading, is telling us that it is not always possible when we live the Word of God every day, in every interaction. It will bring division and disagreement. He is telling us to be faithful, even then. We are not alone, we are surrounded by a community of believers and embraced with God’s unconditional love.

In God’s Unending love,

Gwen