Beloved Friends,
Being a disciple, a follower of Christ is hard much of the time. This is simply the truth. And this Sunday, when we hear the gospel, we will be reminded of this truth.
Our gospel text for Sunday comes from the 10th chapter of Matthew in which Jesus has summoned the 12 disciples giving them authority to cast out demons, to heal the sick and proclaim the good news.
It is from the passage we call the “Missionary Discourse”- Jesus’ clear articulation of what the disciples are being sent out to do in his name. It is a powerful set of instructions and with them come a powerful set of warnings.
Including these words:
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; and whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.
These are only some of the challenging words we will hear together. For even if we accept them as hyperbolic in some way, they still make the unavoidable point that being a disciple is NOT going to be easy or even desirable at times.
Each of us has had moments in our lives when that challenge has felt real- a time when something or someone we hold most dear is either taken away or changed, because of who God is calling us to be. Transformation and wholeness are always God’s primary desires for us- but the process is sometimes downright painful.
I had one of those moments on the eve of my ordination to the priesthood 19 years ago next Sunday. That was the night I realized I was about to lose many of the things I had held most dear, and in fact, had worked on diligently (some might even say, doggedly) for an entire lifetime. You see, I had always valued my ability to make choices for myself, to set my own priorities, to determine my own future and to assert myself and my independence– and ALL that was about to change forever. My ordination vows required me to relinquish much of the control I felt I had in my life. And, in fact, the same can be said for all of us as disciples- those committed through our baptismal promises to seek and serve all persons, loving our neighbor as ourselves.
Living lives of true integrity and great authenticity will never win us an easy road to travel or a popularity contest. And yet it is our clarion call as lovers of Christ, and followers of the Way.
So when the path gets rocky or even rough at times, I am so grateful to remember that we never walk this road alone. I end today offering the gift of a beautiful poem by David Whyte. May it be a reminder of the gift of living a life of faith in community.
Everything is Waiting for You– by David Whyte
Your great mistake is to act the drama as if you were alone.
As if life were a progressive and cunning crime with no witness to the tiny hidden transgressions.
To feel abandoned is to deny the intimacy of your surroundings.
Surely, even you, at times, have felt the grand array; the swelling presence, and the chorus, crowding out your solo voice
You must note the way the soap dish enables you, or the window latch grants you freedom.
Alertness is the hidden discipline of familiarity.
The stairs are your mentor of things to come, the doors have always been there to frighten you and invite you, and the tiny speaker in the phone is your dream-ladder to divinity.
Put down the weight of your aloneness and ease into the conversation.
The kettle is singing even as it pours you a drink, the cooking pots have left their arrogant aloofness and seen the good in you at last.
All the birds and creatures of the world are unutterably themselves.
Everything is waiting for you.
Come home this Sunday either at 9:00 for Trinity@Home (or “anytime thereafter) or at 10:00 for Trinity@316 (our in-person service) to experience the gift of walking this path together; everything is indeed waiting for us.
May you never forget that you are loved.
Lisa
Photo by John Salzarulo on Unsplash