A sermon on Psalm 82 and Luke 12:49-56

Newspapers tell the signs of the times, the signs of our society.  The news tells stories of destruction, individualisation, loneliness and isolation of lack of trust and division. So when I read the lectionary readings allocated to this week and got to the gospel reading (Luke 12:49-56), I would be lying if I said I didn’t consider abandoning the lectionary this week to find a tamer passage to preach on. For today’s gospel reading is harsh, more than a little threatening, and rather uncomfortable to hear.

In fact, I did not need to read the whole passage before the though crossed my mind.  The opening line spoken by Jesus was enough "I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!” As I continued to read, I was meet with the Irony that the one we name as the he Prince of Peace was asking “Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division!”

This text can be used and has been used to cause division.  It can be and has been used as a justification for division.  For keeping “them” out.  It has been used to allow people to disown and ostracize people from family and church for things like divorce or their sexuality.

But here’s the question: Is that the passage’s fault or ours? 

Could it be that we have twisted the passage? Twisted Jesus' words for our own purposes?

What is true peace? 

Sometimes we define things by what they are not.  What do you think the opposite of peace is? 

I think for many of us the opposite of peace is war. We get caught up in a dualism of winners and losers.  We are a culture of winners and losers. We like competition and all the more if we are winning. Let’s take the recent Commonwealth games, Australian sports people blitzed it! As a team we came away with a record number of medals.  It makes us feel good even though we personally were not competing.  I wonder how many of us Aussies prefer the Commonwealth Games to the Olympics?  We do so much better, win more medals.

Our winner and losers culture creates division but I don’t think this is the type of division Jesus is talking about.  There is division that serves the gospel of peace, and there is division born of pride, of being right, of being the winner. This winners and losers culture is the later.  We need to be able to discern the difference.

There is division that serve the gospel of peace even if that sounds like a contradiction.  But within most churches we find people shy away from division. We prefer an illusion of peace. We like to feel comfortable and it is easier to ignore and exclude things that make us uncomfortable than to face them.  So some congregations avoid the difficult work of justice by ignoring that divisions exist.  There becomes an unspoken rule “don’t mention the war” and a bunch of topics become taboo. Other congregations avoid the same work by cutting off and excluding those who are different or think differently.

We need to be able to discern peace from the illusion of it.

Jesus came to restore and renew and redeem all of creation but to get there it means the hard work of working through division. Division was always a part of Jesus’ ministry. Jesus knew his message would not be received by all well. Jesus was intent on his message and purpose. He did not want band-aid solutions.  He was not called to keeping the peace, the kind of peace that comes from the staying out of trouble and keeping the status quo. The world’s way of making peace is is Not Jesus’ way.  The Pax Romana, or peace of Rome, was not what Jesus offered.  He did not offer this world’s way of making peace.

The world’s way of making peace is actually corrupt, evil even. When the world makes peace, it is always at somebody’s expense. Division and violence are halted for a time, but somebody unfairly pays the price.

Let’s recall Jesus’ first act of public interpretation of scripture which is recorded in Luke 4:16-19:
He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
    because he has anointed me
    to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
    and recovery of sight for the blind,
    to set the oppressed free,
    to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.”

After declaring his Isaiah-inspired mission, Jesus makes clear he has not come for their benefit so the crowd turns on him.

Jesus’ ministry has the disturbing effect of exposing human beings’ deepest loyalties, and often showing them to be idolatrous, ridiculous, and even demonic.

Purpose of Jesus ministry was not to bring division for division sake but division is a side effect. Jesus' purpose was to Judge.

Last week I said that humans like to judge and so we have turned God in the ultimate judge.  Maybe I would have been better to say humans like to condemn and punish and so we have turned God into the ultimate condemner and punisher.  Although for many of us the notion of judgement equals reward and punishment, judging can mean discerning, seeing things for what they are and seeing that they are not as they were made to be.  This is the first step in Jesus mission of restoring, renewing and redeeming.  The first step of bringing about justice where there is not justice.

God’s peace is not an illusion of peace. It is not peace for some while others pay the price. That is not the kind of peace in the Kingdom of God. God’s peace has always meant more than getting along.  God's peace has always meant more than some individuals comfort.  God's peace is peace for all, shalom for all, the wellbeing for all of creation.

I said earlier that Jesus uses imagery of fire.  We think of fire as being destructive but fire can also be constructive.  It can enable more life to grow.  It can open seed pods and provide the environment for new plants to emerge.  Fire is a natural part of the Australian environment.  That’s not to say all fire is good but it can be used for good.

Biblically fire is used to represent the presence of God.  Think of the burning bush and pillar fire in Exodus and the tongues of flame at Pentecost.  Biblically fire also represents purification.  The refiners fire like a refiner purifies silver by fire.  While we might like to define the impurities as other people, bad or evil people.  I think God sees the impurities not as individuals but as forms of oppression and violence.  God does want these things destroyed.  Oppression has to go!  Greed has to go!  Idolatry has to go!  Narcissism, ageism, classism, homophobia and transphobia all have to go!  Dehumanization in all it’s forms sexism, racism, domestic violence, and the abuse of children has to go!

Anything that prevents the flourishing of all people and all creation has to go!

Although there is still a lot of division, the divisions have been exposed. Over the years  injustices have become more exposed.  People are speaking out, calling out for justice.

In the past we hid the truth from ourselves under mythologies that said that some races were not made in the image of God, that some people were abominations, that women were created to be subservient to men, and that God had commanded the violent punishment of rebellious children.  As long as everybody believed the myth and accepted their place, there was a kind of peace.

Our generations and those who have gone before us have made significant progress in exposing the injustice of sexism, but has it produced more domestic or workplace peace?  The headline from Friday’s Sydney Morning Herald "Bullying and Sex Files Rock NSW MPs" suggests not.  We still have this problem in our society.

The world’s well-being doesn’t just spring into existence because everyone wants it. First, the truth must be told. The pain and oppression must be exposed.  The truth must be accepted and embraced.  Then new ways, new cultures must be sort.  New ways that bring about the way of healing of the world.  New ways that bring about the peace, the shalom of all of creation.  New ways like the wind farms of Thursday’s Sydney Morning Herald.  The signs of our times.  The good news amongst the bad news, even if it is painful to read, to know about.

Fire is, after all, about refining, and refining hurts.  Exposing injustice hurts, but it is necessary if we want healing and God’s true peace.  

Some questions to reflect on the things we might be avoiding facing.

What confrontation should be taking place?

Which compromise needs naming and addressing?

What signs of the times are we closing our eyes and ears to?

What is God’s invitation to you individually and us as the church?