Pentecost 5A, 2023

5th Sunday after Pentecost, Year A

In the name of the Father, and of the +Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Brothers and sisters in Christ: grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Are you aware of how people around Hickory think of us? If you’re talking to someone who is not a member of our church, how do they know us? How do they refer to us? Most don’t actually know that our church is called Miller’s, after the family who donated the land. Many don’t know that we’re a Lutheran church. If they do know that, they don’t know the difference between NALC, LCMS, and ELCA. Almost all of them know us as “the three churches.” I usually just tell them that we’re the one with the tallest steeple, and our outer walls are gray rock, while the other two are red brick. I consider myself blessed if the conversation actually turns to the difference in theology between us and the other two.

Does it ever bother you that there *are* in fact, three churches within a couple hundred yards of each other, and all three bear the name “Lutheran” on them? Do you question what message that sends to the community around us? I’m comfortable that all of you know why Miller’s left the ELCA in 2011 and joined the NALC. And I am comfortable that all of you know what the main issues were. If you don’t, let’s talk.

I wonder, though, how many of you know why the original congregation that worshipped in that octagon log building split in two back in the mid-1800s? And how many of you know how those two congregations - who shared that oddly shaped church building - then splintered again, creating a third congregation?

Some of this history is available online if you want to read about it, but here’s the "too long/didn’t read” version: in 1820, the Lutheran church in North America had just started to organize as a church body, the Evangelical Lutheran General Synod of the United States of America. They were building their own seminary (so that they didn’t have to recruit Lutheran pastors from Europe), and they were unifying their worship practices, their mission efforts, and their governance. But there was a conflict among them. Part of it was the insistence of the German Lutherans that worship must be conducted in Luther’s German. But the Swedes, the Finnish, the Norwegians and others didn’t speak German. Nor did the newer generations who were born here in the New World. Why not translate the worship into English - the common language of the colonies - so we can all understand? This was a troubling issue, and it was a passionate issue for both sides.

But that was not the biggest issue. The bigger issue was more theological. There were two main camps: the “orthodox” Lutherans (very conservative) and the pietist Lutherans (much more liberal). The pietists were starting to ignore parts of the Augsburg Confession, and were not strict in their interpretation of Scripture on various theological topics. Nothing new under the sun, huh?

This argument prevented the total unity of the first national Lutheran Church body. Six pastors and a number of congregations they served refused to join that church body and formed the Tennessee Synod (much of the activity centered here in Catawba Valley). Miller’s was one of the first congregations to help form this new synod. Some of the Miller’s congregation didn’t agree and wanted to go with the General Synod. So, the congregation split into two congregations, and they shared their building by holding different services, and called a second pastor, so each had their own preacher.

Well, one of those two pastors left, and a replacement was called. This new pastor was not well-received by everyone, and THAT congregation split, creating the 3rd congregation. And we’ve been “the three churches” in Hickory ever since.

Sometimes, a church will split because it has grown too large. Usually, it will begin by splitting one worship service into 2 or 3 or even more worship services. Eventually it can get so big that some worship might have to be held at different location. What a wonderful problem such a split would be, hmm? Growth was not the problem for the St. Stephens Lutherans. No, these splits were the result of irreconcilable conflict. This is not a good way to evangelize to the world around you, when Jesus’ primary purpose is reconciliation - to reconcile us to God and to our neighbor.

Yes, Jesus’ primary purpose is reconciliation. I hope you hear that in 99% of the sermons that come from this pulpit. Today’s gospel lesson might be one that keeps that number from reaching a full 100%. Listen again to how it begins:

“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.” Wait a minute. Isn’t Jesus the “Prince of peace?” I hope you were thinking that. I was too as I was reading this a few days ago. He definitely is the Prince of peace. He greets people with “peace to you!” His apostles are definitely the bearers of peace (look at verses 12 & 13 of this same chapter of Matthew!). The key point here is that Jesus is not bringing peace to the earth because “the earth” is the world of sinful humanity. Sinful humanity rejects the Gospel of Christ. Jesus came expecting hostility toward himself.

The word “peace” here has a meaning that’s a bit different from what we normally talk about: the Hebrew idea of “shalom” - lacking nothing. This word here is more like “harmony, an undisturbed condition.” [Lenski, 414.] Jesus absolutely came to disturb the sinful world, and his appearance and teachings “will arouse all the opposition of the powers of darkness, and ... this opposition will be manifested on the part of the servants of sin.” [Schaeffer, 250.] He will not reconcile anyone who willfully refuses Him and disobeys the Father. He knew there would be conflict and division.

And of course there would. Sin is comfortable and tempting and often pleasurable. If it wasn’t, we wouldn’t struggle with it. It would be easy to resist. But the reality is that sin is often difficult to resist. And many don’t want to resist it. Many will fight to be able to stay in their sin. Many will fervently choose this disobedience. This is the conflict Jesus describes.

How bad will it be? It will even divide families. Anyone have someone in your family who doesn’t agree with you in matters of faith or religion? Has it ever gotten ugly or bitter? Our own church history involves a split over whether we would continue to worship in German, or if we would start to worship in English. Here’s a question: how do you think Jesus feels about that conflict?

Verse 36: “And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household.” Jesus is actually quoting Micah 7:6 here. These words came from a prophet before Jesus used them. A scholar I was reading describes family strife over the faith in this way: “When the members of a family combine in pursuing an evil course—[Jesus] says—and any of them are subsequently converted, the impenitent relatives will trample on all the ties of [blood relations as well as marriage], and persecute those whose new principles and life condemn their own. The believer (verse 36) will not find peace in the bosom of his own family, while his relatives remain dead in sin.” [Schaeffer, 250.] In other words, people can be so captive to their sin that they will choose that sin over their own family. And when they do that, they force their Christian family members to choose between their faith in Christ and their love of family. Jesus is clear on this: “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.” [Mt 10:37]

Interestingly, Jesus does not use agape for “love” here. It’s not the Christ-like, self-emptying love that he usually uses. Here he uses phileo - which we typically translate as “brotherly” love. This is a less devoted kind of love than agape. The expectation is lower than we might expect (especially when you look at verses 38 & 39), but if I do not have enough of even the lower form of love for Jesus to outweigh my attachment to my family, I am not worthy to be counted as a disciple. [Lenski, 416] Ultimately this means that Jesus expects to be loved by his followers more than anything else in their lives, including family. This is the love that God deserves, and Jesus is laying a claim on that, since He, too, is God. To love him above all others is to recognize that our need of Christ exceeds all our other needs. (Ibid)

Now let’s talk about this “take his cross and follow me” part. The last verse involving family described an influence that might draw us away from our Savior. Verse 38 talks about what might repel us from Him. “38 And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.” [Mt 10:38.] “‘Taking one’s cross’ does not mean putting up with some awkward or tragic situation in one’s life but painfully dying to self… The appeal is not to gloom but to discipleship.” [Carson, 257] To die to self is to stop putting yourself first in all things.

Here’s a really good explanation of this verse: “there have been two main interpretations of Jesus’ cross-bearing sentence: (1) the passive interpretation: accept the cross given to you by difficult situations, for example, by a hostile family; or (2) take up a cross of an intentional Christian discipline or way of life, for example, a political decision to be a pacifist or a missionary decision to live a poorer life or a moral decision to live a more countercultural life.” [Bruner, 490]

This scholar continues: “Crosses… are not only givens; they are also decisions. [It] is the decision, day by day, to seek to live and give fearless witness to Jesus Christ.” (Ibid.) And immediately after “take up your cross” comes the command “and follow me”, “because it is Christ-following that enables cross-bearing. Who would be willing to have family and world against them if they did not have Jesus with them?” (Ibid.)

The next verse drives the point home. “39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” [Mt 10:39] Society - the world - has told us for decades that we must “make it” - be successful, whatever that means. Work hard, make something of yourself. Hard work isn’t a bad thing, but we must be cautious of the motivation for it. Advertising companies have carved out their place in our economy simply by convincing us that we have to have the newest “thing” - newer technology, bigger house, better car, flashier clothes. We are told that we must “work in the best situation, live in the best neighborhood, have only the best things in the house, manipulate the best ‘connections’—this is ‘finding’ or ‘making’ one’s life secure. Jesus promises this search [brings] one thing—destruction. Life was not meant to be lived like this; it is too selfish.” (Ibid, 491)

“‘For those who forget God it will become their chief concern to make something of their lives and make it their whole business to make their lives rich with pleasure.… But precisely those who [in this way] have won life, have thrown it away.’” [Ibid, 492]

If we love someone more than we love Jesus Christ, we put ourselves on this path to destruction. If we love something worldly more than we love Jesus Christ, we put ourselves on this path to destruction. If we hold onto something sinful because we refuse to let Jesus into our hearts and allow him to liberate us from it, we have chosen that something else over Christ.

If we listen to Christ’s teachings and refuse them because, well, I don’t want to… guess what? Idols don’t have to look like a golden calf. When we willfully choose something that we *know* goes against God’s Law, we make an idol of ourselves. When we choose to disregard God’s will for us, we remove Him from the throne of our hearts, thinking we’re going to sit there ourselves. Sadly, that’s when the Wicked Foe takes the seat and tricks us into thinking that we really are in control.

So what do we do? The Lutheran answer is that we allow the Law to convict us and show us our sin. Recognize it as *sin*. Confess it as sin. Ask God’s help in resisting it, in turning away from the sin and turning toward God. Bring it to the cross in confession and drop it there. Leave it there at the foot of the cross. Then what?

All this summer we’ll be in Matthew’s Gospel. When we get to Matthew 18, that’s where Jesus tells us what we have to do when we’ve sinned against our neighbor. And it ain’t easy. We are to personally go to the person we’ve sinned against and talk to them about it. Or, if you’re the one who’s been the recipient of that sin, you go to the individual and confront them one-on-one. We are called to address it. We are called to work it out as fellow Christians. As members of the one body of Christ. As brothers and sisters *in* Christ. If we have a conflict with someone, we’re actually not supposed to come to the Lord’s Supper until we’ve reconciled with them. We’re supposed to walk across the sanctuary, seek them out, offer our hand in the exchange of peace, and put aside differences. Then, having confessed the sin and made an effort toward reconciliation, we are reminded of the Promise of the Gospel: that “if we confess our sins, God who is faithful and just will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Thanks be to God!

We sit on a corner in our community as 3 churches of the Lutheran faith who could not reconcile between ourselves. How then can we bring Christ’s message of reconciliation to our unchurched neighbors? What about within these walls? Any conflict here? Yeah? Newsflash: find me a church that *doesn’t* have conflict inside its building. Ok then, let’s acknowledge our internal conflict. If you’re feeling convicted by this comment, what are you going to do about it? Ignore it? Let it fester? Hold onto that grudge? What does Christ want you to do with that grudge? Don’t think for a second that I’m not feeling convicted by this. I was raised by the king of grudge holders; I was taught by the best, and it’s in my blood, too. This message is as much for me as anyone. What does God want for us, what does He hope for our church family? If you know about some conflict but are not directly involved, how can you help? Are you praying about it? What is God calling you to do about it? How about starting with a handshake? We’ll have time for it here in a few minutes.

This faith stuff isn’t always easy. Sometimes, it takes work. Sometimes, it takes doing things we don’t want to do. Christian philosopher Søren Kierkegaard said that there is a difference “between admirers of Jesus and followers of Jesus: Jesus’ mere admirers mainly complain about the world, people, or history, but Jesus’ real followers understand that his rough ‘cross’ way in the world is the way Jesus went and, in his disciples, is the way Jesus still goes.” [Ibid, 493.]

The Gospels tell us that Jesus didn’t really *want* to go to the cross. He knew it was going to be incredibly hard. And he went anyway. He didn’t want to, but he went willingly. He obeyed his Father’s will, and he did it because of his great love - his agape - for us, his brothers and sisters. Shortly, when we come to the Table to receive the Sacrament, we will be reminded of His sacrifice. We will taste His broken body and His blood shed for us. The perfect sacrifice given to reconcile us to the Heavenly Father - all of us.

When we know we have been reconciled and we’ve accepted that gift, what are we to do with that? If we’re going to be a Great Commission church and go and make disciples… if we’re going to grow in our outreach… how can we model the reconciliation that Jesus himself calls us to share? How do we overcome the “3 churches” constant visual reminder of internal Lutheran conflict in the eyes of the community around us?

Let’s be followers of Jesus and not just admirers. Let’s all prayerfully consider God’s answer to these questions while we give thanks and praise to Him for that very precious gift of reconciliation. What a wonderful gift it is!

In the name of the Father, and of the +Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.