A Sunday school teacher was discussing the Ten Commandments with her five and six-year olds. After explaining the commandment to “honor thy father and thy mother,” she asked, “Is there a commandment that teaches us how to treat our brothers and sisters?” Without missing a beat one little boy answered, “Thou shall not kill.” I think many of us have experienced the frustrations of family—how can they be so infuriating? why don’t they listen? why do I let them get to me? Lord, give me patience! Especially these days, when some of us are separated from loved ones, and others of us are spending way more time with loved ones, our passage has some words of deep encouragement.
First, sometimes things are just going to be awful. A police recruit was asked during an exam, “What would you do if you had to arrest your own mother?” He said, “Call for back up.” That would be a hard day, a good day for back up! Our passage from Micah talks about what life is like in his time, and things seem really rotten. He gives a litany of how bad things have gotten, how living for God seems to be something no one appreciates, something Micah just seems to get into trouble for. Maybe you have felt like that recently, how everyday things seem to be going from bad to worse in our world. Sometimes it can feel like that in our families or at work too. Sometimes we may even have times when are betrayed be the very people who are closest to us. In a world where everyone thinks good people don’t have problems, both the prophet Micah and Jesus recognize there will be times when things are just going to be awful. In fact, Jesus points out that sometimes when we are going in God’s direction, the people closest to us will give us the hardest time. That’s the time, as the recruit says, when it’s time to call for back up.
Second, hang in there living for God. Jesus quotes Micah, about how even close family is going to turn against close family, but he doesn’t quote the next lines: “But as for me, I watch in hope for the LORD, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.” Now Jesus knows His Bible. Jesus knows that’s the next line, but he makes his action call stronger. Micah encourages waiting in hope on the Lord; Jesus says, “Take up your cross and follow me. One of my mom’s best friends was Barbara. A super wise and creative woman, she had all kinds of setbacks in her life, including a son who lost himself in addiction. When someone would put her down, block her path, or unfairly criticize her, she would say to herself, “I am not diminished by your rejection of me.” When we experience rejection or struggles, even when things seem hopeless, God is still at work. On those days when things seem hardest or darkest, Jesus calls us to not only hang in there, but to live like Him, a life of sacrifice. In fact, Jesus even says, “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” Somehow, as we live faithful, sacrificial lives, even in the midst of our awful days, God will bless our efforts—indeed, we will find our true selves in the process.
Finally, expect blessings to come from unexpected quarters. As some of you know, I have been working to re-structure and rewrite our denomination’s Lay Ministry Training Program. About a year ago, I called up my friend, Polly, who is in charge of the Wisconsin Congregational Association’s Lay Ministry Training Program, to ask her a few questions and get a few pointers. As I explained how important I believed this effort was, but how difficult it was to get traction, she volunteered to do all the administration for the effort! I was not expecting that, but to have someone with such a great heart for God and the gift of administration willing to jump in with both feet was a total God-thing. But I could easily have mentioned the call from one of my kiddos this week when I was having a bad day, or the member of our church who out of the blue, called me this week to help with whatever needed doing around the church—we put up new shutters on the parsonage on Friday! Thank you, God! Before they head out on their missionary journey, Jesus talks to His disciples about the people who will receive them in Jesus’ Name, that even a cup of cold water given will be blessed.
Dealing with family frustrations may make us check the Ten Commandments for loopholes, especially when things get complicated or things go badly. In times like those, I am so grateful that Jesus recognizes that sometimes things are awful for us, so grateful that we can call on God for back-up. As we try to hang in there, living a life like Jesus lived—full of love and humor, compassion and sacrifice—I am so grateful to know that we will find our true selves along the way. Indeed, whatever we give up to live a life surrendered to Jesus’ call, the promise is that we will receive not only our selves but abundant life and unexpected blessings. Paradoxically, as we get clearer about who Jesus is, we get clearer about who we are, defined by Jesus, not our families. We are reminded that to live a life surrendered to Jesus is to take up our cross everyday, and perhaps we, too, by God’s grace, will become the blessing that comes from unexpected quarters in someone else’s life.