A sermon for August 18th 2019 on division and how Father Ted has the answer

Sunday 18th August 2019
 
Gospel: Luke 12.49-56

‘I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! 50I have a baptism with which to be baptized, and what stress I am under until it is completed! 51Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division! 52From now on, five in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three; 53they 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 mother-in-law.’
⁵⁴ He also said to the crowds, ‘When you see a cloud rising in the west, you immediately say, “It is going to rain”; and so it happens. 55And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, “There will be scorching heat”; and it happens. 56You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?

 

Loving God. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in your sight, my lord, my rock and my redeemer. Amen.

I’m sure this isn’t a surprise, but when we preach, we don’t get to choose the readings each week, they’re prescribed for every Sunday of the year and used in thousands of churches around the world.

And to be honest, if I had a choice, I wouldn’t have chosen today’s passage from Luke.

In fact, it was tempting to look at one of other readings instead but given that I’m supposed to have a vague idea what the passage is saying, I decided to dive right in and we’ll see what we can find out.

Before I go any further, I must emphasise that while it may not seem like it, there is hope in today’s Gospel, so while it may seem like a dramatic episode of Downton Abbey, the finale will be like the end of the Christmas Special, where they all live happily ever after - and I hope I’m not overselling that.

The first thing to observe, and Ken made this point a couple of weeks ago at evensong, is that contrary to some stereotypes, Jesus isn’t nice all the time.

In fact, the, “Nice Christian,” is an image which can put people off church because they think you have to be nice to go to church, and we all know – and of course - this only applies in other churches, that very few people are nice all the time, most of us are a bit nice and we do our best but are a bit messed up and a bit grumpy, we lose our patience and shout sometimes and, to confess, I include myself in that, I know, who would believe it!

So, it’s not surprising that Jesus is frustrated sometimes and today, he is in a bit of a mood, which is reassuring for us mere mortals!

Now I must stress that Jesus was often kind, he was compassionate, he was a healer and he loves us deeply, so much so, that he does get frustrated, as many parents do.

But why is he annoyed today? Well, Jesus is on a mission, and wherever he goes, people just don’t seem to get it, they make assumptions.

They read the Hebrew Bible, the Old Testament, as we know it, and they think that Jesus is either just another Jewish prophet who will fade from history, or, that he is the man who will raise an army and lead the Israelites to freedom once more.

And this is only partly true,

It’s important not to read a passage like this too literally, for as we know, Jesus often used parables and symbols to get his message across. So, when he talks about bringing fire to the earth, what is that about?

Fire in the Bible can be a metaphor for judgement, but also for purification, a refining fire – used in metal working, for example, to purify silver by removing impurities, using the centre of the flame where it’s hottest.

Which is what sometimes happens when we come to faith, our souls become holier the closer we get to God.

In Luke chapter 3, verse 16, we are told, “he will baptise you with the Holy Spirit, and with fire.” Fire is another symbol for the Holy Spirit, as we see at Pentecost, in Acts chapter 2, with divided tongues of fire resting on the disciples.

In today’s Gospel, Fire is all of these, judgement, refinement and the Holy Spirit. When Jesus comes again, there will be judgement, but not before we have been refined and purified, forgiven and redeemed.

Jesus is also longing for closure, not for his death as such, but for his resurrection, and this is what he means by a baptism he is looking forward to, he has already been baptised by John the Baptist, but here he means the cross, his baptism of fire.

This sounds a little odd, but the Greek word used here is baptizo which means dipping, immersing, submerging or in this case, being overwhelmed, at his baptism of fire, the ultimate purification, on the cross,

Jesus will be overwhelmed, and he is distressed until it is finished, he knows it will be bad and that the resurrection, his re-birth, will fulfil all he has sought to accomplish, but that doesn’t stop him dreading the battle ahead, like a soldier waiting to go over the top.

Quite understandably, I think most people would be just as stressed when a major life event is approaching, whether it’s a birth, marriage, moving-house, a redundancy, a major operation, life-changing illness, ordination or a job interview.

I find it reassuring that Jesus has been through a stressful time before us, longing for it to end, just like many of us have, and that he is walking the road with us now.
 
As I said, being grumpy or stressed doesn’t mean Jesus is any less caring or kind, in fact more so, his empathy is deepened by experience.

We then come to another tricky section, completely contrary to what we assume Jesus is about. Instead of unity and reconciliation, Jesus instead denies he is bringing peace and instead, is bringing division.

The prince of peace who in Luke chapter 1 (v.79) comes “to guide our feet into the way of peace” and in chapter 2 (v.14), “peace on earth to those he favours.” And this is part of the clue, the peace Jesus brings, is for those he favours, who follow him, for those who don’t, or not yet, there is the risk of division, of separation.

Jesus was speaking the truth here; division had already begun because the disciples were separated from their families when they followed Jesus. Then, the early church was split as it was persecuted by Rome, there were debates about doctrine and creeds, about the nature of Jesus and the Trinity, with each argument creating a divide and a split.

There was a division when the Eastern and Western churches split, when the Islamic faith grew out of a divide led by Mohammed, when the Church of England split from Rome. Then of course, as Christians, we can often end up arguing over little details, as any PCC minutes will testify.

Even today, we may fall out when we don’t agree, or someone can’t understand our faith.
 
This could sound rather dispiriting, but to early followers, it would have helped them to make sense of a world where they suffered, were tortured, martyred and oppressed.

Before we get too despondent, there is also unity, in fact, in the words of that great prophet, Father Jack, from Father Ted, the comedy programme, “that would be an ecumenical matter.” Ecumenism is the aim of promoting unity among Christian churches around the world, which Churches Together demonstrates so well locally.

So, there is unity in the church, and hope, because despite the divisions, there are still more Christians in the world today than there are people of any other religion and that gives us hope.

There is also hope in truth. Because division is true, Jesus was truthful and it cannot be denied, division happens.

And the truth spoken by Jesus, this division, give us hope, which may sound odd, but because he never lied, Jesus also said a lot of other things which were also true and filled with love, compassion and forgiveness, for example, in John chapter 10, (v.10), “I have come that you may have life and have it to the full.” And, “Those who believe in me will have eternal life.”

So, while we are warned that there will be division, Jesus also says in John’s Gospel, “I have said this to you, so that in me you may have peace. In the world you face persecution. But take courage; I have conquered the world” (John 16:33).

Jesus is also frustrated that people can predict the weather, but couldn’t see what was happening, what the spiritual signs were. Even when Jesus told them about his death and resurrection, no one believed or understood him, which must have been frustrating when you are about to sacrifice everything to complete your mission.

Is there hope from Jesus for today? Well of course there is, because like us, he was living in an imperfect world, he could see what was wrong and knew he could restore our relationships with God. Each time we divide and separate ourselves from our old lives, before knowing Christ, there is a mini-personal resurrection.

And that transition can be instant, like Paul on the road to Damascus, or it can take years of doubt, questioning and soul-searching, and neither route is easy, it can mean losing people we love on the way, it will be our baptism of fire.

And, from experience, I know it isn’t easy, it’s stressful, exhausting and emotional. There will be tears, of grief and joy and it’s not like those films where the lead actor goes for a coffee, realises they need to completely change their lives, so they do that very day, starting afresh the next day, smiling all the while.

Real life is much more real and raw, tears are messy and families do get broken but they also get healed, people fall out, but they also make new friends or come back together, there is always hope and there is always love, kindness and compassion.

I can also promise that Jesus has walked this road before us, he desires for us to be with him in eternal life, all we have to do, is have faith and hope, to take up our cross and follow him.

And it may not be pretty, but it will be beautiful.

Amen