Sermon Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost

August 19, 2007

12^th Sunday after Pentecost

Luke 12:49-56
I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! I have a baptism with which to be baptized, and what stress I am under until it is completed! Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division! From now on five in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three; they will be divided:
father against son
and son against father,
mother against daughter
and daughter against mother,
mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law
and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law."
He also said to the crowds, "When you see a cloud rising in the west, you immediately say, 'It is going to rain'; and so it happens. And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, 'There will be scorching heat'; and it happens. You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?

What Time is It?

What time is it? This is the question that Jesus leaves his disciples with in today’s reading, and consequently, leaves us pondering as well. Today’s reading is not the common fare that we are used to hearing from our Prince of Peace. Indeed, this passage in Luke seems like something that might come from the lips of a street preacher, which is exactly what Jesus was in those early days in Palestine.

Today we see Jesus wearing his prophecy hat, echoing the words of Micah, of John the Baptist, of Elijah, of those great forebears that startled the sleeping followers of God from their slumber. Like a noisy alarm clock, Jesus calls out, “What time is it? Don’t you see the signs? Can’t you feel the fire that is forming, the divisions to come?”

Fire. Another one of those touchy subjects, at least for those early hearers of the word. In not so many years after Jesus’ death, Emperor Nero will take power and decimate the early Christian population with fire. Nero would take Christians, put them on a pole, and burn them, the flames giving light to his after-dinner parties. The great fire of 64 AD would burn in Rome for 6 days as Nero looked on, rumored to be singing and dancing on his balcony. His damage control tactic was to blame it on the Christians, who at that time were mostly slaves and the poor working class, causing further persecution to come upon them. Can you imagine being an early Christian hearing this account in Luke?

When Jesus says he has come to bring fire to the Earth, do not think that this is just some passing imagery for those early hearers, this is serious stuff! Those early Christians would think back to those persecutions. They knew fire to be oppressive. That gets your attention.

How do we hear it today? Our images of fire are probably quite different, but no less scary. We probably envision planes crashing into tall buildings, or brush and forest fires ravishing homes in the mountains of California and the flatlands of Florida. We also probably see, even when we close our eyes, those pictures of civilian and military victims destroyed or severely burned in car-bomb explosions, IED detonations, and other bombings. These images, too, get our attention.

And so when Jesus says, “I have come to bring fire,” this naturally makes us ask, as it did for those ancient hearers of these words in Luke, “What time is it? Is this a new time of persecution? Is this a new time of war? Is Jesus advocating for these things?”

But fire for use in war, fire as a tool of oppression is not Jesus’ point at all. Indeed, his use of fire is in the vein of holy fire. It is the pillar of fire that led the Israelites through the desert, the fire that burned the altar of Elijah in front of the Baal priests. It is the fire that touched the lips of Zechariah, purifying him before the birth of John the Baptist, it is the fire that would dance upon the heads of those disciples, huddled in that upper room for fear of the authorities. Jesus is the fire of God breaking into our darkened world. It is not the fire of oppression, but the fire of freedom. It is not the fire of war, but the candle of peace. It is not the fire that is all-consuming, but a fire that burns the chaff and harvests the wheat. This is Jesus, the fire of God. That, too, should get your attention.

You know, I was flipping through the channels the other morning as I was putting my shoes on for church. I stopped on a channel where a familiar preacher at a stadium church was advising his congregation that “the end is near.” He said that God’s fire of justice was going to wipe out the earth, that the wars in Iraq and the Holy Land were proofs, signs of the time. Mounting tensions with North Korea, current military disagreements with Russia, and our standoff with Iran were clear signs that God was ushering in the end of time, and that we needed to be ready.

I sat there with one shoe on and one shoe off and thought about those early Christians hearing this passage of Luke, and I laughed to myself.

If you’ll remember, they thought the exact same thing. And the end did not come.

Two thousand years ago the fear of ultimate destruction was on the hearts and minds of those Christians, just as it is on the hearts and minds of many today, including those congregation members listening to that pastor who needs to do more homework. You see, the fire of God is not to bring about the end times. If anyone is going to destroy us, it will be us! The fire of God in Christ is the sign, the beginning of a new time. Christ is God burning Word breaking into a world that, while hungering for God’s presence, also rejects God.

Our world, our hearts, hunger for God’s presence, yet we reject God. We hunger for God’s justice in the world, but argue over how it will be done and who will do it. We hunger for mercy from God, yet bite and strike back when we are given the opportunity to be merciful. When Jesus speaks about causing division, this is what he is referring to. When you take the fire of God seriously, when you take Christ and Christ’s radical call for love seriously, there is going to be argument.

In our world we can see some of these divisions clearly.

We, as Christians, take seriously: “Blessed are the poor for they have the kingdom of God.” The world today says: “Make as much money as you can because it gives power.”

We, as Christians, take seriously: “Put your light on a lamp-stand so that those who enter may see.” The world today says: “Don’t wear your faith on your sleeve.”

We, as Christians, take seriously: “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you.” The world today says: “Revenge and war will lead to peace.”

Even in circles of Christians we find division. This past week at the Churchwide Assembly I witnessed Christians taking Christ seriously. As we listened, prayed, sang, and voted, we tried to take Christ’s call to discipleship seriously, discerning where the fire of God was leading us. And yes, there were divisions. Many divisions. Pastor against voting member, Bishop against pastor, parent against child.

But this is what happens when you take Christ seriously. And we live trusting that God’s word in Christ will bring us back around the table, back around the fire of his love shown in bread and wine, water and word, to heal those divisions. God in Christ has set your heart ablaze, not with all the right answers, but with a desire to be with God. So turn, be baptized, and follow that pillar of fire through this desert of a world.

Do you not see the signs? As we take God seriously, even as divisions form and families pit themselves against one another, we must remember that the fire of God is not for destruction, not for the end of things. The fire of God brings a new beginning.

So what time is it? It’s time to see that new beginning here in our hearts, here in this church, here in this world. It is a place where money does not rule, where power does not dominate, it is a place where we are served by God and serve one another. This is the change that the fire of God brings. Sure, divisions will happen as we take God’s work in Christ seriously; it will not be easy navigating this path. But the fire of God dances above our heads, reminding us what time it is. It’s our sign. It is time for a new beginning, God’s new beginning. Amen.