Blessed are the Divisive

A sermon preached with the people of St. Francis of Assisi Episcopal Church in Youngsville, Pennsylvania and Trinity Memorial Episcopal Church in Warren, Pennsylvania.

The late Rachel Held Evans wrote about the phenomenon of the word “divisive” getting thrown around as an insult within evangelical Christianity way back 2013. She said, it is “a common response to those of us who speak from the margins of evangelical Christianity about issues around gender, race, and sexuality, and it’s an effective one because it appeals to something most of us value deeply: Christian unity.”

It seems to me that in these hard years since 2013, this tactic of crying “divisive” in the name of “unity” in order to silence cries for justice from the margins has gained traction beyond evangelical Christianity and into the public square.

There is no question we are a divided nation. There is no question that is a tragedy. But as Christians, our job is not to “keep the peace” at the expense of the marginalized and the oppressed.

Jesus says, “Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division!”

I’m just a bit of a people pleaser. Always have been. I want to make sure people are comfortable and happy. I don’t want people to fight. I want to “keep the peace.” I think church is chock full of people pleasers. I have no doubt I am looking out at a number of people pleasers right now.

And there’s nothing wrong with that. “Blessed are the peacemakers,” indeed! This is the work that makes our congregations roll along, that makes outreach ministries hum, that makes our guests feel welcome.

But, when peacemaking comes at the expense of the marginalized? When peacemaking excludes the oppressed? Then it becomes something else entirely. It becomes something that is in the service of our institutions and our own comfort, and not in the service of God.

Jesus did not come to bring good manners. Jesus did not come to keep our mainline institutions unified. Jesus came to bring the fire of our baptism. The fire of God’s love.

And God’s love is divisive. Because God’s love is for all.

God’s love for all shouldn’t be a hard pill to swallow because of course, that means anyone can say, “God’s love is for me.” But we know it is, somehow, controversial. We know how hard so many people – including Christian people – are fighting for a world that believes Black people, AAPI people, Latinx people, Indigenous people, LGBTQ+ people, immigrants, people with disabilities, and poor people (to name a few) are not, in the end, beloved. Do not deserve welcome, inclusion, and safety. Do not deserve to be centered.

But centering the oppressed, centering those on the margins. This is what Jesus preaches.

So, as followers of Jesus, our work is to honor the truth of God’s love for all people.

And, Jesus reminds us this morning, that work will be divisive.

The Episcopal Church has made the Gospel-grounded choice to fully include LGBTQ+ people in all aspects of the church, in all orders, in all sacraments. And to stand up publicly for the rights of LGBTQ+ people not only in the church but in the public square.

This has led to division. People have left us. We have been accused by other churches – both inside and outside the worldwide Anglican Communion – of “being divisive.” But friends, take comfort and hear the words of Jesus:

“Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division!”

This is not easy stuff, I don’t want to make it sound as though it is. The examples of division Jesus gives are drawn from the nuclear family. What may be at stake here is division among those we care about. Those most familiar to us. Those we love. It is not easy to see division in our families, in our church, in our country, and in our world.

And lest we fall into the rhetoric that is becoming so common, I want to make clear our job is also not to cover our ears and cry “nah nah nah” when we hear differences of opinion. Nor is our job to close the door permanently on anyone. Our hope is for unity.

But we cannot kid ourselves. What we have is not peace or unity – certainly not Christian peace or unity – if we are asking some among us to swallow their pain and participate in institutions or in systems that will not publicly and clearly proclaim their belovedness. This is not “keeping the peace” or “reaching across difference.” This is cruelty.

On Thursday, renowned scholar and preacher Diana Butler Bass took to Twitter to say that “A number of lectionary preachers have contacted me saying that they don't know how to handle this Sunday's upcoming texts - given the current political environment. If you are preaching on Sunday from those texts, how are you approaching these difficult verses?”

This is a valid concern about the “current political environment” these preachers shared! And, as I considered it, I started to chuckle just a little bit. Because I started to wonder if maybe Jesus is responding to that very concern in the last line of the gospel text. “You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?"

It is so tempting , and seems it always has been tempting, to fall into the belief that “the current political landscape,” or “the present time” we happen to find ourselves in begs us to “cool it.” Begs us to “keep the peace.”

But if we’re being honest, is that really a fair interpretation of our “present time?”

Is the problem here really “divisiveness,” or is the problem increasingly emboldened, extreme and violent white nationalism, homophobia, and misogyny?

We cannot meet these present times with conciliatory measures. We certainly cannot meet these present times with polite silence. And friends, the Episcopal Church’s history is unfortunately full of examples of meeting the present times with polite silence.

We must meet these present times by preaching the Gospel; by preaching God’s love for all people.

It is not and will not be easy. This morning Jesus asks us – even people-pleasers like me – to push through those old habits. He asks us to put our own comfort on the line on behalf of God’s love. On behalf of God’s coming kingdom of holy reversals.  

I’ll say it again: following Jesus is not easy. And, fortunately, we don’t get just one chance at it. We will fail. I have failed, soooo many times. This is what grace is about. This is what forgiveness is about. This is also what repentance is about.

And, this is what this Christian community is about. We do this together, ultimately holding one another accountable, teaching one another, being honest with one another, and supporting one another as we do this work of following Jesus.  

This is church. Holy, fiery, divisive church.