The prophet Jeremiah just called out prophets who lie, who proclaim the deceit of their own heart. But on either side, God affirms God’s nearness and presence, and the power of faithfully speaking God’s word. A word that is like fire; powerful, refining, purifying. A word that has the force to break rocks. As we turn to Luke, we hear two separate accounts, jarring and unexpected, painting the picture of a Jesus unfamiliar to us. This Jesus came to bring fire to the earth, and division within families. Listen now for God’s powerful word from Luke 12:49-56. Jesus is speaking.
A character on a TV show I watched wanted to get into a room guarded by the Secret Service. As he was threatening the agent he said, “I am not Jesus who will save you, I am the one who will destroy you.” When we think of Jesus, we think of his many wonderful traits, his teachings, his compassion, his power to save. But we usually do not think of Jesus as the divider, the one to bring fire. Yet Jesus came to bring fire, to be baptized, and to bring division. How do we make sense of that? First fire and baptism are connected. This isn’t a scorched earth kind of fire, but a purifying and strong fire. Think of God in the pillar of fire leading the Israelites. Or John the Baptist declaring the one coming after him will baptize with Holy Spirit and fire (Luke 3:16). Fire was meant to purify the religious practices of the day, when people were trying to use religion or faith to guarantee their salvation. But then we get a glimpse into the person of Jesus, who is “stressed” until his baptism is complete. His baptism is complete on the cross. “The fire that Jesus wishes ‘were already kindled’ (12:49) is a fire he will endure on our behalf…(which is) his imminent passion that will culminate on a cross” (Working Preacher, Jerad E. Alacantara). “The baptism of which Jesus speaks (is) an allusion to his cross,… the One who embodies the presence of God is not simply meting out the fire of judgment and purification, but bears it also himself… (We take comfort when our) Lord who comes to baptize with fire and the Holy Spirit first embraced his own baptism (on the cross) — experiencing harm that we might know healing, undergoing judgment that we might know pardon, suffering death that we might know life, both now and in the world to come” (Working Preacher, David Lose).
“Do you think I bring peace?” Jesus asked. And then replies, “No.” How can Jesus, the Prince of Peace, bring division and not peace? First, we should note that division, and not war, is the opposite of peace. Following Jesus could certainly divide families. “In a nuclear family, whether then or now, some conclude that Jesus is the Messiah, and others draw the opposite conclusion. Because these opposing views cannot be reconciled, division comes to a family—sometimes painful division” (Working Preacher, Jerad E. Alacantara). Father against son, daughter against mother, even in-laws are divided (but that’s not really a surprise). Some followed Jesus, other did not, causing divisions within families. So we cannot just remain undecided, wishy washy, about to what Jesus is calling us. Our belief in Christ can cause division. “A teenage girl at summer camp was torn between two sets of friends. Some of them were sunbathing on the dock, saying to her “stay with us.” But her other friends were in a rowboat saying “no, come with us.” There she stood, one foot on the dock, the other foot on the edge of the boat, and the boat was moving. Trying to appease everyone, trying to not decide, she ended up falling into the water; and worse, her hair got wet!” (Sermons.com, Steven Molin). When we say “Yes” to Jesus we may need to say “No” to other things. We may need to endure division.
“Fire and Division, that could sum up our current situation. And when Jesus asks if we know how to interpret the signs of the times, I think we need to ponder that question” (Working Preacher, Erick J Thompson). It feels like the administration is setting fire to our democracy, trying to rewrite history, and burning down our institutions and norms while also creating division within our country over race, immigration, and what it means to be a Christian. It is the Christian right who I fear interpret the wars and chaos as a sign of the end of times and so actively seek to usher that in. Doing so in name of Christ. But that is not right. We are not to bring the fire. We do not know when the time of God is coming. Think of the 10 bridesmaids (Mt. 25:1-1) or thieves in the night (Mt 24:43). We do not know when Jesus will come again so we should not welcome all the craziness happening and interpret that as God’s will.
So how should we interpret the US military being deployed in our nation’s capital? If we look at Jesus’ examples for perceiving weather patterns, clouds in the west means rain, I think it is safe to say we are becoming more like a dictatorship than a democracy. And the examples of such behaviors in our world history tell us we need to do something now, rather than feel helpless in the face of this power grab. We can partner with our neighbors fighting against ICE abuses. We can support the redistricting that our Governor is proposing, who reminded us about “our own agency” in this time of fire and division. We can talk with our friends and neighbors who see this power grab as right, not being deterred by the divisions in our midst.
Jesus calls them hypocrites, those who know how to interpret the earth and sky but fail to interpret the present times. Hypocrite can also mean “actor” or “pretender.” I might include fraud, which matches well with the prophets who lied from Jeremiah. Jeremiah teaches, “God’s word is like fire” and I believe we need to lean into that fire with a passion to follow Christ’s teachings and stand with those who are losing healthcare and being deported.
In 2022 I traveled with the PCUSA to Palestine and Israel. I returned convinced our nation’s blind support for Israel was playing a large part in the horrific oppression of the Palestinians. The poverty and dehumanization of the Palestinians by the Israeli government turned my stomach. I wanted us to stop funding to Israel until this atrocity was dealt with. I understood why the Palestinians did what they did on October 7th, being the David in the face of a military Goliath Israel. So now I am interpreting our present time in Palestine as genocide. Thursday, I stood with neighbors here to form a redline in the sand, showing solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Palestine. Our prayers for Gaza are vital but that is not enough. The intentional withholding of food and medical aid, the 20,000 children killed, tell us that the Israeli plan is to wipe the people of Palestine off the map. The first step in any change is recognizing the problem, ending denial, and being willing to do something different. If we want to interpret the present times in a faithful way, we must see our part and work to do something differently. We can’t be the hypocrites who
“believe that we have a monopoly of truth, about ourselves and our world, and who believe we have everything figured out but keeps using human actions to guarantee God’s presence while we remain in control” (Working Preacher, Erick J Thompson). We need to repent of our old thinking.
“When we repent and perceive “the present time” for what it is, as an available but diminishing opportunity to align ourselves with God’s priorities, then we ourselves will join others in pursuing “the things that make for peace” (Lk 19:42). Of course, in the current time we do that work in the midst of divisions created by a sharply conflicted society, but at least we’re following someone who knows the way” (Working Preacher, Matt Skinner).
So be strengthened for our present time, by the sacred meal that Jesus has prepared. May our communion motivate our action and unite us all in solidarity with Jesus’ mission on earth. AMEN
