Reverend Ref +

PENTECOST 11 - PROPER 15 - YEAR C

Here we go . . . are you ready? For those of you who have been following along, you'll remember that Luke has us on a journey with Jesus to Jerusalem, and things are starting to get dicey. With that in mind, let's look at today's gospel together.

"I came to bring fire to the earth and how I wish it were already kindled." What is Jesus talking about here? What do YOU think he's talking about? That's not a rhetorical question . . . any thoughts?

People's responses ranged from exciting the faithful to the Holy Spirit to changing the way things were.

All good thoughts, and I think you are right on track. What does it mean to be "on fire?" When a salesperson has a great month, exceeding her goals, we say she's on fire. She's burning up her competition. Or in sports, especially basketball, when a player hits shot after shot after shot after shot, what do we hear Dick Vitale scream? "He's on FIRE, babeeee!!!" That guy drives me nuts.

Fire is also light. Think about the Easter Vigil service. Now, I donl't know what's been done here before, but at Seabury the Easter Vigil begins between 5 and 5:30 am, depending on the time of the sunrise that year. The choir starts to gather around 4 to practice. Some people handle this early morning service better than others; but there we are, dressed in our Easter finest gathering in the dark to celebrate the risen Christ. A fire is kindled in the dark of the morning, the Paschal candle is lit, and a deacon leads the procession proclaiming, "The Light of Christ." And we respond, "Thanks be to God." The light of Christ, represented by the Paschal candle, lit from fire. A light unto a dark world.

"Do you think I that I have come to bring peace to the earth?" Let's define peace here. Thoughts on that?

A woman responds, "The lack of conflict."

That's perfect! A lack of conflict. Before Jesus was born, the Roman Empire had suffered a century of civil war. The empire was coming apart. Civilization was in danger of being destroyed. And then came one man, Augustus, who saved the world. He was the one who finally brought peace to the empire. And how did he do this? By crushing anyone who opposed him. Peace, the lack of conflict, reigned supreme. The seaways were safe, the roads were safe, trade flourished and people prospered.

Israel was one of those nations that Rome controlled. As long as they didn't get out of hand there was peace. Around the time of Jesus, they were complaining, but not to loudly. They were advocating revolt, but only in secret. And finally, in 66 AD, the unrest bubbled over into open conflict and they battled Rome for four years. In 70 AD Rome had had enough, crushed the revolt and destroyed the temple, and peace reigned supreme.

Luke wrote after this event. Was it possible that people were looking for a restored Israel, a strong Israel that could escape and defeat its occupiers so that THEY could establish peace on their terms? You betcha. But if peace is determined by the victors, then, no, Jesus didn't come to establish peace. Victory and peace through open warfare isn't what Jesus was proclaiming. Not then, and not now.

Finally, the house divided. Father against son, son against father, mother against daughter, daughter against mother. But look carefully, Jesus isn't advocating conflict. Jesus is stating the obvious. Becoming a Christian, following Christ, means that you don't relate to society in the same way you used to, or to your family sometimes. As Paul says, you are a new creation. You have been changed and your outlook changes.

We all live in families, and families like homeostasis. They like everything to be the same and unchanging. When someone becomes a Christian, the family is changed. The balance is upset and family members become divided. Why do you think religion is off limits at Thanksgiving dinner? Jesus knew that by following him, families would become divided.

You can see this clearly in sports: Sox fans dont mix wiht Cubs fans; Huskies don't mix with Cougars, and heaven help the 'Bama fan who crosses over to Auburn. Jesus knew that changing one's loyalties would mess up everything.

So I ask you to look at this gospel with new eyes. Not the eyes of doom and gloom where fire, conquest and division lead to a scorched earth. Not with the old eyes of fear. But look at this with eyes of hope. With eyes that see fire as the light of Christ in a dark world. With eyes that see division as reh result of people hearing and following a new and better way. With eyes that recognize the Kingdom of God is manifested inour world right here, right now.