3 Pentecost Yr A

There are a a few different pictures of Jesus in the gospels, the shepherd, whose sheep know his voice, the charismatic leader who the fisher folk follow at the drop of a net. And this picture we get of Jesus in this portion of Matthew. This is not your warm and fuzzy Jesus. This is much like the Jesus who turns the tables in the temple.

Actually, I am reminded of a scene in C.S. Lewis' story, The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. The children in the story are sitting in the living room of the Beavers. Mr. Beaver is telling them about the Lion, Aslan. Lucy asks "Is he a man?" Mr. Beaver responds, "Certainly not. I tell you he is the King of the wood and the son of the great Emperor-Beyond-the-Sea. Don't you know who is the King of Beasts? Aslan is a lion--the Lion, the great Lion." And Susan responds, "I'd thought he was a man. Is he--quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion." Mrs. Beaver responds "That you will, dearie, and no mistake, if there's anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knees knocking, they're either braver than most or else just silly." Lucy again, "Then he isn't safe?" "Safe?" said Mr. Beaver. "Don't you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? 'Course he isn't safe. But he's good. He's the King, I tell you."

Jesus is not safe. But he's good, he's the King. This is what our passage from Matthew shows us today. This, I do believe, may be the first big "come to Jesus" meeting. Jesus has words for these people and these communities, Jesus is clear that if they don't shape up there will be consequences.

I preach over and over again God's love for all God's people. I preach over and over again that there is nothing that can get in the way of God's power to bring all creation into right relationship. I preach again and again that Love wins. Paul, in Romans knows that only too well. Paul is quite aware of his humanity, his imperfectness, his struggle. Paul indeed speaks the truth of and to all of us. That somewhere in the mess of our glorious humanity, somewhere in the struggle to hear God's love for us no matter what, there is indeed a need to respond to that love with right behavior and moral decision making, and to treat ourselves and others with mercy and compassion. Paul knows the struggle and the difficulty of this journey of the spirit.

Jesus' call to us to live as citizens of the new kingdom, as the new creations God intends for us, is a call to freedom from bondage to that which will kill us. Thanks be to God, Paul says, for the freedom from the power of the bondage to sin that Jesus Christ offers. Paul speaks about that which will kill him, it is whatever holds power over him, it is whatever holds power over us. This is not necessarily about what is right and wrong, and not necessarily a moral judgment about good and bad. But it most assuredly is about being out of balance, it is about not be centered.

Why do we pray? Why do we quiet ourselves? Why do we return to church each week? Not because of some sort of moral betterment, no, we engage in these activities to be balanced, to be centered, to be able to go out into the world and act from our belovedness. We go out into the world to live in response to that amazing and abundant love that God offers to one and all.

This is a life that prioritizes differently than the world prioritizes. This is a life that puts love and mercy and compassion for ones neighbor ahead of individual wants, needs, and achievement. It is a life that puts community and relationship ahead of personal freedom. It is a life that runs counter to the individualism of our culture. It is the freedom to loose oneself in the love of the other, in order to find oneself.

That said, there are consequences for our choice to live outside of God's way. When we don't love God and love our neighbor there are consequences, and God does put some mighty big no's in our lives. You know how that goes especially when you are raising your children. No, you can't run ahead of us into the street. No, you can't take that toy from your brother. No, you can't play with the knobs on the stove. No. We don't like it because it is, well, just plain negative, just plain offensive, just because. We all struggle with the no's in our lives. We want what we want for a reason, and "no" always runs contrary to those reasons, wants, and desires.

At the same time, as we mature we recognize the value of "no," not only for others but even for ourselves. By saying no to the extra helping of dinner we stay healthier. By saying no to television before studying for the exam we earn a better grade and we learn more. By saying no to claiming the dubious tax exemption we retain a greater sense of honor and contribute to the public welfare. The other side of freedom, we come to recognize, is responsibility, being able to say "no" that we can enjoy a greater "yes."

These "no's" are also the natural consequences of living outside of God's order. We witness those consequences everyday. You know this as well. In the search for connection and relationship and fulfilling loneliness, people turn to sexual promiscuity. In the search for relieving pain, people turn to alcohol and drugs. Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Our burdens weigh us down, they keep us in bondage, they prevent us from living this life fully human and fully alive. Cast off that burden. What is it for you? Perfection? Achievement? Money? Anger? Resentment? Revenge? Cast off that burden and say yes to the freedom that Jesus offers.

But this brings us back to where we began today. Saying yes to Jesus frees us from bondage and from our burdens, and it is good, but it is not safe. "They say, he has a demon, the Son of Man came eating and drinking and they say, Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!" Saying yes to Jesus makes us friends of tax collectors and sinners, saying yes to Jesus makes us friends of many whom are marginalized and outcast. Saying yes to Jesus means that we stand for mercy, compassion, forgiveness, not necessarily attributes that are valued these days. Saying yes to Jesus means that we struggle with our own imperfections, and like Paul, we admit when we are wrong. Saying yes to Jesus is good, but it is not safe.