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Proper 15 C
Jeremiah 23:23-29 “I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!” Jesus is Dangerous Luke 12:49-56 Every now and again, Jesus would give his followers and would-be followers a reality check. Jesus’ very presence could polarize an audience almost instantly. The people who really heard what Jesus said either loved him or hated him. They either followed him or walked away, and Jesus was realistic enough to know that was the case. He was always skating on the edge of danger for himself and for his followers. In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus admits that right out loud. Jesus, whom we know as the Prince of Peace, says, “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.” What is so controversial about following Jesus? And why would Jesus’ teachings divide a family? I think one answer lies in our cultural backgrounds. Our families have certain expectations for our lives, and rightly so. But family dynamics are subject to change when Jesus’ teachings are taken seriously. I remember how upset my mother was with me when I was about eighteen. I had purchased a piano with money I had earned working, and the small church I was attending did not have a piano. I expressed a wish to give them my piano, and my mother hit the ceiling, figuratively speaking. As it turned out, I caved in to my mother’s wishes and kept the piano. I didn’t really want it after that, and eventually I sold it. My mother wanted me to be a teacher. My dad wanted me to be a lawyer. But I cut that short and married someone who was on his way to seminary. So my first career was “minister’s wife.” And my parents, who had higher hopes for me, had to admit that to their friends. But that is just a minor example. I want to give an example from church history that comes to my mind whenever this scripture is read. It is the story of Perpetua, a young wife with an un-weaned baby boy who became a Christian in Rome in the early third century. The emperor had recently made it illegal to become a Christian or a Jew. It was OK if you already were one or the other, but you could not convert right then. Perpetua and five of her friends were taking classes to become Christians. Their families, especially Perpetua’s family, tried to dissuade them, asking her “not to bring this shame on the family.” Perpetua, Felicity, and the others were sure they wanted to be Christians, so they went ahead and got baptized. They were arrested, thrown into jail and threatened with death in the Roman arena – right in front of everyone. Perpetua’s father and mother managed go get into the jail the night before her trial and to bring Perpetua’s baby so she could nurse him. Even that did not stop Perpetua. She went to her death the next day with her father holding the baby out for her to see him. I know this is an extreme story, but it is part of church history. This is one time that the teachings of Jesus set a mother against her daughter, and a daughter against her mother. In a more recent example, I had some friends who put their son through a Master’s Degree at University of Louisville. The dad had high hopes that his son would join him at the company where he worked, and bring honor to the family by working his way further up the ladder than dear old dad had done. The son, however, got bitten by the mission bug and went off to Taiwan to teach and serve as a missionary. The dad was terribly upset. He might have been OK with someone else’s son going off to be a missionary. He might even have contributed money for that endeavor. But for not his son. Not the one in whom he had invested all that money for education. What is so controversial about Jesus’ teachings? I think it can be summed up in the fact that Jesus said: “Follow me.” If we follow Jesus, a lot of our preconceived notions will fall away. We will concern ourselves with pleasing Jesus regardless of the cost. As we try to live out the gospel, loving the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength and our neighbors as ourselves, things will happen. We will find ways to use our time and talents that might prove controversial. We might not go in the direction that others expect us to go. That’s not so painful if it is the general public that is doing the criticizing. But if it’s our families, that’s painful. It’s the “father against son; and son against father” that scars us. If we cooperate with God and say yes to Jesus, we essentially lose control of our lives. In the case of Perpetua, she refused to turn her back on Jesus and burn a pinch of incense to the emperor. In essence she said, “Jesus is Lord” when the emperor wanted her to say that about him. A public line was drawn in the sand and she would not cross it. It might not come to that with us, but then again we never know what the future holds. What does this boil down to? For me, our Gospel today illustrates that life is short and we really need to do whatever it is that God put us on this earth to do. I never thought I was cut out to be a lawyer or a teacher. In fact it would not have occurred to me to do that if Mom and Dad had not insisted that I think about it. I saw myself differently and I could not fit into their preconceived notions of who I should be. I believe that when we think about following Jesus, we will be led to occupations that nourish and fulfill us. This does not always mean that we will be a missionary and go hacking our way through the bush with a machete. It does not necessarily mean that we will lay down our lives for the sake of the Gospel. But it does mean that we will not deny who we are. Mental health experts are advising that we need to do what is naturally interesting and fitting for our temperament. If we do, we will live abundant lives, with our joy spilling out into the world around us. Frederic Buechner gives the gold standard definition of vocation – about heeding the call of God on our life. He says: “The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.” Is that where you are living? If so, you have a glimpse of the realism of Jesus Christ. Amen.
On the grounds of Honey Creek
The Rev. Linda McCloud, Pastor |
