Jesus, an Apocalyptic Arsonist? —Lectionary Reflection for Pentecost 10C (Luke 12:49-56)

The Siege and Destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans Under the Command of Titus, A.D. 70 

by David Roberts (1850)

Luke 12:49-56 New Revised Standard Version UpdatedEdition

⁴⁹ “I have come to cast fire upon the earth, and how I wish it were already ablaze! ⁵⁰ I have a baptism with which to be baptized, and what constraint I am under until it is completed! ⁵¹ Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division! ⁵² From now on five in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three; ⁵³ they 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.”

⁵⁴ He 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. ⁵⁵ And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, ‘There will be scorching heat,’ and it happens. ⁵⁶ You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?

                ************************

                Sometimes it’s difficult to know what to do with a biblical text. We all have an image of Jesus that we use to interpret the Gospels and the biblical text itself. The hymn recorded in Colossians 1 tells us that Jesus is the “image of the invisible God,” and that “in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell” (Col. 1:15, 19). In the prologue to the Gospel of John, we hear that “the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth (Jn. 1:14). Taken together these texts suggest to many, including me, that when we see Jesus, we see God. So, when we come to a passage like this one in Luke 12, many of us struggle to make sense of it. Of course, a close reading of the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) reveals that Jesus was indeed an apocalyptic preacher. Like John the Baptist, he proclaimed that the kingdom or realm of God was at hand, so we should prepare ourselves for that eventuality. That was, of course, the message we heard in the reading for the Ninth Sunday after Pentecost. Be on the alert because the Son of Man will come at an unexpected hour (Luke 12:32-40).       

                The readings from Luke 12 are set in the context of Jesus' journey to Jerusalem, where he would enter the city in triumph, only to be arrested, crucified, and then resurrected. The messages Jesus shares as he makes his way to Jerusalem often have an apocalyptic flavor. We may struggle with this apocalyptic message because some of what Jesus says in these passages doesn’t sound like the Jesus we claim to know and love. That is especially true of this reading, in which Jesus sounds a bit like an arsonist. Consider this word that stands at the start of our reading: “I have come to cast fire upon the earth, and how I wish it were already ablaze!”

                As he draws near to Jerusalem, Jesus lets his followers know that he didn’t come to earth to bring peace. Instead, he tells them that he came to sow division. As an ecumenist who seeks to build bridges, not set them on fire, I find this passage unsettling. Where is that inclusive Jesus I like so much?  At this moment, when the world, including the nation to which I belong, is experiencing deep polarization and division. So, I’m not sure how I would preach this passage without a lot of preparation. Since my current preaching assignments involve pulpit supply, preparation is not a luxury that I have. However, I do believe it’s important that we engage in the study of eschatology and apocalyptic literature. To help that along, Ron Allen and I wrote a book designed for study in mainline Protestant churches (see Second Thoughts about the Second Coming, WJK Books).

                In this passage, we hear Jesus lay out his mission. He shares that he is feeling stressed, which can only be relieved by completing his mission. That mission doesn’t involve bringing peace but rather division. His mission will divide families—Fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law. We’re seeing that take place at this moment, as families divide up along political and religious lines.  What this passage seems to suggest is that when it comes to following Jesus, choices will be made. Those choices may divide families.

                The reference to fire at the beginning of the reading reminds us that Jesus was not averse to proclaiming a message of divine judgment. Fire is often linked in scripture to divine judgment. Readers of the Gospel would have known the story of the destruction of Jerusalem, which the Romans burned to the ground. That was viewed by many as an act of divine judgment, especially by early Christians who connected it with the crucifixion of Jesus.    

                With this warning that judgment is on the horizon, Jesus once again calls on his followers to stay on the alert. As noted in the previous lectionary reading, they “must be ready for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour” (Luke 12:40). While the Son of Man may come at an unexpected hour, there will be signs that presage his arrival. Jesus uses weather analogies here. In doing so, he is using an analogy they would understand. If a cloud begins to form in the west, there’s a good chance it will rain. If the wind blows from the south, you will expect scorching heat. This is simply how the weather typically works. Then comes the kicker. Jesus calls them hypocrites because they can diagnose the weather but not the signs of the times.

                There are at least two audiences here. There is Jesus’ audience and Luke’s. Of course, there is a third audience, and that would be us.  Assuming, as scholarly consensus does, that Luke took certain creative liberties in presenting Jesus’ message, we need to keep in mind that by the time Luke wrote his Gospel sometime around 85 CE, Jerusalem had been destroyed by Rome. It had, therefore, experienced judgment, divine or otherwise. According to the narrative, however, none of that had happened yet. However, you get the sense that Luke is telling us that had the people been alert to the signs of the times, they would have known what was coming. Jerusalem fell in around 70 CE, but even in the lifetime of Jesus, the city was a tinderbox. The question was not if but when the match would be lit.  

                Here in Luke 12, there is a strong apocalyptic tone that calls on us to be alert to the signs of the times. While we might not know when the kingdom would come in its fullness, it would come at some point. So, are we on the alert? This message seems to resonate with each new generation, if we’re alert to it. The question for us concerns the signs of our times. What is happening around us? Karl Barth famously spoke of holding the Bible in one hand and the newspaper in the other. The message here is that we ought to read the newspaper through the lens provided by the Bible. When we read the news, what might Jesus have to say? Many Christians have hailed Donald Trump as some kind of defender of the faith, while others wonder if he isn’t some kind of anti-Christ. Then there are other figures such as Benjamin Netanyahu and Vladimir Putin, who also figure into our ponderings of the times. One of the messages that comes through loud and clear is that people are divided, and I would say that Christians are divided. Often, those divisions within the Christian community divide families.

                Getting back to the opening world about the fire that Jesus envisions falling on the earth, we needn’t take it literally. That is, we don’t have to envision some kind of nuclear holocaust destroying the earth, as some have envisioned. But we can think in terms of judgment and purgation. Some things in this world will not last. They will be consumed because they don’t reflect the wisdom of God’s realm. But there are other images, perhaps not here, but in the Gospels and the larger biblical story that offer words of hope lying beyond the times of judgment. If that is true, then division is not the final word, but only the penultimate one. Families can be reunited.

There is a story about family reunions that I find especially poignant for these times. In Genesis 25, Abraham dies, and his sons, Isaac and Ishmael, reunite to bury their father. After this, we’re told that God blessed Isaac along with Ishmael, whose descendants are listed (Gen. 25:7-18). I believe this story, as brief as it is, offers hope for our world. I have two friends, one Jewish and the other Muslim. For some time, we’ve been talking about going to the Holy Land so we can pray together, Muslim, Jew, and Christian, at the tomb of Abraham, which is located at Hebron. The conversation began before the October 6^th attack and the subsequent war in Gaza. Despite the obstacles, we still want to take a group to that place so we can pray for peace among Abraham’s children. It might not be feasible right now, but it is something to work toward, so that the divisions that are present at this moment might be overcome. But that will require, most likely, that some things get thrown into the fire of refinement.