Matthew 10:24-39; Jer 20:7-13
June 22, 2008
Patrick Preheim
Birth of the White Buffalo
There is trouble in our world. It seems that family members are intent on devouring each other. Whole swaths of the globe are mired in conflict between brothers, parents and children, and the in-laws who sometimes act like outlaws. Sunni and Shiite in Iraq (brothers in the Muslim world) battle weekly. Half million Sudanese have been killed and several million displaced as clans terrorize one another (www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darfur_ conflict). The children of Abraham have continued to launch rockets at each other the last 60 years in the Holy Land despite many cease fires (may be the cease fire declared this week will hold). And while most of our immediate families have not resorted to physical violence, subtle forms of violence do exist in our homes. Do you shudder at the grim reports that come in the news? Do you despair of fraying relationships at home or with friends? Pay attention. The good news of God will guide us through the mess. The good news of our scriptures today is that the God of peace keeps working in spite of the violence in our human family. We have stories in our Bible which point us toward healing and hope. The biblical stories are meant to connect with people stuck in the mire, and for that reason some of them are pretty rough. Since there is trouble in our world it is not surprising, then, to find that more times than not there trouble in the text.
Both the books of Matthew and Jeremiah were written in a time of intense division within their respective families.
The church for whom...Matthew wrote was clearly a community in transition. In
the early decades of the Christian era, Jewish-Christians maintained active ties
to the larger Jewish community. The controversies that occurred were intramural
disputes, between siblings who belonged to a common family. All that changed,
however, after the Romans destroyed Jerusalem in A.D. 70. The structure of
Judaism was altered forever. As the larger Jewish community rebuilt itself under
Pharisaic leadership, it defined boundaries between itself and groups it viewed
as heretical. Consequently, Jewish-Christians found themselves no longer welcome
in the synagogue. (Richard Gardner, Believers Church Bible Commentary on
Matthew, 21-22)
This business of brother betraying brother that we read about in verses 21, 35,
and 36 was real stuff for the Christians receiving Matthew’s letter. Matthew
acknowledges the intense persecution and tells them to run away to the next
town. Perhaps this is counsel Jeremiah would have liked to hear.
Rarely has there been a man so singularly pitted against the whole world. The people of his home city [his blood kin!] plotted his assassination. The general populace opposed him, mocking him for his gloomy message on a sunny day. The Jerusalem crowd of religious folk who heard his temple-gate sermon were ready to lynch him (26:7-11). His peers, the prophets, spoke an opposite message announcing peace...Pashhur the priest jailed him (20:1-3). The kings were (understandably) ill-disposed toward this prophet who urged treason. They imprisoned him with the intent of killing him; and had it not been for the help of a friend, Jeremiah would have died in a muddy dungeon (38:11-13). As if all this were not enough, Jeremiah felt at times opposed by the very almighty God whose message he faithfully carried (20:7-9). (Elmer A. Martens, Believers Church Bible Commentary on Jeremiah, 18-19)
Jeremiah might have really appreciated a word of God telling him to flee the
country. Instead, Jeremiah is told to stay put. He is told to buy land. He is
told to remain a part of a totally dysfunctional family. Matthew tells his
Christian community to flee, and God tells Jeremiah to stay. It would seem that
there is more than one right response in the midst of family conflict.
The mixed message we get from Matthew’s gospel and the story of Jeremiah raise
several provocative points. First, every situation of conflict is unique and
must be discerned in its own right. Prayer and consultation are essential to
hearing God’s direction in any situation in which conflict exists. Sometimes the
word of God will be to hang in there (like Jeremiah) and sometimes the word of
God will be to flee (like Matthew’s community). A second observation is that the
majority of Old Testament stories on interpersonal conflict and all of the New
Testament stories elevate non-violence as the best response in the midst of
conflict. Unlike the plot line to most television and movie dramas we see today
there is no sanctified slaying of the villain. While we may cheer the good guy
killing the bad guy in a dual to keep evil at bay, this is not a biblical story
line. In the biblical stories the “good guys” usually pray, endure, and run away
when necessary. A third observation from Matthew and Jeremiah is that God’s
on-going ministry comes through people, but is not contingent on any one of us.
God can work if a person hangs in there (like Jeremiah) or exits the conflict
(as in Matthew). God can bring healing through separation or through endurance.
We should not be manipulated with accusations that we are sabotaging the healing
process. If we have done our discernment we can move ahead trusting God will
continue to work. And that is part of the good news. Our God of peace keeps
working to reconcile all creation through us and also independently of us.
Stories of familial conflict in the Bible affirm the God of peace working reconciliation in seemingly stuck situations and also estrangement. Not surprisingly there are a fair number of biblical stories involving intra-family conflict. Genesis, for example, is full of them. In the beginning, it seems, there was conflict in the home. In Genesis 4 Cain murders his brother Abel. Clearly, Abel should have followed the Matthew program and fled town, but even in the midst of murder God seeks redemption. God places a mark on Cain so that the rest of humanity will not kill him. Perhaps in time, God reasons, Cain will be healed of his jealousy and rage. The God of peace keeps working to heal even when death separates brothers.
Hagar and Sarah, wives of Abraham, are like sisters. They have several rows extending from chapters 16-21. At one point Hagar feels she and Ishmael are threatened and she runs away from camp, but an angel appears to her and tells her to return (ch. 16). Perhaps there is something important for future generations in Ishmael being named a son of Abraham and included in the covenantal practice of circumcision (17:26). Sometimes, we might say, it is important to stick it out in a bad situation for the sake of the kids. By chapter 21, however, the relationship between Sarah and Hagar has deteriorated. Sarah sends Hagar away from the household and an angel again appears to Hagar. This time the angel points her toward an oasis which enables Hagar to continue her flight. Sometimes, we might say, it is important to leave in a bad situation for the sake of the kids. The God of peace is present in both Hagar’s return and final departure. Our task is to look for the direction God’s angel points us.
Jacob and Esau are also an interesting story. Jacob swindles Esau of his blessing (ch 27). Esau rashly reacts by promising to kill his brother. Jacob has studied his family history and decides to run away lest he meet the same fate as great, great, great, great uncle Abel. This is not, however, the end of the story for Jacob and Esau. Some 25 or more years later Jacob and Esau meet again (ch. 33). Jacob is worried that Esau still harbours a grudge against him. But guess what, God found a blessing for Esau as well (see variant reading of 27:39). Jacob and Esau meet, exchange gifts, and part in peace. Despite Esau’s invitation for Jacob to join him in Seir, Jacob crosses the river Jordon and establishes his camp at Shechem. Sometimes reconciliation takes a while—25 years or longer. Sometimes reconciliation means parting in peace and not living in the same area. The God of peace finds a blessing for each party of a conflict even when we cannot agree or live in the same region.
And no survey of sibling relations in Genesis would be complete without the Joseph story. Joseph is a young dreamer who brashly predicts his ascension to chief of the clan. His older brothers take issue with his arrogant attitude and nearly decide to kill him. Instead, they sell him into slavery and assume this has taken care of their boastful brother Joseph. God’s blessing goes with Joseph into exile. On account of his dreams and God given ability to interpret them, Joseph ascends to a position of authority in the Egyptian court. In a strange twist, Joseph’s brothers meet him when they come to Egypt to buy grain during a drought. To make a long story short, Joseph is reconciled with his brothers and he helps them relocate to Egypt. In one of my favourite verses of Genesis Joseph says to his brothers, “do not be afraid...even though you intended to do me harm, God intended it for good, in order to preserve a numerous people”. It is surely good news that the God of peace takes the trials and tribulations we suffer at the hands of siblings and uses them to preserve others. There is the hope in these Genesis stories of sibling conflict. There is also hope in the story being played among the Canadian nations.
The story of the white buffalo is one which tells of God’s relentless quest
to heal our divisions. When I heard the story about the white buffalo I saw a
continuation of our scriptures from Matthew, Jeremiah, and Genesis. Not quite
two weeks ago I toured the petroglyphs of Herschel, Saskatchewan with my
pastor-peer cluster and tour leader Dave Neufeld. In addition to showing us the
carved stones found in the hills above Herschel he shared with us stories about
the Cree and Blackfoot who had camped there. One of the legends was of the
return of the white buffalo. This legend tells of a woman, in the form of a
white buffalo, who thousands of years ago brought spiritual and physical
sustenance to the tribes of the plains. The White Buffalo Woman
taught that each day and all things are sacred...and that we should therefore
respect [and] honour all things in the Circle of Life. She spoke of walking in a
holy manner...that whatever we do to any other thing or being in the Circle of
Life, we do to ourselves - for we are One... She reminded us that without this
communion, cooperation, sharing, and unity, we would not be able to move through
this old time into a new one. Before leaving those Lakota people [2000 years
ago], she prophesied that she would return, and bring the message of peace,
unity and wholeness again. (www.spiritual-endeavors.org/native/white.htm)
A white buffalo would signal her return and it is an omen for which many 1st Nations have waited. The birth would signal a coming era of reconciliation among all people and respect for the earth. In 1987, Dave said and I confirmed, a white buffalo was born in Montana. Many First Nations saw this as the sign to begin talk of reconciliation with Canadians of European descent. My tour in Herschel corresponded with the apology issued by Prime Minister Harper to Canadian First Nations regarding the residential schools (June 10, 2008). As the newspapers reported this week there are still issues and incidents ascribed to racism. And yet the Prime Minister’s apology or the conversation between the Young Chippewayans and Mennonites happening near Laird (described in the June 9, 2008 Canadian Mennonite; p. 18) evidence a new spirit among the children of this land. Healing between our nations can happen even though brother has betrayed brother. Sometimes healing can only begin after generations have passed. Maybe now the time is right.
I believe the God of peace is working to repair the people of Canada, and I am grateful God has provided a spiritual sign to encourage us in the difficult labour of reconciliation. I expect God is also working in places like Iraq, the Holy Land, Dafur, and those areas of conflict in our homes. The sign may be a dream, an angel, or a white buffalo. May God grace us with insight to know when to stick it out and when to run. May we be graced with trust that God continues the work reconciliation in spite of death, insult, and estrangement.
Amen.