Sermon preached at St. Alban's, Spirit Lake, on August 18 & 19, 2007
(Proper 15, Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost, Year C, BCP Lectionary)
by the Rev. Carl D. Mann

Texts:   Jeremiah 23:23-29
Psalm 82
Hebrews 12:1-7(8-10)11-14
Luke 12:49-56

As Christians, we know how the story ends. Jesus died, and was buried, is resurrected, and ascends into heaven. The first two actions are very much human because we will all die some day and hopefully, we will be buried in an appropriate manner. But the second two actions, resurrection and ascension, are definitely the result of divine power. The truth is that Jesus was both divine and human, and we have to keep that truth in proper balance as much as our limited human intellects will allow.

Now Jesus’ first disciples were living in the middle of the story. They would occasionally catch glimpses of the divine in Jesus but for the most part could only focus on his human aspects. It’s no wonder that they were confused with his teachings because Jesus is trying to convey a divine truth in human terms.

Today’s gospel is a prime example of this confusion. He says, “I came to bring fire to the earth!” Now in the Hebrew scripture, fire is traditionally seen as a symbol of judgment. Sometimes it is in the negative where everything is consumed by fire such as the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Other times it is used in the positive such as in the refinement of precious metals. The purification process is less than pleasurable because of the great heat that is necessary to burn off the dross but the end result is spectacular.

So in this instance, Jesus is saying to his disciples that one of the reasons that he came to earth was to bring judgment to its inhabitants…but then comes the qualifier. “How I wish it were already kindled!” He came to bring judgment to the earth but not yet!

Now the disciples weren’t quite sure what he meant but they had to be getting excited with this kind of talk. Jesus is beginning to sound like the Messiah that they thought he should be. Judgment was reserved for the king in his court, and if Jesus is talking about kindling the flames of judgment, then he must be getting close to leading them up to Jerusalem where he will be declared as God’s anointed king. And then the revolution will begin. They will kick the Romans out of the Holy city and out of the Promised Land once and for all. But if he’s not ready yet or needs a little more time, that’s fine, they can wait a while longer. That will give them more time to gather up the necessary people and weapons.

But that’s not what Jesus is talking about. Through his divinity, Jesus knows what the end looks like. He knows that he will come again to judge the living and the dead. But he also knows what has to be done before that can happen. He says, “I have a baptism with which to be baptized, and what stress I am under until it is completed!”

Now usually the Greek word for baptism means to be dipped. But in this case, it means to be totally submerged. He is going to be plunged into something that is so rotten, so despicable, so horrific, that the very thought of it puts him into a mental state of agitation. If there is any doubt that Jesus is truly human, this statement alone should dispel such thoughts. This is his humanity in its purest form. He wishes that he didn’t have to wallow through all of the muck in order to get to the other side.

Remember when James and John ask Jesus if he will grant them seats on the right and the left when he comes into his kingdom? Jesus says to them, “You don’t know what it is you ask. Are you able to drink from the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I will be baptized?”

What he is about to be immersed into is so gruesome that Jesus wonders if he can go through with it or not. It’s no wonder that in the garden on the eve of his Passion that he prays to have the cup taken away. He wishes there was another way to accomplish the task at hand but he knows that there isn’t one.

He knows that the only way from the start to the finish is by way of the Cross. He has to be subjected to the false accusations, the conviction, criminal status, the merciless beatings, the mockery, the humiliation, the physical pain, and death. He has to undergo all of these human experiences of horror in order to fulfill the divine plan of redemption. He has to be obedient to his Father in heaven. And so must we.

He goes on to say, “Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division!” Again, the disciples are thinking that Jesus is working the crowd to get them all lathered up in order to go and take Jerusalem by storm. The people of the land need to decide whether they are going to back Jesus, the anointed warrior king or to back Rome and their puppet king, Herod.

But again, that’s not what Jesus is talking about. He is telling them that if they are going to be his followers then they are going to suffer in much the same way he is going to suffer and their reward is far away on the other side. They have to choose if they are going to continue their relationship with him all the way through the ugliness that is about to happen. When he mentions division between family members he doesn’t mean that family members will be fighting one another. They will be divided in their beliefs. He is pointing out that of all the special relationships that they currently enjoy on this earth; father and son, mother and daughter, mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, these have to be put in second place behind their relationship with him. He is looking for loyalty and commitment through thick and thin.

Jesus then chastises the crowd for failing to understand what he is saying to them. They all know how to read the signs of the weather as well as any weatherperson on television today but they fail to read the signs that he is presenting to them. They are blinded by the ideal of what they think they want at the expense of not seeing the true light of salvation before their very eyes. They are willing to follow Jesus for all of the wrong reasons. And when the fabric of their perceptions begins to unravel, some will begin to back away and others will turn and run.

Now when we are baptized as Christians, we are baptized into the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We are cleansed of our existing sin and are able to enjoy the benefits of life and ministry just as Jesus did. But we are also plunged into a life of temptations, choices, and suffering just as Jesus was. The Good News is that because Jesus went before us, he is able to be with us through the good and the bad so that we may obtain the goal. He is the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, the supreme example of obedience to the will of God the Father. By his obedience he is able to judge. Through the fire of his judgment we are able to lay aside the weight of our sin and to emerge purified from all of the dross of this world, and thus unencumbered we are able to cross the finish line to the cheers of all those who have gone before us.

We are just like the disciples in that we are trying to understand a divine truth in human terms. But we have the benefit of all of them having gone before us. And as Christians we know how the story ends. It is in that knowledge that we are able to pray today’s collect. In this prayer we acknowledge the Father’s gift of His Son as a sacrifice for our sin and as an example of godly life. But in our limited human condition, we know that we are incapable of fully understanding how it works. So we ask for God’s grace in order that we may thankfully receive the benefits of Jesus’ redeeming work, and for the Spirit of strength and endurance to walk in his holy footsteps day by day until the race is over.

We have a wonderful gift in Jesus Christ. He is truly life-saving as well as life-transforming. Through his humanity we are able to share in his divine joy. And because we know the end of the story, it is incumbent upon us to share that gift with the whole world.

Gloria Patri