The Fire of Jesus
Sermon preached by the Rev. Lowell E. Grisham, Rector
St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Fayetteville, Arkansas
August 15, 2010; 12 Pentecost; Proper 15, Year C
Episcopal Revised Common Lectionary
St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Fayetteville, Arkansas
August 15, 2010; 12 Pentecost; Proper 15, Year C
Episcopal Revised Common Lectionary
(Luke 12:49-56) – Jesus said, "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! Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division! 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."
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?"
______________
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."
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?"
______________
"I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!"
I wonder how these words might have been heard. There were some apocalyptic expectations in the air. John the Baptist had spoken of the coming of the anticipated Messiah, saying "He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing-fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing-floor and will gather his wheat into the granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire." Anybody who shared John's expectations might have heard these words of Jesus and looked for some pyrotechnics.
A few weeks ago we read about the time when Jesus and his fellow travelers were rudely treated while passing through Samaria. James and John asked him, "Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?" They thought it was a reasonable expectation.
You could visit a number of churches this morning where you might hear preachers who are eagerly awaiting Jesus' return as an event of fire and blood and genocide.
But Jesus never acted that way at all. Jesus rebuked James and John's fire-breathing passions, and proceeded to make friends with Samaritans, using one of them as his illustration of what it means to be a good neighbor – his ultimate illustration of compassion and generosity – the Good Samaritan. Later when another of his disciples brandished his sword and struck one of the arresting party in the garden, Jesus stopped him sternly, saying, "No m0re of this," and he healed the injured enemy. One account says he had access to legions of angels to fight for him, and he did not use them.
Jesus never lived up to John the Baptist's fiery expectations, causing John such perplexity that he called from prison to ask, "Are you the one, or should we wait for another?" Jesus' answer, "‘Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have good news brought to them." No fire. Just healing.
Sometimes I will say to those who repeat bizarre second-coming fictions of rapture and "left behind" and war and holocaust, "What if the Jesus who returns is the same Jesus who came?"
The fire Jesus brings is not the fire of brimstone, violence and destruction. The fire Jesus kindles is the fire of passion. The fire of the Holy Spirit uniting people of many tongues and enlightening us for ministry. Some people interchange the term the "kingdom of God" with the term the "passion of God." The fire of Jesus is the fire in the eyes, the impassioned energy of one who is committed to action. Committed regardless of potential conflict, controversy or division.
I like to quote Frederick Buechner who said, "The place God calls you is where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet." That meeting is a place of fire and passion. It is that fire that motivates the worship, work and ministry of this place. Next week is our annual Ministry Fair, and you will have a chance to sample the fire and passion that is behind some sixty-plus ministries that invigorate our life here at St. Paul's.
Because Jesus was on fire to feed the multitudes, we are passionate about feeding people through our Community Meals and Angel Food ministries. Because Jesus worked with ceaseless energy to heal people, we reach out with profound effect through the network of health and dental Community Clinics that started here as St. Francis House and through our energized ministries of Healing Touch and visitation. Because Jesus' heart reached out to the poor and outcast, we started the Seven Hills Homeless Center. Because Jesus enlightened the minds of his disciples and fired their imaginations, we offer scores of classes and formation opportunities for all ages, including our Sunday morning 10:00 hour and things like EFM (Education for Ministry) and the Servant Leadership School of Northwest Arkansas. Because Jesus told us to visit those who are in prison we take Eucharist to a congregation behind bars, and I can tell you that they are on fire in that place. Because Jesus embraced his friends in a warm fellowship of love, we play and feast and celebrate together in various groups of friends. Because Jesus broke the bread and poured out wine in the body and blood of his passion, we worship and pray here with energy and deep intention. I want you to know that we have people who serve with passion in all of these ministries, and I want you to know that I am passionate about them too. There are fires that are already kindled in this community, and we intend to keep stoking the flames.
But there is something else that God is passionate about, and we hear it especially from the prophets, today from the prophet Isaiah. God is passionate about love and justice.
God is love, and God commands us to love – love God, love neighbor, love self. Justice is love extended corporately. Justice is how love structures society. Justice happens when everyone has a viable opportunity for things like life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It is injustice that ignites God's passion whenever some are ground down by poverty, violence or greed.
God's passion is inflamed when justice fails. When some get rich while others get poorer. When some live threatened while other lounge content. That's what inflamed the prophets who spoke out in God's name.
"What more was there to do for my vineyard that I have not done in it?" says God through the prophet Isaiah. There is enough for all. Why are some of my people suffering? Why are you producing rotten grapes? I will remove my hedge of protection and let you suffer the consequences of your rot, says the Lord.
I can hear Isaiah speaking to us today. "You who market sub-prime derivatives and yield the grapes of greedy iniquity, I will remove your hedge fund and it shall be devoured. I will break down its wall and make it a waste."
The witness of scripture is the witness of a God who takes sides. God creates division. Throughout scripture God intervenes on the side of the poor, and expects the rich to make sure the poor are raised. God intervenes on the side of the weak, and expects the powerful to treat the weak with merciful compassion. God intervenes on the side of the broken and outcast, and expects us to bring them healing and hospitality.
God expects us to take sides, even if it creates division, "father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother." If there is a way to extend healing to all, the way Jesus healed so extravagantly, God expects us to take sides on behalf of healing. If there is a way to extend hospitality and generosity to the outcast the way Jesus extended himself toward Samaritans and Gentiles, God expects us to take sides on behalf of hospitality. If there is a way to avert violence, God expects us to be courageous peacekeepers and to take sides to protect those who are oppressed. If there are those who are poor or unemployed, God expects us to take sides on their behalf.
If we are relatively comfortable and secure, God calls us to reach out of our comfort zones with passion on behalf of those who do not enjoy the comforts we possess. That's the passion of God, and God expects us to be passionate too.
Get fired up, with the passion of Jesus, with the passion of God. For healing and reconciliation, for feeding and advocacy, for spiritual growth and hospitality. For love and justice. If Jesus came to bring fire to the earth, let his fire burn in us.
I wonder how these words might have been heard. There were some apocalyptic expectations in the air. John the Baptist had spoken of the coming of the anticipated Messiah, saying "He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing-fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing-floor and will gather his wheat into the granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire." Anybody who shared John's expectations might have heard these words of Jesus and looked for some pyrotechnics.
A few weeks ago we read about the time when Jesus and his fellow travelers were rudely treated while passing through Samaria. James and John asked him, "Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?" They thought it was a reasonable expectation.
You could visit a number of churches this morning where you might hear preachers who are eagerly awaiting Jesus' return as an event of fire and blood and genocide.
But Jesus never acted that way at all. Jesus rebuked James and John's fire-breathing passions, and proceeded to make friends with Samaritans, using one of them as his illustration of what it means to be a good neighbor – his ultimate illustration of compassion and generosity – the Good Samaritan. Later when another of his disciples brandished his sword and struck one of the arresting party in the garden, Jesus stopped him sternly, saying, "No m0re of this," and he healed the injured enemy. One account says he had access to legions of angels to fight for him, and he did not use them.
Jesus never lived up to John the Baptist's fiery expectations, causing John such perplexity that he called from prison to ask, "Are you the one, or should we wait for another?" Jesus' answer, "‘Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have good news brought to them." No fire. Just healing.
Sometimes I will say to those who repeat bizarre second-coming fictions of rapture and "left behind" and war and holocaust, "What if the Jesus who returns is the same Jesus who came?"
The fire Jesus brings is not the fire of brimstone, violence and destruction. The fire Jesus kindles is the fire of passion. The fire of the Holy Spirit uniting people of many tongues and enlightening us for ministry. Some people interchange the term the "kingdom of God" with the term the "passion of God." The fire of Jesus is the fire in the eyes, the impassioned energy of one who is committed to action. Committed regardless of potential conflict, controversy or division.
I like to quote Frederick Buechner who said, "The place God calls you is where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet." That meeting is a place of fire and passion. It is that fire that motivates the worship, work and ministry of this place. Next week is our annual Ministry Fair, and you will have a chance to sample the fire and passion that is behind some sixty-plus ministries that invigorate our life here at St. Paul's.
Because Jesus was on fire to feed the multitudes, we are passionate about feeding people through our Community Meals and Angel Food ministries. Because Jesus worked with ceaseless energy to heal people, we reach out with profound effect through the network of health and dental Community Clinics that started here as St. Francis House and through our energized ministries of Healing Touch and visitation. Because Jesus' heart reached out to the poor and outcast, we started the Seven Hills Homeless Center. Because Jesus enlightened the minds of his disciples and fired their imaginations, we offer scores of classes and formation opportunities for all ages, including our Sunday morning 10:00 hour and things like EFM (Education for Ministry) and the Servant Leadership School of Northwest Arkansas. Because Jesus told us to visit those who are in prison we take Eucharist to a congregation behind bars, and I can tell you that they are on fire in that place. Because Jesus embraced his friends in a warm fellowship of love, we play and feast and celebrate together in various groups of friends. Because Jesus broke the bread and poured out wine in the body and blood of his passion, we worship and pray here with energy and deep intention. I want you to know that we have people who serve with passion in all of these ministries, and I want you to know that I am passionate about them too. There are fires that are already kindled in this community, and we intend to keep stoking the flames.
But there is something else that God is passionate about, and we hear it especially from the prophets, today from the prophet Isaiah. God is passionate about love and justice.
God is love, and God commands us to love – love God, love neighbor, love self. Justice is love extended corporately. Justice is how love structures society. Justice happens when everyone has a viable opportunity for things like life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It is injustice that ignites God's passion whenever some are ground down by poverty, violence or greed.
God's passion is inflamed when justice fails. When some get rich while others get poorer. When some live threatened while other lounge content. That's what inflamed the prophets who spoke out in God's name.
"What more was there to do for my vineyard that I have not done in it?" says God through the prophet Isaiah. There is enough for all. Why are some of my people suffering? Why are you producing rotten grapes? I will remove my hedge of protection and let you suffer the consequences of your rot, says the Lord.
I can hear Isaiah speaking to us today. "You who market sub-prime derivatives and yield the grapes of greedy iniquity, I will remove your hedge fund and it shall be devoured. I will break down its wall and make it a waste."
The witness of scripture is the witness of a God who takes sides. God creates division. Throughout scripture God intervenes on the side of the poor, and expects the rich to make sure the poor are raised. God intervenes on the side of the weak, and expects the powerful to treat the weak with merciful compassion. God intervenes on the side of the broken and outcast, and expects us to bring them healing and hospitality.
God expects us to take sides, even if it creates division, "father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother." If there is a way to extend healing to all, the way Jesus healed so extravagantly, God expects us to take sides on behalf of healing. If there is a way to extend hospitality and generosity to the outcast the way Jesus extended himself toward Samaritans and Gentiles, God expects us to take sides on behalf of hospitality. If there is a way to avert violence, God expects us to be courageous peacekeepers and to take sides to protect those who are oppressed. If there are those who are poor or unemployed, God expects us to take sides on their behalf.
If we are relatively comfortable and secure, God calls us to reach out of our comfort zones with passion on behalf of those who do not enjoy the comforts we possess. That's the passion of God, and God expects us to be passionate too.
Get fired up, with the passion of Jesus, with the passion of God. For healing and reconciliation, for feeding and advocacy, for spiritual growth and hospitality. For love and justice. If Jesus came to bring fire to the earth, let his fire burn in us.
_______________
The Mission of St. Paul's Episcopal Church is to explore and celebrate
God's infinite grace, acceptance and love.
For information about St. Paul's Episcopal Church and it's life and mission,
please contact us at
P.O. Box 1190, Fayetteville, AR 72702, or call 479/442-7373
More sermons are posted on our web site: www.stpaulsfay.org
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posted by Lowell @ 8/14/2010 02:56:00 PM
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