START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Luke 12:49-56
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OBSERVE:
How different is this Jesus from the Sunday School version that we gravitate toward! True, he has taught and modeled love and forgiveness and healing and hope. But the teaching of Jesus in our Gospel reading for this week reveals the prophetic side of Jesus — the realist who is warning his disciples about the inevitable divisions that will occur because of his ministry.
His warnings are dire, and they seem to hearken back to his cousin John the Baptist’s denunciations early in the Gospel of Luke. Jesus says:
I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! I have a baptism with which to be baptized, and what stress I am under until it is completed!
John had forecast this prior to his arrest and execution, when he held forth at the Jordan River:
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 (Luke 3:16-17).
It doesn’t seem much of a stretch to imagine that Jesus is remembering John’s prophecy, and is calling attention to it. What is this fire? According to John’s proclamation, it is associated with the coming of the Holy Spirit.
If John is a transitional character from the Old Testament to the New Testament, the prophet Malachi probably is one of the several voices that forecasts John. In Malachi 3, he speaks of the Messenger who will come to prepare the way of the Lord. And then he says this of the day of the Lord’s coming:
For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap; he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the descendants of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, until they present offerings to the Lord in righteousness (Malachi 3:2-3).
Clearly, from a prophetic perspective the fire comes as a source of purification — and that is one thing that Jesus will accomplish through his death. His baptism is not a mere ritual — it is nothing less than crucifixion.
But even more troubling than his desire that the fire may be kindled is his prediction of conflict. He hasn’t come to bring peace, but division. His gospel is not a “do-it-yourself” improvement project. His teachings, and his life death and resurrection require a radical choice to follow him. And that means a break with the status quo.
Even families will be divided:
From now on five in one household will be divided, 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 her daughter-in-law
and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.
To some extent, Jesus has faced this division even in his own household. On one occasion, his own family was seeking “face time” with him:
Then his mother and his brothers came to him, but they could not reach him because of the crowd. And he was told, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, wanting to see you.” But he said to them, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it” (Luke 8:19-21).
To be sure, his mother was with him in the end when he was nailed to the cross, and after the resurrection; and his brother James became not only a believer but the first leader of the church in Jerusalem. But his message is quite clear — his true family consists of those who are radically committed to fulfilling the gospel message. And as we see throughout the Gospels, the disciples who truly follow Jesus are willing to give up land, careers and family.
Jesus also warns the crowds that they must be astute about discerning the events that are unfolding around them. While we might be tempted to interpret his statement along apocalyptic lines, the truth may be more immediate. Tensions are rising between himself and the authorities in Jerusalem that he knows will end in his own crucifixion. He is telling them that if they can forecast the weather, they should be able to see what is about to happen to him:
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. And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, ‘There will be scorching heat’; and it happens. You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?
It seems clear from the context that he is advising the crowds to interpret the present time in which they are living. What they will witness when he arrives in Jerusalem will kindle a fire that will purify the world!
APPLY:
It is okay to admit that there are some things that Jesus says that trouble us. He meant to trouble us, in order to bring us to repentance and discipleship.
But Jesus isn’t necessarily gentle and meek — at least not in the modern interpretation of those words. He yearns for the fire to be kindled. Even if we believe that this fire represents the work of the Holy Spirit, we cannot escape the fact that the work of the Holy Spirit will only be commenced through his own death and resurrection.
Besides, fire does purify. But it also destroys. We remember what Paul says to the Corinthian church. He tells them that the only foundation on which he builds the church is Jesus Christ. But then he goes on:
Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw — the work of each builder will become visible, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each has done. If what has been built on the foundation survives, the builder will receive a reward. If the work is burned up, the builder will suffer loss; the builder will be saved, but only as through fire (1 Corinthians 3:12-15).
What the fire doesn’t destroy will be tempered and purified.
So, we are called upon to decide — will we follow him, or will we turn away?
RESPOND:
[Note from Celeste: Tom wrote this post in August, 2016. 2022 is not an election year, but our denomination is still facing the possibility of schism.]
We are in an election year. And my own denomination is facing the possibility of schism. Someone has said, “you can’t be a centrist anymore. You can’t stay on the fence. You will have to decide. ”
I believe that the Scriptures are clear concerning the way of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ, and the call to discipleship and holiness. I don’t believe that there is any equivocation about right and wrong.
Still, it is up to each generation to read and apply the Scriptures to our lives and our circumstances in our present time.
Karl Barth, the great Swiss theologian from the 20th century, was once quoted in Time magazine:
“[Barth] recalls that 40 years ago he advised young theologians ‘to take your Bible and take your newspaper, and read both. But interpret newspapers from your Bible.'” (Time, May 31, 1963).
Granted, fewer and fewer people read newspapers anymore, but the meaning is still the same — be aware of the world around you and current events as well as the Scriptures.
Let me be clear — I don’t interpret this to mean that current events and the Bible are equal. The Bible is the timeless Word of God. But I do believe that the Bible intersects every era of history, and challenges each generation to discipleship.
I also don’t believe that it is healthy or helpful to try to read the signs of the times concerning the Second Coming of Christ. While I believe with all my heart in the return of Christ at the end of the age, I think there is ample evidence in Scripture that we are not to waste our time and energy with speculation and apocalypticism.
Instead, we are to be ready and faithful in our own time by applying the teachings of Scripture to our own lives and to the world around us, as we seek to evangelize the world, make disciples, feed the hungry, care for the poor, visit the sick.
Lord, sometimes your words comfort me — and sometimes your words trouble me. I know it is not up to you to accommodate me — it is up to me to conform to your Word. Help me to understand your Word, and then to follow it. Amen.
PHOTOS: "Luke 12 verse 49" uses this photo: "Fire" by Al Bee is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic license./pre>
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