Tenth Sunday after Pentecost

Luke 12:49-56

Aw, man, I really didn’t want to preach today’s gospel.

From Jesus naming his desire to bring fire to the earth (v. 49) and  predicting the ways that households would be divided by his words (v. 51-53) to his condemnation of his audience, calling them “hypocrites”, I was left wondering,

“How is this Good News?”

Seriously, I thought about preaching a different text today.

But you may remember that in a sermon last month Pastor Jonathan shared how following Jesus, living lives of discipleship and choosing to be faithful to the Gospel means sometimes choosing to do hard things.

And while I would like to only listen to Jesus when he says comforting words, I know that I need to hear his challenging words, too.

So, I went back to the text. And not only our gospel text, but also the words of Jeremiah that are paired with it today.

Because Jeremiah is speaking to God’s people and reminding them that prophets speak the Word of the Lord faithfully. They don’t only say what people want to hear. They don’t only speak words of promise and comfort. And a Word that comes through the prophet is also, always first a Word to the prophet. 

Sometimes God’s Word is not so much like a gentle whisper but like the fire sent at Pentecost, sweeping through and making room for what’s next; sometimes it is like a hammer that breaks open rugged rocks to reveal what is precious within them.

If we start with what we know about who Jesus is, then I think we can hear the Good News in our gospel today.

Jesus wants us to know we are loved and forgiven, and Jesus wants us to be reconciled, with God and with one another, and to flourish in relationship and community. And He regularly calls out the obstacles to that abundant life, naming the powers and principalities and those things that draw us away from God.

When Jesus speaks of fire and baptism, we are meant to remember the words of John the Baptizer in Luke 3 who said,

I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire. (3:16-17)

The fire that Jesus wants to kindle is not one of damnation and punishment, but one of purifying and refining power. It burns away the stuff that doesn’t matter and preserves what is needed.

This interpretation is supported later in Luke, in chapter 9, when Jesus and his disciples reach Samaria and are rejected. James and John ask Jesus if he wants them to “command fire to come down from heaven and consume [the Samaritans]” and Jesus rebuked the disciples. The basis of judgment is our conduct, but the basis for hope is always God. (The Rev. Dr. Richard Nysse, Luther Seminary) The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. (Psalm 145:8)

But Jesus doesn’t pretend that following him will be easy. He says that, in fact, listening to Him and choosing to follow Him will make life hard. It can create difficulty and strife in relationships. We can expect that we will disagree about what it means to follow Jesus - in our households, in our congregations and the wider Church. 

This tension between following Jesus and living in the world isn’t new.

It echoes what Jesus told the men in Luke 9 who wanted to complete their household responsibilities before they followed Him: 
the Kingdom of Heaven demands our full and immediate attention and takes priority over everything else.

It’s a hard word to hear and to preach and even harder to follow.

We know that the prophetic word is one that is met with resistance. The prophet Micah answered the question, “What does the Lord require of you?” with the deceptively simple “Do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8)

Justice. Humility. Kindness.

This is the hard work of discipleship to which we are called. Throughout his Small Catechism, Luther interprets God’s commandments for us, explaining each one within the context of what it means to “fear and love God”. 

Here Jesus tells us that in our Christian lives, we are called to let go of the things that serve ourselves and our egos, to let them burn up like the chaff on the threshing floor. He warns us against self-deception and calls us to honest reflection, that we may “know God more clearly, love God more dearly, and follow God more nearly, day by day”. (Prayer of St. Richard)

There is Good News here for us today. We do not need to be afraid of the fire Jesus desires to kindle in us. It is the burning presence of the divine in our lives, that does not consume, but assures us that God is here, and it is the life-giving Holy Spirit that shines brightly in all of his disciples.

Let us pray.

Holy God,

Thank you giving us Your Son Jesus to comfort and challenge us.

Help us listen to the prophetic word and obey

That the world may know your love and mercy through our bold actions.

We pray in the name of Jesus.

Amen.