‘If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.’

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Recently, a certain unpleasant person determined that he would kill a good many of the children of God at a church in Minnesota, and he mostly succeeded, if it were possible to kill a Christian. However it is not, for all who are baptized into Christ and His cross are united to a death like his, and so having died once for all, they cannot be killed, for one cannot kill what is already dead. However, this fool may not have been aware of this, and thought himself accomplished in his mission, for it is written: 

‘The souls of the just are in the hand of God,
and the torment of death shall not touch them.
In the sight of the unwise they seemed to die;
but they are in peace.’

I do not mean to make light of the death of these brethren, most of them just children. I rather mean to make light of death, that even our children have been called to offer the living sacrifice at the hands of the wicked, at the tip of the bullet, for the name of Christ. I wish to steel you now by instructing you by them, for even America bears a few martyrs, and even child martyrs; will you then shudder in the moment?

We are accustomed to say that ‘in old times, people died for the name of Christ, but now we may worship in peace.’ But such is no longer the case, is it? May we no longer worship in peace, but in spirit and in truth.

After the death of the Church’s children, I heard so many speak about the unutterable loss of life, and more importantly how intolerable it was that people dared pray for the bereaved, instead of taking some preferred political action. I found it ironic; that they would forbid us to pray, for such people said openly on the public air-waves what the killer himself had written on his rifle, ‘Where is your God?’ On that much both the killer and political criers agree, though both would likely be unhappy to know that they were quoting the Psalter, and that plagiarizing the Bible is unbecoming of the irreligious.

However, it cannot be denied that millions upon millions, and many, if not most, of them Christians, looked on in horror at the news. It cannot be denied that the parents would never have let their children attend the Liturgy if they knew that an attack might be coming. It cannot be denied that their siblings would have wrestled them back into the house if they had predicted the threat. It cannot be denied that the children and spouses of the teachers would have begged them to call in sick. It must be accepted that if the Christian children and their teachers themselves knew what was to happen, they would have fled. All of them, fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, spouses, even the very life within those attacked, these all would have called out to them, with one voice and one mind, with all the blood within them through the ribs of their chest; these all would have cried, ‘Do not go, come back. Do not leave. Do not die.’

And so they should. For why would they have these beloved of theirs suffer, even suffer for the sake of Christ?

Yet another voice calls to all of us, a voice against all voices, and a growling against all the noise, the water that dwells within us, that prays with groanings too deep for words; this call that led so many prophets to their death, and so many disciples then to life, the water and body and blood which whispers, ‘come to the Father.’

Against these words, all the affectionate entreaties and begging of those who love us say nothing else than, ‘curse God and die.’

If what I say sounds too harsh. If it sounds too dark. If it offends you, that I even bring up the death of innocent children to instruct the church; you are not wrong. It is harsh, the world is dark, Christ’s command is an offense, a stumbling block, and the devil delights greatly in the death of the innocent, even the death of Christ’s saints, beloved in the sight of the Lord.

The call of Christ to take up our cross and follow Him has lost its sting on us, because we all like to imagine ourselves as heroes who would bravely stand forth and follow the Lord to His slaughter. Yet we cringe when we think of our children, our wife, our husband, our brother, our sister doing the same.

We are a hero if we die for Christ. After all, as soon as the bullet hits our skull, we are filled with all the wine of God’s ecstasy, and the comfort of His countenance. But to those who survive, you are not a hero at all, but a tragedy. Or so our sinful minds believe.

So the Lord brings children to Himself by the hand of a murderer, that you too might be instructed, that you too might have no fear of this world, nor of the devil, but would mock them at every turn, and scoff at those who revile you. It is to this derision of death that you are now called to imitate by so great a cloud of witnesses, one that has grown but a bit more in the past weeks; that no one takes your life from you, but you lay it down for Christ by your own accord.

Though you may not be a child, yet you are someone’s child, and in every way your parents will tell you: ‘Do not go, stay here. Do not leave. Do not die.’ You are someone’s spouse. You are someone’s brother, sister, friend; a twinkle in their eye; the light of their life; the joy coming home through the door at the end of the day; the dawning of their eye in the morning. And all of these, if you are called by the Father to come to Him, will say to you, ‘Do not go, stay here.’ ‘Curse God, and die.’

Now you know why the Lord tells us, ‘If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.’ No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God. For did you not always know that he is sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves?

The Lord commands us, ‘honor thy father and thy mother.’ And again, ‘love thy neighbor as thyself.’ And therefore never commands us to hate anyone. But in that moment, when for the name of Christ, your life will be required of you, when your father and mother will cry out, ‘don’t go!’ and your spouse, ‘please don’t leave me alone’ and your children, ‘are you leaving us?’ 

On that day, if it pleases God that you should be honored with the confession of His name before the idolaters who hate him; on that day, if you turn your back to them, and take up your cross, and follow Christ, it will indeed feel to them, and feel to you, as if you very much do hate them. Why else would you give them up, and go to the land that God will show you?

But on that day, do not be afraid. For you do not ignore the voice of your father, but rather hearken first to the voice of your Father who is in heaven, who created both you and your father according to His infinite love.

You do not ignore the voice of your mother, but hear the yearning of your Holy Mother, the Church, who gave birth to both you and your mother in the font of Holy Baptism, and who feeds you both daily from the table of Her altar with food born of Her body.

You do not ignore your brothers and sisters, but hear the song of the martyrs who shared your Mother’s womb, who cry out for all eternity with the angels and seraphs, ‘Blessed is the Lamb to who has been slain, to receive virtue, and divinity, and wisdom, and fortitude.’

You do not ignore the pleading of your own life, to not so quickly squander it, for your heart is gripped by Christ, who is your Life, as He draws you today, tomorrow, and forever, deeper into the mystery of salvation, and of immortal life, which He has bought, and at a price.

You will hear these voices, this wisdom, against all those who entertain talk on earth, no matter how beloved, for before you all, whether you die a martyr to the sword, or to the curse of death, lies the crown, that having held fast unto the end, you might hear the song of the whole heavenly host, and they sing of Christ, and of you who have been united with Him by the sacrament of the Church according to the will of God the Father, you will hear them sing:

‘Blessed is the man
    who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
    nor sits in the seat of scoffers;

He is like a tree
    planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
    and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.

for the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
    but the way of the wicked will perish.’

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Preached by Pastor Fields

Sermon Texts: Deuteronomy 30:15-20; Psalm 1; Philemon 1-21; Luke 14:25-35.