August 17, 2025 Sermon
Sermon Title: “Fire Upon the Earth!”
Scripture: Luke 12:49-56
Luke 12:49-56
Jesus the Cause of Division
49“I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! 50I have a baptism with which to be baptized, and what stress I am under until it is completed! 51Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division! 52From now on five in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three; 53they 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.” 54He 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. 55And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, ‘There will be scorching heat’; and it happens. 56You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?”
When I was in high school in Indiana, I went to a Presbyterian church, and one of the study books our youth group used was called “Fire Upon the Earth,” the title of today’s sermon. The book was written by a guy named Robert MacAfee Brown, who also taught at Macalester College in Minnesota. When I went to seminary after college, Professor Brown had moved on to Stanford, and I was attending Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley. I ran into him one day (he was called Bob Brown by one of my professors) and told him I had read his book when I was in high school, and I told him how much I admired him. He said, “Is that why you’re in a UCC seminary?” He was a wonderful guy with a wonderful sense of humor. I also had a chance to meet his wife Sydney, also a wonderful person. In those days I could hardly believe that I actually knew the authors of books that I had read!
Most of us are surprised when we hear Jesus sound angry. But we have to keep in mind that he is on his way to Jerusalem to be crucified, and he is somewhat frustrated that most of his followers just don’t get it. Says William H. Willimon, “We expected that Jesus, as the anointed one would come to set things right, but now we have the jolting awareness that he brings conflict, fire, and division, even among those whom we cherish the most - our family.”
Let me say something shocking to you: sometimes I think we have created a big IDOL, and that is “the family.” Aren’t we supposed to love our brothers and sisters and parents? Of course, but not at the expense of GOD or what is right. And Jesus was no stranger to conflict, even in his own family. Remember once when he was at somebody’s house and he was told, “Your mother and brothers and sisters are outside asking for you?” Did he say, “Oh, I’ll be right out!”? NO. He looked around the room and said, “Whoever does the will of my Father is my mother, my brothers, and my sisters.” Certainly, love your neighbor and your family, too. But there are some things more important than family, and that’s GOD and what God wants you to do. I was never more proud of my father than during one Presidential election. His two brothers were going to vote for one candidate, and my father was, too. But as he thought about it, he thought the guy my uncles were supporting was a racist, and he decided to vote for the other guy. He didn’t particularly like that other guy, but the guy my uncles were supporting was just too much for my father to stomach. When he told me he was NOT going to support that other guy, I was so proud of him, because I thought that guy was a racist, too, or at least a lot of his supporters seemed to be racist. And my father and his brothers stayed loving and respectful throughout the whole ordeal. Remember this commandment: love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and mind and strength.
One of the neat things about being a minister is that I get to read different tidbits every time I write a sermon. Here is one that surprised me, but in a good way. There was a student who joined what his parents thought was a weird religious group. The parents were so upset that they wrote to a governmental official to complain. The parents said their son had received a wonderful education and was headed for a great career as a lawyer. But this weird sect he had joined told him whom to date and not date, and - said the parents - had taken all of his money. The parents pleaded with the government official to do something about this sad state of affairs. When people first hear this story, they think it’s the Moonies or some other strange sect. But the letter was written a long time ago by parents of a Roman Empire student who lived in the third century. What was the name of this strange sect? A group called CHURCH! I like this story because even way back when, the church of Jesus Christ had made itself known. Again, who are my mother and my sisters and my brothers? Those who do the will of my father who is in Heaven.
Earlier I mentioned how the family could be an IDOL for us. I am reminded of the 20th century Christian Lebanese poet Khalil Gibran. In his book “The Prophet,” Gibran says that your children may COME from you, but they actually belong to the Universe. That’s a good point. We may be tempted to think that somehow our children belong to us, but they really don’t. We may think that the musical talent one of our children has comes from us or our spouse. Maybe, and maybe not. If you look at the musical talent of some of the famous names in musical history, such as the Bachs or the Mozarts, you may be tempted to think that they have musical talent in their genes. Maybe yes and maybe not. I am aware that Beethoven’s father was a court musician, but he had two brothers who had absolutely no musical talent! So, where does that talent come from? On the lighter side, there was a musical that came out in the late fifties or early sixties called “The Fantasticks.” There are two fathers, and one has a daughter and one has a son. They eventually get together for a more-or-less happy ending. But the point I want to make is a certain song in the musical, and it goes like this: “Plant a carrot, get a carrot, not a brussels sprout. That’s why I like vegetables, you know what you’re about.” The point is that you don’t know how your kids are going to turn out. Why? Because they belong to the Universe, that’s why! In Willimon’s words, you never know what’s going to happen when Jesus gets loose!
Pastor Skip
