Three men died and were waiting to receive entrance through
the Pearly Gates. The first man said to St. Peter, "I was a preacher of
the gospel, serving faithfully for over 50 years". Peter told him to step
aside for further consideration. The second man said, "I was also a
preacher of the gospel; I served my church faithfully for 40 years". Peter
told him to step aside for further consideration. The third man stepped up and
said, "I was not a preacher, just a government worker with the Canada
Revenue Agency for 6 months". Peter told him to step right in. The first
minister objected, "Why does he get to go in before two ministers?"
Peter said, "The truth is, in six months the Canada Revenue Agency agent
scared the devil out of more people than either of you did in a long
lifetime!"
Jesus' harsh words to the crowds about not being able to
interpret the signs of the times were a good wake-up call for those who were
gathering to see the spectacle of this upstart preacher-man from Nazareth, but
not quite seeing that He was the long-awaited Messiah. These words were meant
to reorient their lives to what was important. That is, to reorient their lives
to ever be seeking what God is up to right here, right now. We look at the
rumblings of war, of earthquakes, of hurricanes and wonder if the end times are
upon us. When all the while we are to be looking not there, but at Christ, at
the hope he offers, the forgiveness he bears for us and for all people, the
promise that his Spirit will roam this earth until Christ himself comes again.
Jesus' words remind us that we need to set fire to the old so that the new can emerge, just like new life emerges from the destruction of a fire. God's love is often bad news to people of privilege and power because
Jesus provides a higher authority than the law of the land or religious
practice. For example, Christ's birth was a threat to King Herod's power. The
church's spiritual source of wisdom, without hesitation or apology, asserts
that a nation which fuels its economy on greed (that is, at the expense of
others' basic needs) is a nation under God's judgment. The sword of divine
justice hangs over all of us.
The gospel was compared to fire because it violently changes
the face of things. Fire is the emblem of discord, contention and calamities.
If fire refers to judgment, this happens when our godlessness is revealed to us
as we inflicted pain and death on the innocent Son of God. Fire is both a
source of destruction and a source of rebirth or new life.
Jesus uses the metaphor of fire's destructive power to urge
us to follow him and give up our earthly lives. We are materially rich and
spiritually poor. Money has begun to obscure some of our more important values.
Society has reached new lows in terms of public morality, whether it be sex
scandals or traditional values. We are apprehensive in spite of advances in
science, medicine, agriculture, communications and so on. Is our fear due to
our spiritual poverty? We are afraid because of the emptiness in our lives. We
have a God-shaped void that has never been adequately filled.
God is with us regardless of what the future brings, but we
have to regain our connection with Him. We need to focus less on our earthly,
material resources for security and more on the Rock of Ages. God carves men
and women to be with Him forever. He fills them with good things; makes them to
love, care, learn and grow; and fashions them into what he was and is. We can
do God's work with confidence, but we have to let go of our sinful nature. It
entangles our lives, distorts our vision and robs us of spiritual vitality and
stamina.
Choosing to love and follow Jesus will create division and
conflict. The sword of division about which Jesus spoke is the result of
Christ-like love. To love people as Jesus did is to stand for something. To
stand for justice is to stand against injustice. To stand for truth is to
oppose hypocrisy and falsehood. To be a Christian is to love all that Christ
loved and to be an enemy of all that crucified him. To follow him is to make
enemies. Jesus was awarded a cross, and he bids us to take up our cross and
follow him. We all have worth in the eyes of God, regardless of social status,
income, etc. He calls all of us to love each other as he loves us. If we cannot
love our neighbour, whom we have seen, we cannot love God, whom we have not
seen.
Neutrality toward Jesus is not possible. Jesus said in
Matthew 12:30, "He who is not with me is against me". Jesus gives us
a choice-accept him or reject him. The choice we make has consequences. If we
accept him, we risk alienation from friends and family. If we reject him, we
face eternal damnation. Either choice causes division-either us from friends
and family, or us from God. Today, Christian churches, once open to every passer-by,
are being kept locked because they are being vandalized and looted with a
vicious contempt.
The disciples also needed God's spiritual fire or else they
would die. They needed the fire of God's word to keep their hearts from
freezing over and to keep the passion of their souls from cooling down. We are
the same way. We have moments when our faith cools down. It is quite beyond our
nature to have a burning need for the word of God. We all need the fire of
God's word in our lives, or else we will grow cold.
Jesus was worked up because he knew his crucifixion was
coming. He had a job to do before then-namely, to bring the message of God's
Kingdom to the people and the people to God's love. As he was telling the
disciples about living their lives in total commitment to God, he realized that
his death was drawing near-and this stirred him up to the point where he became
like one of the evangelists we see on television. In other words, he literally
spoke of the fires of damnation, judgment and spirit. He brought God's judgment
upon the people. He also divided families, communities and nations. What he did
then is still happening today.
Jesus' demands for total allegiance divided families in his
time, and can do so today. When he comes to announce the kingdom, there is
division because the kingdom requires decision and commitment. The message of
justice and healing was met with hostility. The fire Jesus came to kindle
begins at home because our spouses and children are free to grow beyond their
roles and beyond our expectations. God's way is not easy. Jesus' way and the
world's way can't coexist. It's one or the other.
Jesus' baptism was nothing less than his own crucifixion and
death. This baptism was baptism by fire. True baptism leads to resurrection,
life and peace. Division and fire are for a season, not for an eternity. The
fire of baptism leads to a new life. If we think of Christ as our example, we
realize that we need to shape up. We are in desperate need of forgiveness and
moral power. In the Middle Ages, the image of Christ had more fiery judgment
than it does today. We need more judgment in the image of Christ today because
of the sinful nature of the world. We have so eliminated the judgmental impact
of Christ that there is no spiritual tension and conflict left. We need the
fire of Christ's spirit today. What we treasure in Word and Sacrament is God's
transforming power that finally makes us sensitive toward those who are
different from us in any way.
Can we see ourselves as a great cloud of witnesses, willing
to run the race that is set before us, following Jesus, who is the pioneer and
perfecter of our faith? God calls the church to find the anger that lets it
know it's still alive. Too often Christ is left for dead in this cold world. We
often become desensitized to many of the things around us. We cannot understand
the present time even though Christ is right in front of us. Some feel that the
secular world's issues or the dirty business of politics shouldn't taint the
sanctified holy life that we live together as Christians within the church
community. That, my friends, is totally untrue. God's fire forces us to become
concerned for social issues and justice-a concern that is contrary to the
secular world. Jesus' teachings and actions challenged the status quo, and they
still do. Jesus declares war on the world's injustices. The call to follow
Christ is a call to relieve and, wherever possible, to remove the causes of
suffering. It goes against what the world says is important.
Jesus' fire creates a new life in us that is better than the
old one. It will cause conflict with the world and even with those we love, but
it is better to be true to yourself rather than to someone else's notion of
yourself. We are able to be fortified to truth, justice and inclusion. We
symbolically attach ourselves to Jesus and the church. It means we belong first
to Jesus and second to the world. It means we belong first to the church family
and second to the human family. Jesus asks for-no, DEMANDS-this radical commitment-a
commitment that seems radical to the world. It creates conflict, difficulties
and struggles that strengthen us for our walk with Jesus and our mission in the
world. God will help us overcome the struggles our new life will cause. The
fire of the Holy Spirit burns away the dead branches that litter our lives and
inhibit our spiritual growth. It also empowers our joining with Jesus. It is a
sign that the church is alive and well, and that the family is adjusting to
God's love and God's peace.
Being a Christian can make us feel like foreigners in our
own land. It's as if we are carrying a passport from another place. And we are,
for those who are first of all citizens of God's reign, Jesus' vision and
values come first in our lives-all because Jesus has come to set a blazing fire
on the earth, and that fire burns already in us. That fire is the kingdom of
God, and that kingdom is more important than even one's family.
How can we live as faithful followers while keeping
integrity with Christ's teachings? First, we can use the teachings as a
benchmark of our faith. Does our faith cause problems with our families,
friends or jobs? As we walk with God, people will disappoint us and let us
down. Circumstances will be hard, and the enemy will hassle us. Second, we can
consider these teachings as a backhanded compliment, especially if our faith
causes some people to feel uncomfortable with us. Finally, we can consider
these teachings as a goal.
Spreading God's Word won't hurt us. Sure, we will feel the
pain of rejection, but without spreading the Word, we can't build the church.
If our faith matters to us, we MUST make it matter to others. If not, then our
faith is merely deathbed insurance. We can't hide because God will find us now
or in the end. Some of you might remember a 1970s TV show called
"Maude". One of Maude's favorite sayings was "God will get you
for that". My friends, if we do not follow God's teachings , and if we do
NOT spread the Good News of the kingdom and salvation, God WILL get us for
that!
When we get tired of following Christ's teachings, all we
have to do is follow the advice Paul gave in Hebrews 12 verse 2-"Keep your
eyes on Him and keep on running to win". In other words, all we have to do
is keep our eyes on the prize-namely, eternal life. Endurance doesn't mean
casually accepting a setback and quitting the race of life early. Instead, it
means doing whatever it takes morally and ethically to win. God wants for us
the fullest, richest and deepest life we can have because he loves us. In return,
he expects us to do Christ's work in this place, and in our own generation. In
his name and by his power, we are to confront the world of evil and evil
people. We are to discern not only what time it is, but what time it will soon
become-and with the time we have left, we must get to work.
I really like the idea of the passport. It is a good tool for the children's message too. We are strangers in a strange land.
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