Marching Orders

     Today’s Gospel reading is one of the most difficult parts of the Gospels to accept literally:

     Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man's foes shall be they of his own household.
     He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.
     He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.
     He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.
     He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward.
     And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.

     [Matthew 10:34-42]

     That’s Christ talking to His Apostles. The Son of God had something quite definite in mind. The Twelve were about to set out on a difficult, tiring, hazardous journey. That journey had more than one reason.

     One of the distinguishing marks of this passage is its absoluteness. Jesus was putting out the Word unadorned. Loyalty to Him must take precedence over other loyalties. The Twelve had to bear that in mind at all times. Others would surely offer them inducements to leave Him for some other master, especially after they demonstrated the power He had bestowed upon them. Equally imperative, they were not to take among them any of dubious commitment.

     Bishops have to be like that. Bishops, be it remembered, have the authority under the Apostolic Succession to ordain priests and to elevate priests to the episcopate. The deadliest thing a bishop could do to the Church is to elevate an unworthy priest. Of course, if a priest is unworthy, whichever bishop ordained him committed a grave error of judgment at the very least.

     But the passage also speaks to lay Christians. We are commanded to put steadfastness in faith above all other priorities. That sounds harmless enough until we get to the implications. Could you, a Christian randomly selected from the pool of Liberty’s Torch Gentle Readers, profess your faith in Jesus of Nazareth as the Son of God if the consequences were to include the death by torture of everyone you love? Because that’s part of the deal. It’s not even in the fine print; it’s right out in front of God and everybody.

     That makes for tough chewing. But it’s at the heart of Christian commitment.

* * *

     We of the United States are blessed in many ways. Not the least of those is that until rather recently, ours was a Christian country. The overwhelming majority of Americans described themselves as Christians of some variety. There were minor faiths, of course: Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, even some Taoism and Shintoism. But all of those were compatible with C. S. Lewis’s “Law of General Benevolence.” We are commanded to be “men of good will:” i.e., to will the good of others, and to labor for it at need. A faith that rejects that Law is “outside the Tao,” in Lewis’s formulation. It is unfit for human consumption.

     Today, matters are not so pleasant. Two faiths go among us that reject that Law: Islam and militant atheism. Both of these are threats to the Christian. The Muslim is the sworn enemy of all persons of other faiths; he wills their subjugation or destruction. The militant atheist concerns himself with faith alone. Paradoxically that may make him more dangerous than the Muslim, for he appears harmless.

     I could go into details about those threats to body and soul, but I hardly think it’s necessary. A Christian, whatever his denomination, is sworn to follow the teachings of Christ. Anyone who attempts to induce a Christian to deny Christ – to set anything above His Word – imperils the soul. And one cannot know whence the threat emanates. It could come from within the circle of his temporal loves: his family and cherished friends.

     There is a challenge here, for we are not licensed to forsake our families. We must remain in Christ while also conserving our family relations and bonds. It’s not quite squaring the circle, but it can be difficult, especially if Brother Atheist or Daughter-in-Law Muslim is aggressive about the matter. The challenge is hardly less when the threat comes from a beloved friend.

     Those interested in embracing Christ must be fully conscious of the requirements. Clerics who specialize in Christian initiation have no higher duty. Indeed, a cleric who fails that duty will find forgiveness hard to get.

     May God bless and keep you all.