03-29-23

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
March 29, 2023
Guest Writer: Rev. Mariah Newell
Matthew 10:34– “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace but a sword.

I have never particularly loved this Scripture, but I should probably clarify. I have never particularly loved how this Scripture is often interpreted and applied. Many times, I hear this as a justification for violence. That, “See, even Jesus realized that sometimes violence is the answer and he would have been armed if he was here on Earth today.” I can see how that could be an interpretation of this text. However, it doesn’t seem to match the life of Jesus in practice. As Jesus is being arrested one of the Disciples pulls out a sword and cuts off a guy’s ear to try and protect Jesus to which Jesus says, “Put your sword back into its place. For all who take the sword will perish by the sword.” (Matthew 26:52) But I thought he came to bring a sword? I will offer this thought. Swords fight, but they also serve to divide. The metaphor Jesus uses goes on to talk about family and the community. That he came to turn family against one another. This is one of the places where Jesus tells us to take up the cross and follow him. It is more likely Jesus was not talking about weapons, but using a metaphor to communicate that Jesus did not come to bring peace and uphold the status quo in attempt to make everyone “happy.” Jesus came to invite difficult conversations that would upset family dinners, because he knew that God’s true peace and justice was on the other side. I think that is really difficult to sit with in a climate that seems to consistently be in tension. Where it seems scary to spark a conversation with a stranger because they might be someone we fundamentally disagree with. As a conflict averse person, I don’t love this interpretation either, but I do think it fits Jesus as a whole better than one encouraging us to physically fight it out. I want to find hope that Jesus invited the tension because ignoring the tension doesn’t usually do any good. So, I think I’ll hold onto the hope that God’s community of love, inclusion, and wholeness on the other side of the disagreements… is ultimately worth moving through the tension.

Loving God,
Make me brave to welcome the tension of the world around us. You did not come to keep things how they are or bring them back to where they used to be. You bring a sword to divide us from what we’ve known and bring us into what you are building. Invite us again into that work and give us the courage and compassion to accept it. It is in Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.