Sermon – St Anne’s Brown Edge Trinity Two
Faith or family?
Our
Gospel for today is sandwiched between Jesus having a run in with his family. Things
were getting way out of hand and it was affecting the whole family.
Then he (Jesus) went home and the crowd came
together again, so that they could not even eat. When his family heard this
they went out to restrain him, for people were saying, ‘He has gone out of his
mind.’
Faith
or family?
The
family unit in 1st century Judaism was much the same as today –
large, very important and a mark of Jewish heritage, being a child of Abraham.
However
Jesus was to bring in a new type of family that went beyond genealogy or
biology.
One
occasion he was to say…
And do not presume to say to yourselves, 'We have
Abraham as our father.' For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise
up children for Abraham Matthew 3.9
Faith
or family?
Many
disciples of Jesus throughout the centuries have had to make a choice between
faith and family?
Even
today as we are gathered some of our Christian brothers and sisters – and I use
those terms meaningfully – will be facing such a choice.
Faith
or family?
And
for some it will bring them to a place of being ostracised by their family –
counted as dead by their family – or in some cases, actually being killed by
their family for becoming an apostate and bringing shame and dishonour to the family.
Faith
or family?
Thankfully
not too many of us in this country will face such a trial and such a difficult
decision.
Our
tests are often much less dramatic.
It
is more likely to be something such as a visit from the family.
They
are planning on staying over for the weekend or say that they can only visit on
Sunday morning.
What
if Sunday morning is the time when we would ordinarily gather with our
Christian family, our brothers and sisters in Christ?
What
are we to do?
To
whom will we show our allegiance?
Will
we miss out on one Sunday with God’s family to meet with our biological family?
What
kind of witness and what kind of impression is it to our family if we do choose
to join God’s family gathering on a Sunday morning over that of our biological
family.
They
may think that we are out of our minds.
I
remember when I became a Christian in January 1975 my wife’s family were very
troubled by the energy and passion with which I embraced the Christian faith.
So
much so that they encouraged me to go to the doctor who diagnosed stress and
gave me a week of work.
I
remember my mother-in-law at that time saying, ‘okay, so you have become a
Christian, but surely you don’t need to let it take over your life.’
Well,
yes, actually you do.
And
here in this exchange with his own biological family Jesus says, ‘Whoever does the will of God is my brother
and sister and mother.’
And
remember how important the family was with strict laws for the care of the
family, especially for older members and in particular for parents.
What
Jesus says is deeply shocking and unless we grasp just how shocking we will be
missing a vital point.
Jesus
was inaugurating a new family of faith not one of ethnicity or biology.
Anyone,
from anywhere, at any time could become a member of God’s family.
Ephesians
2.8 ‘For it is by grace you have been
saved, through faith--and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.’
It
is not about where you are born physically but being born again spiritually. (See John 3.1-10)
That
was true then, it has been true throughout the ages and it is still true today.
No
one is born a Christian – everyone must make that choice for themselves – the
choice as to whether to accept the gift of God’s love, grace and mercy and come
to be embraced and accepted as a member of God’s family.
Faith
or family?
Faith
as a child of God or biological family?
Which
comes first for you?
Which
is the more important?
Which,
if it really came down to hard choice, would you chose to reject?
Faith
or family?
Pray
God will never bring us to such a time of trial or to such a decision.
And
if God welcomes everyone into His family how good are we at showing that welcome
and embracing other people into God’s family?
This
radical welcome and inclusivity was a hallmark of the early Church and
astounded onlookers.
On
March 7th the Church celebrates St Perpetua and her companion’s one
of whom was Felicity.
Perpetua and Felicity were martyred in 203 AD.
Vibia Perpetua was a married noblewoman, said to have been 22 years old at the time of her
death, and mother of an infant she was nursing. Felicity, a slave imprisoned
with her and pregnant at the time, was martyred with her. They were put to
death along with others at Carthage in the Roman province of Africa.
This story that has come down to us throughout the
centuries gives us a clue as to the extraordinary nature of God’s family.
This was a time when society was deeply stratified
and to try and move out of your born social status was not only unthinkable but
often punishable and considered a crime.
Yet here, suffering the same fate is a noblewoman
and a slave girl.
How good are we at welcoming others into the Family
of Faith regardless of their background, social status or whatever?
Our Gospel passage is preceded by Jesus’ careful
selection of twelve apostles from among his followers.
It would not be hard to imagine that on occasions
they felt a kind of pride and pleasure that they were the chosen ones.
In fact we know they did because in the very candid
way of the Gospel writers, we are told of one particular occasion when some of
them are vying for positions at Jesus’ right hand and at his left.
(Noting as an aside who did take those places when
Jesus was nailed to the cross)
What must these twelve thought as Jesus began to
pick up and engage with all sorts of ragbag's, misfits, outcasts, the general
riff raff and low life’s.
The Family of Faith has huge wide open arms willing
to embrace everyone and welcome anyone who calls on the name of the Lord.
In particular for those who have no family or whose
experience is only a dysfunctional family. They can find hope, love and healing
as they are embraced and become members of God’s family.
God sets the lonely in families declares Psalm 68.6
But then begins the transformation work of the
Gospel, the power of the changing nature of Jesus’ divine presence, particular
ministered through the Eucharist. A time we when are reminded that – ‘we are
one body because we all share of one bread.’
The Family of Faith that lives out its life of
generous and scandalous love and grace.
The Family of Faith that demands so much and yet
gives so much more.
Where there may be times that because our
allegiance to the Family of Faith will cause our biological family to declare
that we are out of our minds.
Well – I say so be it, because I want to be out of
my mind and get into the mind of Christ my Saviour.
May the mind of Christ my
Saviour
Live in me from day to day,
By His love and pow’r controlling
All I do and say.
Live in me from day to day,
By His love and pow’r controlling
All I do and say.
Faith or family?
The world would argue that our biological
family should always come first. And we are right to remember our biological
families are very important.
We should never use our Faith as an excuse
to abnegate our familial responsibilities.
Jesus made a point about that on one
occasion. (See Mark 7.1-13)
However, there will be times when the hard
choice has to be made.
The Family of the Faith or the family of
the flesh.
Romans 12 2. ‘Do not
conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of
your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his
good, pleasing and perfect will.’
A mind renewed and after God’s heart will
be able to test and know what is most pleasing to God.
Let me close by quoting Nabeel Qureshi who
writes at the close of his book, ‘Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus’
In
closing, I wish to appeal to those who are considering following Jesus,
especially those who will sacrifice much my doing so.
I will honestly say that my first year as a
Christian was unimaginably difficult, without doubt the most painful period in
my life.
Each and every day was a struggle, and I
experienced depths of emotional pain I did not know possible.
But I will honestly say that looking back
on it eight years later; it was the most powerful time of my life. It shaped
me, moulded me, changed me into a disciple of Jesus. The Holy Spirit was my comforter, His word
was my sustenance, and I would not give up that for anything.
The suffering is what transformed me into a
true follower of Jesus. My life now, including my walk with God and my relationship
with my wife, are truly blissful, far more wondrous than I could ever have
imagined when I was a Muslim.
All suffering is worth it to follow Jesus.
He is that amazing. I pray that I will meet you someday, my dear friend, so we
can rejoice and praise God together for our joys and our sufferings.
Faith or family – hopefully we will never
have to make such a stark choice – but imagine for a moment if you did – what
would be your choice?
And let us always remember those who face such a choice today.
And let us always remember those who face such a choice today.
Jesus said, ‘Whoever does the will of God is my brother
and sister and mother.’
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