13th Sunday after Pentecost, 08/18/2013

Sermon on Luke 12:49-56, by Carl A. Voges

The Passage

"I came to cast fire on the earth, and would that it were already kindled! I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how great is my distress until it is accomplished! Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. For from now on in one house there will be five 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 her mother-in-law.

"He (Jesus) also said to the crowds, ‘When you see a cloud rising in the west, you say at once, "A shower is coming." 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?" [English Standard Version]

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God." [Hebrews 12.1-2]

In the Name of Christ + Jesus our Lord

Today's Gospel, initially, is a mysterious passage. Working through it, however, we see how our Lord brings out its meaning in the second paragraph when he comments on our ability to read nature's cycles. Clouds rising in the west means there will be a shower, a blowing wind from the south means there will be intense heat. He rips us, though, for noticing nature's cycles but ignoring what is going on as his Life makes its way into this world. This mysterious passage, then, helps us to notice what is actually going on as his Life surfaces in the world.

It is amazing how, Sunday after Sunday, the Lord's people come striding into the Liturgy. They may not be feeling well, but they come in anyway. They may be anxious over a friend who has moved, but they come in anyway. They may not have gotten much sleep the night before, but they come in anyway. They may be strained over a family member who is dying, but they come in anyway. They may have to fix their hot water heater, but they come in anyway. It truly is amazing how, Sunday after Sunday, the Lord's people come striding into the Liturgy.

Does this occur because his people are a notch above the others in terms of their energy, ability and drive? Or does this occur because of Lord God working his Life into their own? Today's Gospel, as mysterious as it may be, makes it clear it is the latter.

Admittedly this passage does give us a strikingly different look of the Lord's Life. There is a fire that is blazing. There is a baptism that is causing distress. There is no peace. There is division. There are families that fragment over who the Son is.

What does Jesus mean by giving us this strikingly different look of his Life? He has come to bring fire to the earth and how he wishes it were blazing already. The fire of which Jesus speaks is a cleansing and hardening one. It is a fire that clears out the undergrowth in a forest. It is a fire that hardens melted steel. As this passage expands, we will see why the fire is needed and where it will begin to blaze.

Jesus goes on, talking of the Baptism he still must receive and the greatness of his distress until it is over. What does he mean? Wasn't he baptized nearly three years before in the Jordan River? Yes, but now he is pointing to the event where that Baptism headed him - his crucifixion and resurrection! His turmoil is overwhelming until that event occurs and his Baptism is completed.

He goes on, asking if we think he has come to bring peace on earth. Strange question, isn't it? Recall that when he was born, the angels sang that the birth now signaled peace on earth. But a closer look at the question reveals it's not so strange after all. The word used for "peace" here is not "shalom," the Hebrew word that refers to the Lord's gift of "wholeness." The word here is referring to the "absence of conflict." Put another way, Jesus just didn't come to smooth out the world's trouble-spots and improve the relationships between destructive people. No, he has come to bring division!

His coming exposes where people have invested themselves. His coming forces people to decide for him and the Father, or for themselves. This works itself out in the relationships we know. Just because a father has let the Lord God draw him into his Life, it's no guarantee that his daughter will too. Just because a mother has decided to not let the Lord draw her into his Life, it's no guarantee that her son will too. Jesus tells us that even the in-laws will get involved in deciding for him / his Father, or for themselves.

This decision, though, is a fiery one. Why? Because of the hold that sin, Satan and death have on this world. Their presence and their powers need to be burned, like undergrowth in a forest. This blaze will erupt fully in Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection. This blaze engulfs our lives, too, when we are baptized into the Holy Trinity, but there the blaze hardens us in the Life we have received in him. It is because of the blaze of the Son's dying and rising that, Sunday after Sunday, his people keep striding into the Liturgy.

So, does it stop there? No, the fire from that blaze continues to burn today. The hold that sin, Satan and death have on this world has created all kinds of undergrowth. The fire from the Son's blaze is needed to clear it out. There is undergrowth in the world where it can shrug its shoulders at the famines created by crooked leaders or at murders of innocent people. There is undergrowth in the world where the vulgarity on television or in popular music sinks to new lows. There is undergrowth in the world where people are used by others and then thrown away.

There is undergrowth, too, in the Church, where parish communities are more driven to be successful in the world's eyes than to be faithful in the Lord's eyes. There is undergrowth in the Church where people understand their parishes to be providers of services rather than the carriers and reflectors of the Lord's Life. There is undergrowth in the Church where personalities and programs are viewed as more vital than the public proclamation of the Gospel and the proper administration of the Sacraments. The fire from the Son's blaze clears such undergrowth out!

But the fire from his blaze also hardens us in the Life we have received from him. When illness tears into our bodies, we still see him as the center of our life. When the relationships we have with other people are skewed, we still see him as the center of our life. When the direction and purpose of life seems to have faded away, we still see him as the center of our life.

So, let the fire from the Son's blaze burn - it is cleansing and hardening us! Because the blaze is coming from his crucifixion and resurrection, it is also confronting us with a decision - Will we let our lives be drawn into the Life of the Lord God or will we stay with the life that the world gave us at birth?

Running from the fire of the Son's blaze will lead us to destruction. But letting him draw us into it will lead to his Life. Yes, it is amazing how, Sunday after Sunday, the Lord's people keep striding into the Liturgy. My friends, it is the fire from Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection that is making such striding possible!

Now may the peace of the Lord God, which is beyond all understanding, keep our hearts and minds through Christ + Jesus our Lord.

Pr. Carl A. Voges
Columbia, SC
E-Mail: carl.voges4@icloud.com

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