Understanding the Times (A Sermon on Luke 11:49-56)

The sermon transcript below is a message I preached at First Presbyterian Church of Astoria on Sunday, August 14. It is based on Luke 11:49-56, a particularly fiery piece of Jesus’ teachings to his disciples.

“I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! But I have a baptism to undergo, and what constraint I am under until it is completed! Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, 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 daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.” He said to the crowd: “When you see a cloud rising in the west, immediately you say, ‘It’s going to rain,’ and it does. And when the south wind blows, you say, ‘It’s going to be hot,’ and it is. Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky. How is it that you don’t know how to interpret this present time?”

‭‭Luke‬ ‭12:49-56‬ ‭NIV‬‬

In describing this passage of Scripture in one of his commentaries, biblical scholar NT Wright tells a story of how the famous composer Beethoven would sometimes lull his audiences into a calm and cozy mood with soft music. He particularly did this to audiences he suspected didn’t truly appreciate his work. As the audience grew more and more comfortable and relaxed, Beethoven would pull a fast one, slamming his arm down on the piano to shock them! Imagine enjoying a nice night out to hear some beautiful music and instead getting jolted with the rude crashing of piano keys.

Well, Wright thinks Jesus is up to something similar here in this passage.The same Jesus who calmed the storm just a few chapters ago in Luke 8 is now claiming that he came to bring fire to the earth and how he brings division, not peace! As Jesus shares here about the division even in families, we might ask where has the Prince of Peace gone and who replaced him with this nasty fellow who just wants to stir things up? We certainly would not want to invite this Jesus to a dinner party or a game night with our friends. This Jesus is intense, confrontational, and worked up! This Jesus seems to be shattering our peace, instead of helping to build it up. And here I thought the Kingdom of God was centered on reconciliation and peace. Wasn’t it this Jesus who said, “Blessed are the peacemakers…”?

And, later in the New Testament, isn’t it Paul who encourages Christians to be at peace with one another? Romans 12:18-19 says “If possible, so far as it depends upon you, live peaceably with all.” Elsewhere, the author of Hebrews writes, “Make every effort to live in peace with everyone…”

Yet, what we will discover is that there is such a thing as false peace and Jesus is not about a bandaid over a bullet hole. No, Jesus was interpreting the time, knowing that his people, the Jews, were living under Roman occupation, suffering under King Herod’s oppressive regime; there were wealthy and arrogant high priests in charge and there was the false agenda of the Pharisees, who claimed to love and follow God, but were piling mountains of heavy burdens on the people they were supposed to be helping. The false peace at the time was offered in the Pax Romana - “Roman Peace” - which was secured through the conquering of peoples and nations and, really, benefitted some over others. In truth, the Pax Romana was no peace at all to many, including the Jews who lived under their captivity and the oppression of crooked leaders like Herod who were assigned over them.

The truth is that there was conflict, danger, and controversy at every turn. Not so unlike our atmosphere today. In the 1st century, Jesus did not claim to wave all that away with a magic wand. Instead, Jesus went headlong into the conflict. The fire he wanted to bring was not a fire of destruction or hellfire, but a fire of change, a fire of the Kingdom of God. The Gospel of Thomas, though not part of our canonized scripture, quotes Jesus as saying “whoever is near me is near fire; whoever is distant from me is distant from the kingdom.” And the baptism Jesus said was coming in Luke? He’s referring to his own death, an inevitability because of the work he had come to do. And, Jesus was telling his disciples, and he’s telling us, that to associate with him, to follow him, will involve conflict and difficulty. There’s no way around it. To say “yes” to living our lives while following Jesus also means saying “no” to living our lives as others would have us live them.

To get even more grounding in this scripture, let’s take a quick look at a very similar passage in Matthew 10. Jesus says:

“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and one’s foes will be members of one’s own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.”

Do you hear the similarities? And, do you hear some of the phrases that help illuminate this passage for us? Jesus is not calling you to hate your family or to be a jerk to your friends. He is calling you to take account of your life - to know that when you decide to follow him, it just cannot be business as usual. In family systems theory, whenever a person makes a healthy change in their lives, they disrupt their family’s equilibrium and the status quo. For all our sense of self-determination and independence, the truth is that we are far more interdependent than we realize. Everything we do has a ripple effect, and that’s even more true in our closest relationships.

And, like a good doctor opening an infested wound to bring more healing to a diseased area, we need to know that the division Jesus brings is for the ultimate healing and reconciliation of relationships and community. Jesus’ own standoffs with the Pharisees throughout the Gospels were for the ultimate freedom of the people under the Pharisees’ care.

For us, today, the question becomes, what sort of division is Jesus stirring up among us? And, how do we tell the difference between division that serves the gospel of true peace and division that is born of stubborn pride and selfishness? And, in an age of division, what does it mean to choose the right side? When it comes to politics, we have seen a perhaps unprecedented level of divisiveness and vitriol to go with it. Do we think God is at work in this at all? Or are we better off stressing unity as our core value and looking past our many differences?

As Jesus turns to talking about the weather in Luke 12, it brings into sharp focus what we should have our focus on as well. Palestinian farmers needed to pay attention to the weather; the weather could impact their crops and their very livelihood. Jesus is also calling us to pay attention to what really matters - to understand the times and to act accordingly. What great matters rise to your mind as you think about our times together? What is happening in your home, your church, your greater community that should demand your attention?

Are we taking steps towards following Jesus more closely in our lives, our relationships, and our communities, or are we asleep at the wheel or standing on the sidelines? There’s a beautiful poem that captures the sentiment well from American poet Mary Oliver. It’s called “What I Have Learned So Far.” I’d love to share it with you now:

“Meditation is old and honorable, so why should I not sit, every morning of my life, on the hillside, looking into the shining world? Because, properly attended to, delight, as well as havoc, is suggestion. Can one be passionate about the just, the ideal, the sublime, and the holy, and yet commit to no labor in its cause? I don’t think so.

All summations have a beginning, all effect has a story, all kindness begins with the sown seed. Thought buds toward radiance. The gospel of light is the crossroads of - indolence, or action. Be ignited, or be gone.”

The call from Oliver and from Jesus is to be ignited. To commit labor in the Kingdom of God, which comes with its own share of conflict. Laboring in the Kingdom of God is not a life devoid of strife and division; in fact, it may bring those very things into our lives. Thank God we have one another to help strengthen us for our work and the onlooking saints who came before us to help guide us in the way. One such saint was Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German pastor who lived under the Nazi regime. Bonhoeffer was ignited and ruled out the possibility that Christians could “inactively wait and dully look on” in the midst of injustice and evil. He followed Jesus into treacherous places. I wonder, are we willing to do the same? Are we okay with keeping the peace, rather than making it? Will we be close enough to Jesus to be ignited or will we just go quietly in the areas that really matter? My prayer for you and for me is that we would be willing to make the tough decisions, to follow after Jesus even into division, knowing that our God brings beauty from ashes and songs of joy from despair.

God is still on the move, bringing freedom to oppressed peoples, challenging systems of injustice. However, just like in the days of old, there are still false prophets who say “peace, peace” when there is no peace. There is no virtue in being well-adjusted to an unjust society and so we, too, should know that being disturbed by the wrongs in our country and our world is a part of the Spirit’s work in our lives. To look upon people in suffering and leaders who exploit, deceive, and mistreat those they are called to help will put a fire in our bones if we let it. And, we can’t help but be moved to action, to be moved to following Jesus into treacherous places. We can, as we go, trust the Holy Spirit, our community of faith, and the teachings of Christ to keep us from falling into self-seeking self-righteousness. But, to look dully on is not an option for us. We must, as Mary Oliver said, be ignited or be gone.

Being a new parent has given me more of a concept on time. I can’t believe how quickly two years has flown by! An infant has become a toddler, one who is constantly in motion, trying new things and exploring new adventures. I’ve noticed that I am, if I let myself, a creature of habit, who can get so comfortable with what I’ve known. It’s like I’m in Beethoven’s audience being lulled into a false security, unaware that the keys are about to be slammed and I’ll be rudely awakened. Jesus’ words can have the same effect on us today. Jesus in Luke 12 is not the “meek and mild” Jesus we may prefer, but he is the Jesus we need. The one who calls us forward into losing our lives so that we may actually gain them. The same Jesus who came that we might have life to the fullest also alerts us to the cost of such a life.

While we may grimace and chafe at the discomfort of commitment, is it not so much more satisfying to be really doing it than to find ourselves sleepily teetering on the fence? In all the spheres of our life, we cannot afford to twiddle our thumbs. We have to keep focus on what truly matters, for our sakes, for the sakes of our loved ones, and for the love of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. May God’s grace sustain us in our commitment to follow Jesus, to be ignited, and to go where he calls us. Amen.