Proper 8 :: Genesis 22: 1–4 / Psalm 13
/ Romans 6: 12–23 / Matthew 10: 40–42
This is the homily given at St. John’s,
Huntingdon, Pennsylvania by Fr. Gene Tucker on Sunday, June 28, 2020.
“BEARING A FAITHFUL IMAGE”
(Homily text: Matthew 10:
40-42)
We depend
on being able to rely on faithful images to make our way through life.
For
example, our vehicles have two side mirrors on the outside and one (usually)
inside the vehicle in the middle of the passenger space. The outside mirror on
the driver’s side shows clearly what’s behind us. But the one on the passenger
side has a statement at the bottom of the mirror which says, “Objects in this
mirror are closer than they appear.” The reason for the statement is that the
mirror itself is slightly curved. It’s deliberately designed that way so that
it can give a panoramic view of the right side of the vehicle. But what is
gained in being able to have a wider view of what’s going on on that side the
car is compromised by the fact that, if the driver is relying on that mirror to
given an accurate idea of how far behind the car another object is, it’s
possible that an accident will be the result.
Our Lord
relies on us to bear an accurate image of Him as we make our way through life.
That seems
to be the gist of the comment we hear this morning, when He says, “Whoever
receives you, receives me…” (Matthew 10:40a) Implicit in this comment is the
idea that, when others encounter a disciple of Jesus Christ, they will be able
to see the imprint of Christ in what that disciple says, what they do, and by
the values they exhibit.
Jesus’
comment harkens back to one we heard last week: “A disciple is not above his
teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for the disciple to be
like his teacher, and the servant like his master.” (Matthew 10:24) What the
Lord is getting at here is the idea that the disciple must resemble the master.
The better and closer that resemblance is, the better.
The process
by which disciples are formed and fashioned is much like the process by which a
lens is shaped, formed and polished to a fine degree of optical excellence. The
raw material is important, surely enough, but the process of refinement is
equally important if the lens is to be capable of transmitting a faithful
image.
We, too,
undergo a process, a continual process, of shaping and refining as we study our
Lord’s words and work. We seek to adopt, through the power of the Holy Spirit,
more and more of the persona of Christ,
by which the impurities that are present in all of us are refined out and are
ground away, leaving the ability to transmit clearly the image of Christ which
dwells within.
AMEN.
