Luke 12:49-56

12 Pentecost / Proper 15 / Year C

19 August 2007

The Church of the Good Shepherd

Wareham, Massachusetts

Preached by the Rev. David Fredrickson

Fire, division, families ripped apart, father against son, son against father, mother against daughter, daughter against mother. What is this strange teaching arising out of the mouth and the mind of the Prince of Peace? Jesus admits that he is stressed, but has he snapped? Has it all become too much for him? This morning we encounter Jesus well along the path of his final journey, the one that will ultimately bring him to Jerusalem on Palm Sunday and to Golgotha on Good Friday.

It is apparent in this morning’s encounter that we have somehow lost the gentle and comforting savior that we have all come to expect and believe is waiting to embrace us. So where did he go? What is all this about, and why is it important for us to hear Jesus uttering words that sound more like an Old Testament prophet than a compassionate deliverer?

First of all I do take Jesus at his word when he said that he was stressed, but there is no question that he was committed to the success of his mission. There were very few times when Jesus flinched on his way to the cross. Success, however, meant that he must not shrink back from telling the truth to his disciples, his followers. And that is what this morning’s rant is, it’s about truth telling. As good as the gospel is, it will bring division if Jesus’ disciples are as committed to it as they are called to be.

St. Francis of Assisi, as a young man, became a soldier and his future seemed bright. His father was very proud of his son, but there was a problem. Francis kept going to church and he kept praying and asking God what it was the God wanted him to do with his life. Over time, Francis came to be convinced that God wanted him to serve the poorest of the poor; that was his calling and to be a disciple, he had to follow that path. When Francis heard the scripture, “Sell all that you have and give it to the poor,” he sold all that he had and he gave it to the poor. The problem was, what Francis had, came from his rather wealthy father who took exception to this new path that Francis found himself on. So, Francis’ father had him thrown into jail. He then took him to court. It was there in court that Francis uttered the now famous words, “No longer is Pietro Bernardone my father. From now on, my father is in heaven.” Indeed, as good as the gospel is, it will bring division to those who are committed to it. At some distance, we admire Francis for his heroism, his nobility, in fact we made him a saint in the church, but in reality, the pain must have been excruciating, and lasting.

In the words of activist, author and lecturer, Marianne Williamson, “When you ask God into your life, you think God is going to come into your psychic house, look around, and see that you just need a new floor or better furniture, and that everything needs just a little cleaning – and so you go along for the first six months thinking how nice life is now that God is there. Then you look out the window one day and you see that there is a wrecking ball outside. It turns out that God actually thinks your whole foundation is shot and you’re going to have to start over from scratch.”

The inevitability of the gospel, yes the good news, is that it will bring about division and yet there is more. Followers of Jesus are also called to fan the flames of his holy fire. Fire is not only a destructive force, but is also the agent of heat and light. We all know the story of Acts chapter two when the tongues of fire came and rested on each of the disciples. Fire is and has been throughout the witness of Holy Scripture the primal element that purges, smelting off all impurities. Fire is the proverbial wrecking ball, the Holy Spirit that has come not merely to rearrange our spiritual furniture, but to completely raze our foundation so that it can be rebuilt by Christ himself. There is nothing quite as wonderful as a fire in the fireplace or the woodstove on a cold and bleak winter’s day. Yet for the warmth and calming light to find its way into our homes and ultimately into our bones, a raging fire needs to be kindled and stoked. Once the wood goes into the red hot fire box and begins to burn, it changes forever. After a few minutes, that piece of pitch or hickory or pine doesn’t look the same as it did when you first put it in. You get fire, heat, light, energy – and yet before long there remain only black ashes. Jesus says, “I have come to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!” We prefer to keep our lives intact, but Jesus has brought fire to our doorsteps and when fire is set to something it is changed into something different from what it was before.

It is the intent of the church, is to set the people of God’s imaginations on fire, to turn our whole perspective on every corner of our reality into something that it wasn’t before so that we don’t simply patch a little prayer onto the day and wonder why it is not helping or worse yet, give the spiritual life up entirely because God seems so far away. True disciples are called to face the flames and not shrink back from the divisions come. You and I are called to sit down and look very deliberately at the way our lives are structured and ask, “Is there anything in this that will help me to be a disciple of Jesus Christ?” When you and I make decisions, is Jesus really the controlling factor in how we decide such issues as, what we’re going to do with our time, how we are going to spend our money, how we are going to raise our children, what we’re going to do to transform our job into a vocation, how we are going to share our faith with others.

Do we dare look out the window? The wrecking ball is swinging, so let it do its work demolishing all that holds us back from Christ. Then let our lives be rebuilt on the only foundation that can give life, the one that transforms, so that we may be set on fire.

In Jesus Name; Amen.