2014A 2 Pentecost Family Strife (Matt 10:24-39)

Nancy S. Streufert
22 June 2014 Proper 7
1
+ In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, AMEN.
Last month I attended graduation at Nashotah House, my seminary in Wisconsin just outside
Milwaukee. It was a glorious way to celebrate the end of our formal theological education as
we move on to ordination and parish ministry. I was amused that one of the hymns chosen for
the service, was The strife is oer, the battle done . . .
Over these last few years at the House (as we call it), I have enjoyed meeting Episcopalians
and Anglicans from all over America and abroad. In particular, I became acquainted with a
young woman age 25 from Turkey named Ezgi (spelled Ezgi). Ezgi grew up in a traditional
Muslim family among people who hold to their ancient roots, with strong family values and a
high view of community. In an article for Nashotahs quarterly publication The Missioner, Ezgi
wrote that in Turkey, children are raised to look forward to making the family proud. It is
common for children to have their lifes vocation chosen for them at a very young age. Once
they are on a particular path, she said, it is very difficult to change, and if they do, there is
often shame and confusion on the part of the family.
Being musically inclined, Ezgi was sent by her parents to the conservatory at age 12 to study
viola and piano. One day as she practiced she was 16 by then she heard a voice telling her
that she was called to be someone else, to follow a new path. But what? As Ezgi reflected on
her Muslim upbringing, she found that the more she learned about Islam, the more difficult it
became for her. She knew she was called to religious life, but as a Muslim woman, she was not
allowed to attend a seminary, to study religion as a scholar, to study Arabic, or even to attend
the mosque, as women were to stay home to pray.
When Ezgi told her parents that she wanted to leave the conservatory they were extremely
disappointed. It affected everyone, she said. No one could imagine what else I could do.
Though she knew little English, a friend of the family suggested she go to America as a foreign
exchange student, and it wasnt long before she was on her way to Missouri to live with a
family who just happened to be Episcopalian. Being somewhat familiar with the trappings of
Christmas from watching American movies, Ezgi went to the Christmas Eve service with her
host family. After the priest welcomed her to the Lords table, she received communion for the
first time. When I received communion, she recalls, it was a moment of special grace given
to me, it was an immediate friendship and I knew I would be in His service for the rest of my
life. Its been eight years since Ezgis first communion. In the fall, she will begin her third year
as a seminarian in residence at Nashotah House as she prepares for ordination to the
priesthood. She would come to know later that the voice she had heard that day in her practice
studio was the voice of the Good Shepherd. But her decision to follow Christ did not mean that
the cost was not high. Recently she posted this poignant statement on Facebook:
. . . Miss my family terribly, and want to be home for a little while. I have sacrificed them
for the pursuit of a heavenly call. Lord Jesus, help me to bear this cross.
2014A 2 Pentecost Family Strife (Matt 10:24-39)
Nancy S. Streufert
22 June 2014 Proper 7
2
As soon as I read Ezgis post, I knew I had my illustration for the Gospel appointed for today.
Jesus is instructing his disciples in harsh words that startle and trouble us:
"For I have come to set a man against his father,
and a daughter against her mother,
and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;
and one's foes will be members of one's own household. (Micah 7:6)
Does Jesus really mean this literally? Is it his will that families are to be divided by conflict? The
answer is no to both questions when we understand them from Jesus perspective, which is
this: when God broke into time and space as the man Jesus of Nazareth, his sovereign reign
became a reality in our midst and a new order began, the New Creation, the beginning of what
things will be like in the age to come when God is running the show as theologian NT Wright
likes to say. This is what we call the Christian hope, the already-but-not-yet period between
Gods incarnation in Jesus and the end of time when Gods mission of reconciliation is
complete.
This is what Jesus taught, this was his central message, Gods mission in breaking into the
world. And what was the response Jesus invited of those he taught? To follow him, to trust
their lives to him, and to renounce whatever hinders them from following him.
In our complicated lives, we have plenty that hinders our commitment to putting God first.
Often our commitment to serving God is entirely compatible with our family life, but as with
Ezgi, it can mean sacrificing relationships that are important to us.
When Jesus says I have not come to bring peace but a sword he is not calling his disciples to
arms in a military way. He is prophesying about what he knows is to come as the process of
Gods mission of reconciliation for the world unfolds until the last day. He is asking us to make a
decision, and sometimes following him authentically means conflict with our families on many
levels and intensities.
I had a sort of conversion experience as an adult that might better be described as a redirection
of my life to following Jesus and committing my life to him. Though I had been baptized as an
infant and dutifully attended church with my family growing up, God and Jesus dropped into
the background after I went to college. Not only did I not think about God much during my late
teens and twenties, I didnt set foot in a church unless I was home visiting my parents. After
nearly 15 years of going it alone, I realized in my early thirties that I needed Jesus in my life and
made a private but conscious commitment to follow him. I call this the beginning of my life as
an intentional Christian and over the years my amazing faith journey has taken me to greater
and greater levels of commitment.
Next Saturday, I will step up to a new level of commitment to Christ when I am ordained to the
Sacred Order of Deacons at Trinity Cathedral in Sacramento. Sadly, no one from my family of
origin will be present at my ordination. My mother is too frail to travel now, and I have never
2014A 2 Pentecost Family Strife (Matt 10:24-39)
Nancy S. Streufert
22 June 2014 Proper 7
3
been very close to my two brothers. But I am sad that my sister and her family who live in
Georgia will not be present either in person or even in a spirit of understanding of what drives
me to make such a commitment. My sister and I have always had a special bond and a
friendship that only sisters can have, though we have certainly had our ups and downs over the
years. But when I became an intentional Christian, when I said yes to following Christ, we no
longer shared what was becoming an essential part of my life.
We are not estranged nor are we foes in our household over this, but our relationship has
changed in subtle but important ways that have only grown more prominent over the years. I
am sad that my sister and I cannot share simple things that are central to my life now, things
like praying before meals when we are together, sharing a meditation during Lent or wrestling
over the meaning of a particular Bible passage or attending services together or celebrating
Easter with a champagne brunch or traveling together on a tour of the great Cathedrals of
Europe.

Jesus wants total and undivided loyalty from us, loyalty that supersedes all other loyalties, even
to our own families, even sometimes to our own lives. There is nothing new here. What Jesus is
saying in this gospel passage is entirely consistent with Gods commandment to the ancient
Israelites: that we are to love God with the whole of our heart, mind, and strength. It is not
Jesus will or intent to break families apart. It is simply a fact that it will happen as Gods
mission proceeds to reconcile the world.
Let us pray:
Gracious and merciful God,
Help us to follow Christ, to make his redemptive love known, by our word and example, to
those among whom we live, and work, and worship. Comfort us when we must sacrifice family
loyalties to follow you, especially Ezgi today, and in your grace help us to reconcile with our
families.

In Christs name we pray, Amen.