This sermon was heard at The Federated Church in Weatherford, Oklahoma on Sunday August 14, 2016, the Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time.
Isaiah 5:1-7
Psalm 80:1-2, 8-18
Hebrews 11:29-12:2
Luke 12:49-56
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen
I haven’t watched a lot of TV lately, but I do see some. With some TV come some TV ads. Geico Insurance ads never fail to amuse me. The “...it’s what you do” campaign has been entertaining. One of the most recent is a band of pirates taking a British frigate. The pirate tells the captain what he’s going to do and his parrot repeats everything he says… and more.
“Let’s feed him to the sharks…”
“AWK, Let’s feed him to the sharks…”
“And take all of his gold…”
“AWK, and take all of his gold…”
Then the parrot keeps talking! “AWK, and hide it from the crew.” This is when the pirate crew stops in their tracks and gives their captain the stink-eye. “AWK, they’re all morons anyway.”
It’s damage control time for the captain, “I never said that.”
“They all smell bad too. AWK.”
This is when the pirate crew surrounds their captain who’s talking fast, “No, you all smell wonderful, I smell bad.” In the meantime, the British captain skirts away from his captors.
Then the voiceover says, “If you’re a parrot you repeat things, it’s what you do. Wanna save 15% or more on auto insurance…” and so on.
I love it when a plan comes together, then parrots repeat things. It’s what they do. There’s no reason we shouldn’t expect the unexpected, but we don’t. When the unexpected happens, everyone is in shock. This is our reading from Luke.
Over the past two weeks, we have read warnings and encouragements, the Parable of the Rich Fool, do not be afraid, and a treatise on watchfulness from Luke’s gospel. Today we read something completely unexpected, something never read in Sunday School. Today we read that Jesus comes not to bring peace but division.
This is not the Prince of Peace we’ll find at Advent. Frankly that Jesus is a lot more likeable.
Every week I begin worship saying “May the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.” Every week I end worship saying “May the grace of God, the love of our Lord Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” It seems like nobody read this when putting together the liturgy. So we should ask, if what Jesus said is true, and we always begin there, then what does it mean?
Let’s go to the beginning of the reading, “I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! But I have a baptism to undergo, and what constraint I am under until it is completed!” To find more on the Baptism of the Lord, let’s go back a little further.
In the third chapter of Luke we find John the Baptist in the wilderness, “The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Messiah. John answered them all, ‘I baptize you with water. But one who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.’” When Jesus speaks of bringing fire, he’s simply reminding us of what John has already said. This isn’t anything new, but from the mouth of the Lord it sounds far more ominous.
Then Jesus speaks of his coming baptism, though he has already been baptized in the waters of the Jordan. There are many images wrapped around baptism, washing, cleansing, renewal, birth, life, new life; but one that often gets overlooked is death. Yes, death is found in the waters of baptism. Ask any sailor about the dangers and terror of the water and they’ll tell you death is a possibility. Jesus knows that he is on his way to his death, to his tomb. His death is as much a part of his baptism as his life. To teach this will take time, and he knows that he will be pressed for time.
He does not have much time to be with his apostles, his disciples, the people he calls his Body. He knows that time is short before this Earthly part of his mission will be completed, so yes, his time is constrained. This brings him distress. It is because he loves so much that he feels the pain of his limited time. He knows his time is limited and his work is eternal. So much to do, so little time.
Now let me ask this, is there anything particularly divisive in the Gospel? The gospel, it’s love. It’s grace. It’s peace. It’s service. It’s caring. There is sacrifice and that’s not anybody’s favorite, but we get grace and peace in exchange, definitely the better end of the deal.
Still Jesus knows people will make decisions about him. Who he is, his Lordship. Is he God? Is he a man? Is he perfect? Is he crazy? How do we follow him? Do we follow him? And every time people make one of these decisions about Jesus, it creates something of a theological crossroads. Some will go one way, some another.
As people make those decisions, Jesus knows what will happen next, division. This is why he says “Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division.” It’s tempting to lay this indictment at the feet of those who do not believe in God, but this wasn’t who Jesus was talking to. He was talking to his people. He was talking to believers.
He knew how people would interpret his nature and his message would cause division. The first division was between the Jews and the Jewish Christians, the Jewish followers of Jesus, both followers of the Lord God, the God of Abraham. Their first decision was whether Jesus was the Messiah, the Christ, or not? This division was during his lifetime and led to his death.
Then came the division between the leaders of the Jewish Christians and the leaders of the Gentile Christians. The Jewish Christian leaders taught followers had to become a Jew before becoming a Christian. It made sense, Jesus was Jewish, most Christians were Jewish Christians. That turned out to be a stumbling block to the Gentiles so a council was held in about 50 AD, not twenty years after Jesus’ death. Acts 15 is where this council’s decision is reported and the division was made. In its wake came two branches, Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians.
Splits like these have been happening ever since. As for the denominations that form The Federated Church, five American denominations came out of the late 18th century movement that birthed the Disciples of Christ. Presbyterians take the cake. Presbyterianism in America dates back to 1706, but because of schism, reunification and schism again, there are ten branches of Presbyterians in America, the most recent schism in 2012. (Actually, I thought there were twelve.) As for the United Churches of Christ, in 1957 the Evangelical and Reformed Church and the General Council of the Congregational Christian Churches united to form the UCC. So in a world of division, there is hope.
So people love the gospel, even if we don’t believe the same things the same way. We received the gospel of love and grace and peace and service and caring and sacrifice and some things we don’t like as much. So it’s easy to see that there’s something for everybody to love and something for everybody not to love. So then what was Jesus trying to tell his disciples?
The Church (the capital C Church) must take heed. Some churches will say this scripture is about nonbelievers, but Jesus wasn’t talking to nonbelievers, he was talking to his children. The scandal is splits between believers; the division in the pews, and the witness that is to the world.
Next Jesus tells us the Body of Christ can’t say things like “Come join with us, not him, he doesn’t love Jesus like I love Jesus.” That sentence says one of two things. The first is that I love Jesus better than my neighbor; or the second my neighbor doesn’t love Jesus at all. This puts the speaker in the place of God, saying who is faithful and who is not.
So, we must remember in accepting the truth of the gospel, in sharing the gospel, in teaching the gospel, in living the gospel, not everybody is going to accept the Good News the same way if at all. Some will want to live by their old ways, but remember, we are reformed and always being reformed. God is continuously showing us new life. We are called to be faithful and follow.
Importantly, we have to realize since decisions about who is faithful and who is not aren’t up to us the subject and the object of our faith is the Triune God: Father, Son, and Spirit. When we make decisions about the gospel, and we will, divisions will be made. Let us pray our decisions are faithful.
Finally, this is the good news; God is faithful even when we are not. Our reading from Hebrews is known as the “Heroes of the Faith.” They were heroic because they were faithful. The scripture continues, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.”
Here is the hope for humanity: In Christ, by Christ, through Christ, the pioneer and perfecter of faith—one day all of the things that we let divide us, the things that seem so important, one day, because of Christ’s great love, none of these divisions will matter. Not one little bit. Jesus knew this.
He knew this all along.
Showing posts with label decisions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label decisions. Show all posts
Sunday, August 14, 2016
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Bringing Fire
This sermon was heard at the First Presbyterian Church in Kilgore, Texas on Sunday August 15, 2010, the 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time.
Isaiah 5:1-7
Psalm 80:1-2, 8-19
Hebrews 11:29-12:2
Luke 12:49-56
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen
I love church signs. I love them when they are witty with messages that mean something to the average person on the sidewalk and something more when examined by a disciple of Christ. Some of my pastor friends who have seen some examples from First Presbyterian in Berryville on the internet get a smile out of them too. Folks have enjoyed, “First Pedestrian Church, Walk the Walk” and there are always comments about “Lent, It’s not Just for Belly Buttons Anymore.” (Heather and Eric Williamson reminded me that their favorite sign reads “Palm Reading This Sunday” and yes, it goes up right before Palm Sunday.) We even made both the local paper and Synod newsletter with “So…What’s the Proper Tithe on $700 Billion” a couple of years ago.
Even “Praying for Ashley,” a sign which doesn’t have an iota of double meeting, got attention when the Holy Spirit took our prayers and blessed two women named “Ashley” that I surely had never met. That’s the economy of God, multiplying blessings on blessings; taking what I intend and doing more with it than I could ever hope or imagine.
Today, the sign in front of the church reads, “Help Wanted: Disciples, Inquire Within.” May this be an invitation to anyone who seeks God.
I hope that these signs offer a gentle chuckle, an interesting opening for conversation, and a call to discipleship. I pray that they will do what the Lord intends in the lives not just of the folks at First—Berryville, but of all who see them and consider them.
This reminds me of what was on the sign when I got to Berryville about five years ago. Someone, I don’t know who, put up, “God is Peace, not War.” That rubbed me the wrong way. From a pastoral point of view, nearly half of the congregation is made up of military veterans. There were vets from World War II through Vietnam. There are those who served in peace and those who served in war. Some served at home while others served overseas. Some were in battle, others were not. So I felt it wrong to have this on our sign when so many served .
One member of First—Berryville, a young woman named Hannah, will be commissioned as a Second Lieutenant into the Marine Corp on August 28. At one time she mentioned that she wanted to fly choppers, that’s one duty that is sure to put her in harm’s way in service to our country. If she read that sign, I wonder if she would have felt welcomed.
Our reading from Luke’s gospel, a difficult writing that should always leave an odd taste in our mouths, is another reason that I wanted to change that sign. Jesus, the one who we associate with the Good Shepherd, carrying a little lamb back to the fold, tells the world that he did not come to bring peace. He came bringing division. So God is peace? Well, as much as I want to say that in every time and place that God is peace, Luke says that his coming doesn‘t bring peace.
In the end though, I’ve read Revelation. Jesus will bring peace, and it‘s going to be messy between when he comes and when the final peace is made, but that‘s not really the point.
Hebrews 12 gives us an odd perspective on our reading from Luke. This section is known as “The Heroes of the Faith.” This is God’s “Hall of Fame” paraded by for all to see. These are the people who scripture shows us are worth copying.
So we start with Rahab, the prostitute. Yes, Jericho’s favorite call girl protected the two spies sent by Joshua.[1] While we hope every girl wants to be a hero of the faith, we also hope that on her high school’s career day she doesn’t drop by the prostitute booth.
Gideon, I love Gideon, he routs the Mideonites who had oppressed Israel for seven years. This is the same Gideon who is so afraid of his own shadow, so embarrassed by his own family, so unsure of his neighbors that he tries threshing grain in a winepress, an entirely futile way to try to do a day‘s work. So when he becomes the brave man with his dog soldiers, he’s a hero. Unfortunately while Gideon’s heroic story begins with the destruction of his father’s idol, it ends when he becomes idolater.[2]
The Hero of the Faith Barak was told that he would be a hero by Deborah, a prophetess and Judge of Israel. But he refused to go into battle unless Deborah would go with him. Because Barak required Deborah’s presence, he was far less of a hero and ultimately did not defeat Sisera, the general of Jabin’s army, on his own. Sisera was eventually defeated by Jael the wife of Heber who rolled the general up in a carpet, gave him warm milk, told him a story, and put a tent spike through his temple.[3]
Samson[4] was a Nazirite, a judge who was consecrated from birth. He was destined to lead the people and lead them he did. Yet, in four chapters from the book of Judges, Samson married a Philistine, and then when she displeased him, he gave her to his best man. He ate from the carcass of a lion. As gross as this sounds to us, to a Nazirite it was a holy terror. Taking Delilah, a second Philistine bride, Samson begins on a murderous rage that ultimately leads to his death. Sure, he brought down tons of Philistines with him, but it only happened the way it did because he was disobedient to the Lord.
Friends, let’s face it, if Samson’s life were a TV miniseries it would have to be on HBO.
As for the Cliff Notes versions on a couple more of the “Heroes of the Faith,” Jephthah makes a foolish vow and sacrifices his daughter to keep it.[5] David, the man who knows God’s heart, lusts after a woman with such gusto that he takes her from her home and has her husband assassinated in battle.[6]
These are the Heroes of the Faith. These are the models scripture lifts from the Letter to the Hebrews. I don’t want to diminish the contributions of any of these heroes, but there is one thing I want to make clear, even the heroes have blemishes. Even if the Epistle to the Hebrews does not make this point, let me; all of us have our blemishes, especially our heroes.
Our blemishes lead us back to our reading from Luke this morning. John’s gospel says Jesus is the crisis of the world.[7] By crisis he didn’t mean emergency, but a moment of Truth ("Truth" with a capital “T”) where a decision has to be made.[8] Our reading today makes the point that where there are choices made, Jesus makes the difference in what and how we choose. It also shows that our decisions are difficult and have consequences that can be very painful.
These difficult decisions will bring division among families. Families will be split father against sons and mother against daughters. Jesus understands that his coming brings this division among the very people he saves. Jesus understands that his coming will cause a crisis of decision that makes peace impossible.
This Jesus who Luke tells us “will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High;” this Jesus who we are told “the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David;” the Christ who the shepherds were told was “born a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord;” our Lord who was told as the Holy Spirit descended upon him bodily like a dove at his baptism was told from on high “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased;” this Jesus will not bring peace to the world, but war.
Jesus says that he came to bring fire to the earth, fire which is often seen as judgment in both the Old and New Testaments. But here is something that is very important for us to remember, this is nothing new. In the book of Isaiah and in the Psalms, the nation of Israel is described as a vine. On this vine, the vintner seeks to produce the best vintage, the greatest of all wines. Unfortunately, Isaiah prophesies a wild vine growing in the place prepared for the good vines. The vintner chooses to destroy the vineyard rather than see it overgrown. In the Psalms, the vine is burned and cut down by the enemies of Israel. Again, this is nothing new.
Still, when we read about Jesus bringing fire to the earth and families being separated by the heat, we find it tough to accept. I believe I called it “a difficult writing that should always leave an odd taste in our mouths.”
There is reassurance in these words though. When I worked in Higher Education, a boss once told me that if people were complaining I must be doing something right. If they weren’t, I was probably letting them get away with too much. Maybe this is what’s going on here too.
The signs are all around us. It is when we interpret them as the work of God, it is when we interpret this discomfort and division as one of the ways the Lord works that we seek God and follow as Christ’s disciples. When we try to smooth all disagreement away we seek a false peace that is not Christ‘s vocation.
Perhaps when we see the challenges God places around us it is our call to respond in Christ’s name, not wring our hands praying for a miracle. It is when we become a part of the miracle that things begin to happen. Luke writes that the whole wide world won’t be happy when we serve God’s good creation as Christ’s disciples, and that could well be the good news.
Only when God is happy are we doing what is right.
As for the church sign, I changed it. I changed it to say “God is Love, not Hate.” Holy wars have been fought through history and will surely be fought again. There are wars that need to be fought to rid God’s good creation of evil. Scripture also tells us that God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them,[9] and it also tells us that Jesus came to bring a fire to the earth, a fire that will consume the dead branches from the vine. Jesus continues bringing fire that will purify us like fine metals cleared of their slag in a smelter. Jesus is bringing fire to the earth, and wishing we work to kindle it everyday.
Jesus suffered a terrible baptism of suffering, a bloody baptism in his crucifixion. It is up to us to take the baptism of water, washing us and sealing us, into God‘s family. It is up to us to take the baptism of fire, the empowering baptism of the Holy Spirit, into the Church. It is up to us to take the fire of the baptism of his crucifixion into the world. And don’t worry if someone gets upset along the way, one way to know when we know we’re doing something right.
[1] Joshua 2:1-24
[2] Judges 611-8:35
[3] Judges 4:1-24
[4] Judges 13:1-16:31
[5] Judges 11:1-40
[6] 2Samuel 11:1-27
[7] John 12:31
[8] Craddock, Fred B., Interpretation, A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching. Louisville, KY: John Knox Press, 1990, page 166. [9] 1John 4:16b
Isaiah 5:1-7
Psalm 80:1-2, 8-19
Hebrews 11:29-12:2
Luke 12:49-56
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen
I love church signs. I love them when they are witty with messages that mean something to the average person on the sidewalk and something more when examined by a disciple of Christ. Some of my pastor friends who have seen some examples from First Presbyterian in Berryville on the internet get a smile out of them too. Folks have enjoyed, “First Pedestrian Church, Walk the Walk” and there are always comments about “Lent, It’s not Just for Belly Buttons Anymore.” (Heather and Eric Williamson reminded me that their favorite sign reads “Palm Reading This Sunday” and yes, it goes up right before Palm Sunday.) We even made both the local paper and Synod newsletter with “So…What’s the Proper Tithe on $700 Billion” a couple of years ago.
Even “Praying for Ashley,” a sign which doesn’t have an iota of double meeting, got attention when the Holy Spirit took our prayers and blessed two women named “Ashley” that I surely had never met. That’s the economy of God, multiplying blessings on blessings; taking what I intend and doing more with it than I could ever hope or imagine.
Today, the sign in front of the church reads, “Help Wanted: Disciples, Inquire Within.” May this be an invitation to anyone who seeks God.
I hope that these signs offer a gentle chuckle, an interesting opening for conversation, and a call to discipleship. I pray that they will do what the Lord intends in the lives not just of the folks at First—Berryville, but of all who see them and consider them.
This reminds me of what was on the sign when I got to Berryville about five years ago. Someone, I don’t know who, put up, “God is Peace, not War.” That rubbed me the wrong way. From a pastoral point of view, nearly half of the congregation is made up of military veterans. There were vets from World War II through Vietnam. There are those who served in peace and those who served in war. Some served at home while others served overseas. Some were in battle, others were not. So I felt it wrong to have this on our sign when so many served .
One member of First—Berryville, a young woman named Hannah, will be commissioned as a Second Lieutenant into the Marine Corp on August 28. At one time she mentioned that she wanted to fly choppers, that’s one duty that is sure to put her in harm’s way in service to our country. If she read that sign, I wonder if she would have felt welcomed.
Our reading from Luke’s gospel, a difficult writing that should always leave an odd taste in our mouths, is another reason that I wanted to change that sign. Jesus, the one who we associate with the Good Shepherd, carrying a little lamb back to the fold, tells the world that he did not come to bring peace. He came bringing division. So God is peace? Well, as much as I want to say that in every time and place that God is peace, Luke says that his coming doesn‘t bring peace.
In the end though, I’ve read Revelation. Jesus will bring peace, and it‘s going to be messy between when he comes and when the final peace is made, but that‘s not really the point.
Hebrews 12 gives us an odd perspective on our reading from Luke. This section is known as “The Heroes of the Faith.” This is God’s “Hall of Fame” paraded by for all to see. These are the people who scripture shows us are worth copying.
So we start with Rahab, the prostitute. Yes, Jericho’s favorite call girl protected the two spies sent by Joshua.[1] While we hope every girl wants to be a hero of the faith, we also hope that on her high school’s career day she doesn’t drop by the prostitute booth.
Gideon, I love Gideon, he routs the Mideonites who had oppressed Israel for seven years. This is the same Gideon who is so afraid of his own shadow, so embarrassed by his own family, so unsure of his neighbors that he tries threshing grain in a winepress, an entirely futile way to try to do a day‘s work. So when he becomes the brave man with his dog soldiers, he’s a hero. Unfortunately while Gideon’s heroic story begins with the destruction of his father’s idol, it ends when he becomes idolater.[2]
The Hero of the Faith Barak was told that he would be a hero by Deborah, a prophetess and Judge of Israel. But he refused to go into battle unless Deborah would go with him. Because Barak required Deborah’s presence, he was far less of a hero and ultimately did not defeat Sisera, the general of Jabin’s army, on his own. Sisera was eventually defeated by Jael the wife of Heber who rolled the general up in a carpet, gave him warm milk, told him a story, and put a tent spike through his temple.[3]
Samson[4] was a Nazirite, a judge who was consecrated from birth. He was destined to lead the people and lead them he did. Yet, in four chapters from the book of Judges, Samson married a Philistine, and then when she displeased him, he gave her to his best man. He ate from the carcass of a lion. As gross as this sounds to us, to a Nazirite it was a holy terror. Taking Delilah, a second Philistine bride, Samson begins on a murderous rage that ultimately leads to his death. Sure, he brought down tons of Philistines with him, but it only happened the way it did because he was disobedient to the Lord.
Friends, let’s face it, if Samson’s life were a TV miniseries it would have to be on HBO.
As for the Cliff Notes versions on a couple more of the “Heroes of the Faith,” Jephthah makes a foolish vow and sacrifices his daughter to keep it.[5] David, the man who knows God’s heart, lusts after a woman with such gusto that he takes her from her home and has her husband assassinated in battle.[6]
These are the Heroes of the Faith. These are the models scripture lifts from the Letter to the Hebrews. I don’t want to diminish the contributions of any of these heroes, but there is one thing I want to make clear, even the heroes have blemishes. Even if the Epistle to the Hebrews does not make this point, let me; all of us have our blemishes, especially our heroes.
Our blemishes lead us back to our reading from Luke this morning. John’s gospel says Jesus is the crisis of the world.[7] By crisis he didn’t mean emergency, but a moment of Truth ("Truth" with a capital “T”) where a decision has to be made.[8] Our reading today makes the point that where there are choices made, Jesus makes the difference in what and how we choose. It also shows that our decisions are difficult and have consequences that can be very painful.
These difficult decisions will bring division among families. Families will be split father against sons and mother against daughters. Jesus understands that his coming brings this division among the very people he saves. Jesus understands that his coming will cause a crisis of decision that makes peace impossible.
This Jesus who Luke tells us “will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High;” this Jesus who we are told “the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David;” the Christ who the shepherds were told was “born a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord;” our Lord who was told as the Holy Spirit descended upon him bodily like a dove at his baptism was told from on high “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased;” this Jesus will not bring peace to the world, but war.
Jesus says that he came to bring fire to the earth, fire which is often seen as judgment in both the Old and New Testaments. But here is something that is very important for us to remember, this is nothing new. In the book of Isaiah and in the Psalms, the nation of Israel is described as a vine. On this vine, the vintner seeks to produce the best vintage, the greatest of all wines. Unfortunately, Isaiah prophesies a wild vine growing in the place prepared for the good vines. The vintner chooses to destroy the vineyard rather than see it overgrown. In the Psalms, the vine is burned and cut down by the enemies of Israel. Again, this is nothing new.
Still, when we read about Jesus bringing fire to the earth and families being separated by the heat, we find it tough to accept. I believe I called it “a difficult writing that should always leave an odd taste in our mouths.”
There is reassurance in these words though. When I worked in Higher Education, a boss once told me that if people were complaining I must be doing something right. If they weren’t, I was probably letting them get away with too much. Maybe this is what’s going on here too.
The signs are all around us. It is when we interpret them as the work of God, it is when we interpret this discomfort and division as one of the ways the Lord works that we seek God and follow as Christ’s disciples. When we try to smooth all disagreement away we seek a false peace that is not Christ‘s vocation.
Perhaps when we see the challenges God places around us it is our call to respond in Christ’s name, not wring our hands praying for a miracle. It is when we become a part of the miracle that things begin to happen. Luke writes that the whole wide world won’t be happy when we serve God’s good creation as Christ’s disciples, and that could well be the good news.
Only when God is happy are we doing what is right.
As for the church sign, I changed it. I changed it to say “God is Love, not Hate.” Holy wars have been fought through history and will surely be fought again. There are wars that need to be fought to rid God’s good creation of evil. Scripture also tells us that God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them,[9] and it also tells us that Jesus came to bring a fire to the earth, a fire that will consume the dead branches from the vine. Jesus continues bringing fire that will purify us like fine metals cleared of their slag in a smelter. Jesus is bringing fire to the earth, and wishing we work to kindle it everyday.
Jesus suffered a terrible baptism of suffering, a bloody baptism in his crucifixion. It is up to us to take the baptism of water, washing us and sealing us, into God‘s family. It is up to us to take the baptism of fire, the empowering baptism of the Holy Spirit, into the Church. It is up to us to take the fire of the baptism of his crucifixion into the world. And don’t worry if someone gets upset along the way, one way to know when we know we’re doing something right.
[1] Joshua 2:1-24
[2] Judges 611-8:35
[3] Judges 4:1-24
[4] Judges 13:1-16:31
[5] Judges 11:1-40
[6] 2Samuel 11:1-27
[7] John 12:31
[8] Craddock, Fred B., Interpretation, A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching. Louisville, KY: John Knox Press, 1990, page 166. [9] 1John 4:16b
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