Interpreting the Signs of the Times -- Lectionary (RCL) Reflection for Pentecost 10C/Proper 15 (Luke 12)

 

Luke 12:49-56 Common English Bible (CEB)

49 “I came to cast fire upon the earth. How I wish that it was already ablaze! 50 I have a baptism I must experience. How I am distressed until it’s completed! 51 Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, I have come instead to bring division. 52 From now on, a household of five will be divided—three against two and two against three. 53 Father will square off against son and son against father; mother against daughter and daughter against mother; and mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.” 

54 Jesus also said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud forming in the west, you immediately say, ‘It’s going to rain.’ And indeed it does. 55 And when a south wind blows, you say, ‘A heat wave is coming.’ And it does. 56 Hypocrites! You know how to interpret conditions on earth and in the sky. How is it that you don’t know how to interpret the present time?

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            I prefer an inclusive Jesus, one who preaches a message of love and grace. In times like we have been experiencing in recent years, perhaps the whole of the 21st century, the last thing we want to hear from Jesus is an apocalyptic message of division. I know there are times we have to choose sides, but I prefer a theology of inclusion focused on building bridges not blowing them up. At the depth of my soul, I'm an ecumenist who has long been deeply involved in interfaith work. I count among my closest friends, Muslims, Hindus, and Jews. So, this word from Jesus about setting the world ablaze and bringing division in the land doesn't sit well with me. We're already too polarized as a society as it is. Politicians vote against people and policies that they probably support simply because the other side supports it. Who cares if a bill will benefit one's constituents, if the other side wants it, then it's a no vote. To think that politicians are spiteful! Of course, politicians aren't the only ones who embrace polarization. There are many preachers who also embrace a similar message while celebrating division and destruction. So, I don’t know if I’m alone in this, but if I were preaching from this reading, I might have to preach against it by telling the congregation that this isn't the way I understand Jesus. However, it is Luke's Jesus and it's part of the lectionary, so it's there for us to deal with. If nothing else, it does remind us that there isn't a such thing as a nonjudgmental Jesus. Judgment is part of the Gospel message.

              In the Lukan context of this reading, Jesus is heading toward Jerusalem and his final confrontation with political and religious powers. It's important to remember that the religious leadership in Jerusaelm served at the pleasure of the Roman occupiers. So, if you are thinking about the benefits of a close church-state relationship, consider that when push comes to shove in such a relationship, the church serves the state (here in 2022 we see this occuring in Russia, with the Patriarch working hand-in-glove with Putin to bless the war effort). 

         Luke 12 as a whole is filled with words of warning, such that Jesus tells his followers that they shouldn't fear those who kill the body because that's all they can do. Instead, beward of the one who can cast you in hell (Luke 12:4-5). Therefore, don’t be greedy; don’t worry; be on the alert. Jesus is setting before his followers a particular path and wants them to stay on that path with him as he traverses it. This is where that message of division comes in. If you choose to follow Jesus you will put yourself on a collision course with family and friends, as well as the powers. Rejection is likely in the offing, so are you ready to follow along this path? You have a choice to make. 

          This message fits the first-century context in that following Jesus in that period would not have been an easy decision. Jesus' message of giving ultimate allegiance to the God of Israel put him and all who embraced his message at odds with the Roman government and society at large. More specifically, it put early Christians in a difficult spot as the message of Jesus moved out of a Jewish context into a Gentile one. While the first level of conflict would have been within the Jewish community, as fellow Jews were asked to accept Jesus's message as the defining version of Judaism, if we assume that Luke's context was largely Gentile, this would have been an even more challenging choice. 

        It’s important to understand the Roman culture, which tended toward reliligious pluralism. Rome welcomed any and all God, as long as you embraced Rome's gods (worshipping Rome's gods was a bit like saying the pledge of allegiance for citizens of the USA). Thus, the Romans built a Temple in Rome called the Pantheon, which enshrined this variety of divinities. They would have been glad to put a nice statue of Jesus in one of the niches, but that didn't happen. You see, Jesus was Jewish and his original followers and evangelists were Jewish, and the Jews were different from the Romans. By and large they were religious exclusivists. They weren't willing to put a statue of Yahweh in the Pantheon. Howver,  Rome let them off the hook because they were perceived to be a small ethnic group with their own peculiarities, and as long as they didn't rebel they were left alone. Initiatally Rome ignored the early Christians, thinking they were just another Jewish sect. The problem with Christians is that they didn't stay within the prescribed boundaries. They started to go out and convert Gentiles, who then refused to say the pledge of allegiance to the symbols of Roman power. This made Rome nervous.

        As I read this passage in an American context, where Christianity remains dominant (even though a segment of the Christian population believes they are being persecuted). It's true that here in the USA, along with Canada, Europe, and Australia, secularism is on the rise. While there is a movement to "reclaim America for Jesus" so that Christians can set the agenda for the government (the message is that the state can't tell the church what to do, but the church can tell the state what to do). While some who aren't looking to control the state wish to withdraw from society (think the Amish and some Mennonities), there are others of us (I put myself in this category) who don't wish to impose a certain religious orthodoxy on the nation but still wish to speak to the realities of our context. Ultimately, this brings us to the question of allegiance. If we choose Jesus will that put us at odds with others? Will it cause division within the Christian community, as we sort out exactly what stands at the center of the Christian faith and practice?  It seems that in our context some of the sorting out (division) is political in nature. With the increasing polarization present in our context, political divisions impact the church. 

                Is Jesus calling us to rule, to separate out and create an alternative community, or simply work for a better community where all, whether Christian or not can flourish? I put myself in the third category. I have no interest in restoring Christendom, where the Christian majority forces everyone else to say Merry Christmas or say the Lord’s Prayer in school. I am committed to following the lead of the Prophets who called on the people of Israel to care for their neighbors. Unlike like some, I don’t feel that the definition of neighbor is limited just to members of the Christian community. The problem for many Christians is that the idea that allegiance to the state/nation supersedes allegiance to Jesus is baked into our worldview. We may pray that God's will should be done on earth as in heaven, but that seems secondary to our allegiance to the nation and its flag (on this see my book Ultimate Allegiance). That's been true since at least the time of Theodosius, with additional affirmation coming a bit later  from Justinian. Thus, citizenship and church membership have often been intertwined. It’s one of the reasons why infant baptism was required and believer’s baptism rejected by mainstream Reformers. Choosing when to become part of the community threatened the status quo, much as reverencing Jesus did the same centuries earlier.

              So, here in Luke 12, Jesus declares “I came to cast fire upon the earth.” In fact, Jesus wishes the world were already set ablaze. These are scary words. They're probably not the kind of words to base a children’s message upon. But despite their incendiaray nature, there is something important present in these words. They offer us an eschatological reminder that we need to keep our eyes open to what is happening in the world. We can't close our eyes and ignore the events of our day.  We need to keep watch. Think here of why we check the weather report when we make future plans. Think a bout when you go on a vacation, don't you check the weather before packing? Weather can be tricky to predict, but there are hints to follow. Jesus wants us to check the weather report. He wants us to be alert to the realities around us. 

         As we ponder this rather apocalyptic message, we would be wise to think about how the message impacts our families. I know that the political divisions of our day have made many family gatherings rather toxic. Long-standing friendships have become fragile. We might even find ourselves contemplating moving to a different state (or country) because of the toxity of the moment. Apocalyptic messages speak of an old and new order. Jesus seems to be saying that his message will set ablaze the old age, so that the new age can break through. 

         As we ponder the impact  of this apocalyptic message, we may want to consider tone. There are times and places where we need to stand firm and declare a word that sets things ablaze, but that takes discernment. Remember, we're not Jesus! In many cases building bridges will be a more affective way of expressing our ultimae allegiance to Jesus. We may want to broach the subject of change with a degree of tact. That's especially true at a time when the national mood is like a forest weakened by long-term drought and filled with dry tinder. It doesn't take much to get that fire going. As we check out the signs of our times, let's be aware of the weather and not be like the arsonist who throws the match into a drought-stricken California hillside! That's not the Jesus I know!