I have else reflected on the diversity of Jesus’s disciples. Professional fishermen and tax collectors are
chosen. Impetuous, impulsive, “thunder-like,”
doubt-prone, educated and barely-educated all chosen. What never occurred to me recently, however,
is that Jesus intentionally chose political rivals to travel with Him for three
years and take on the same authority He wielded to preach and cast out
demons.
Matthew was a tax collector, who by definition, was aligned
with the Roman state. Roman contracted
tax collectors to collect the taxes from those under their rule and Matthew was
one of those contractors. Simon,
identified as a Zealot, is, by definition, one that believes the Roman state
should be eliminated or at the very least, resisted. I would have loved to be a fly on the wall
hearing these two guys talk after a long day of ministry with Jesus. But both were chosen, trained, given
authority, and eventually sent out to represent Him.
There is much talk these days about the growing divisiveness
in our culture. Politicians in separate parties
seem to be more and more driven by the desire to malign, discredit, and defeat
their “rivals” rather than find a way to govern together. The people represented by these public
servants often mimic and even expound upon the toxic rhetoric on social media. Mainstream media outlets strategically brand
themselves as allies of a particular and cunningly seek to discredit the
outlets of other “flavors.” All this
divisiveness can increasingly be seen in the church as well – the community of
Jesus’s current disciples. Church disputes are increasingly involving the
secular law courts and all too many congregations have begun to brand
themselves in the same way that media outlets do.
I am convinced that this state of affairs saddens and likely
angers our Lord. Matthew, Simon, and almost
certainly the rest the disciples regularly disagreed about important
matters. But Jesus intentionally chose
people that saw the world differently than others that He chose. They were anything but a homogenous group of yes-men
for a particular viewpoint. But their “rivals”
were not each other. Their rivals were
the many variety of “demons” that tortured the people Jesus came to preach to
and save.
There is nothing wrong with having strong political
opinions. But as followers of Jesus, we’re
called to advance the mission of Jesus more than the “success” of those
opinions. In fact, I happen to believe
that our differing convictions enable us to pursue this mission more
effectively. Those who see the world and
current issues differently than I do are able to reach people that would not
even give me the time of day and vice versa. What would be even more effective
than that would be for congregation of individuals who include in their ranks
people aligned with opposing worldviews united by a mission that is bigger than
all those worldviews put together. I
think that is why Jesus intentionally created such a community. A tribe that includes Matthew and Simon might
just make both Roman sympathizers and anti-Roman zealots wonder if there is
something even more important than Rome.
Question: Do you believe
the community described above is possible?
Why or Why not?
Prayer: God of All,
give us eyes to see our “rivals” the way you do. Amen.
Prayer Focus: Pray
for people wrestling with some kind of “demon” today (feel free to define “demon”
any way you feel appropriate).
Song: Where is the
Love? - Black-Eyed Peas
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