STORM WARNING

Luke 12: 49-56

The comic strip of the cavemen pals “Frank and Ernest” is one I have enjoyed over the years. One time Frank was coming out of their cave with a club and Ernest was with him. Their faces were grim. Ernest said: “I am worried about the future all the time.” Frank says in reply, “Yeah, I’m worried all the time too. I wish we’d never invented the future tense!”  Like it or not, every one of us has a future. There are some people who think everything in the future is in God’s hands- that by God’s providence there is little we can do to change things. There are others who believe that their destiny is in their own hands and it is up to them to either sink or swim in the future. And still others believe in God’s steady hand in bringing the future upon us, and that God wants us to prepare to face what comes our way. Today Jesus teaches his listeners to cast their assumptions aside, and to prepare for what they see coming, not for what they think is coming. What was on the first century minds when Jesus was with them?  It will sound familiar: taxes, concerns about government leaders, fear of changing weather conditions, anxiety about children being able to earn a living or be matched with a good spouse when they were ready, and fearing that they didn’t have enough money for food and clothing. It is prudent for us to listen in to their lessons from Jesus, some of which are our lessons for today as well.

“I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!” What can our Savior mean with those words? Some have suggested that the metaphor refers to the gospel message. What if the gospel message had been already kindled, that is, already lighted? As we saw in the fires of 1998 in Florida, great fires can be frightening and destructive. Some fires begin with carelessness like with a tossed match or a stove left on unattended. But other fires, like controlled burns, are started deliberately. Gasoline engine cars will not fire without a spark. Outdoor grills, whether wood or charcoal or gas, need a spark to start. Our world, like the world of ancient Jerusalem, is filled with chaff, that is, dry leftover grain or destructive weeds- people who are useless, destructive, or even evil. Haven’t you known some Christian families who so damp with their zeal for Christ, so lethargic, anemic, and lukewarm about their church that even a spark could not ignite their passion for Jesus? Jesus, it seems to me, sees not only corruption, but also complacency; he sees apathy and fear. Certainly as in Judah, he could point out some stellar examples in zeal in his day as he could in ours! But I think Jesus also sees the poor examples of discipleship in our world today because I see them too! You can’t get a commitment out of some people when it comes to Jesus no matter how hard one tries; but when it comes to other areas of interest. Commitment abounds. Jesus is ready for a fire! He is ready for a Holy Ghost fire! One day, tragically, a long time ago, a declining church building in the middle of a town burned to the ground. A sarcastic man in the community looked on from a distance as firefighters battled the flames. He said to his neighbor: “Wow! I’ve never seen that church on fire about anything!” I have pictured Christ looking on at some church services in our day from across the street, because he wants no part of compromised, damp, or lethargic Christianity. “What would he say if we made our commitments to him clear, and unequivocal, and fervent: “Would he say “I’ve never seen you on fire about God before!” Jesus is looking for a fire, a fire in us, and he wishes it were already started. Perhaps it is in you.

Next he says “I have a baptism with which to be baptized, and what stress I am under until it is completed!” How does one who was baptized for us as an example have a baptism still before him?  As those who fight for their country, or give an organ to a loved one or stranger, or give their savings to pull someone else out of the jaws of bankruptcy, many people “sacrifice” themselves for someone else. Jesus still had a sacrifice before him, an immersion into giving life for someone else. There is another route besides sacrifice: it is contribution. Some contribute to helping others with words like “I’ll pray for you,” or “Give me a call if I can help.” But others say “Move over on that couch; I will care for and feed you and stay with you.” It is sacrificial, and sometimes it can pull a caregiver under the overwhelming flood. There is an old stewardship message of a pig and a chicken walking down a road. They come upon a family that is without food and starving. “What do you think we should do about this?” the pig asked the chicken. “I think we should help them out,” the chicken said. “ I have eggs and you have pork! What do you say?”  To which the pig replied, I’m not so sure: if you offer eggs it’s a contribution. But if I offer pork, it’s quite a sacrifice!”  Plenty are willing to offer a contribution. But how many will sacrifice for their faith? Jesus’ baptism that he faced was a metaphor for the cross. In effect he said, “I have a sacrificial death to face, and I feel its weight until it is accomplished.” This is the example of Christ. There are times we will sacrifice for our faith, and other days we just make a contribution.  “Do you think I have come to bring peace to the earth?” Jesus then asked his disciples, and we listen in. “I am just sure that many of us, and perhaps three-fourths of his disciples, would answer “Yes! I do think you have come to bring peace! We call you Prince of Peace! If you are the true Messiah shouldn’t you be bringing peace?” Perhaps reading that the Messiah brings peace, as the prophets believed, was a naïve view of God breaking in to this world. If you shift your loyalty from earthly kings to the King of Kings, do you think peace will ensue instead of financial or personal consequences?  If you shift your money from giving to Caesar (like withholding taxes) to giving to God instead, do you think it will bring peace when you are arrested for tax evasion? Jesus gives a reality check to followers: down the line, when we are safely in God’s Kingdom, there will be safety and peace and joy. But getting there has its price. Even prophets of old saw the conflicts. Micah once proclaimed: “For the son treats the father with contempt, the daughter rises up against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law; your enemies are members of your own household. But as for me, I will look toward the Lord, I will wait for the God of my salvation” (7: 6-7) And Malachi, in speaking about the coming of the great day of the Lord says “The prophet will turn the hearts of parents to their children and hearts of children to their parents, so that the land will not be cursed instead.” (4:6)

Before we come out on the other side, we will go under the deep waters; before we come out on the open meadowland, we will go through forests that are ablaze. There is a cost, a sacrifice, and a commitment to live the Christian life.

We in our day and age are blessed with Doplar radar and other modern devices that let us see clouds, tornadoes, and hurricanes as they form. Even with modern devices and years of experience, my weathercasters have told me to take an umbrella when I didn’t need it, and they’ve told me to look to the skies with the promise of a sunny day and I got raindrops on my face! Weather is not a perfect science, but even in Jesus day, they knew some general signs that warned them to get ready. When they saw clouds forming in the west, they could almost be assured that rain was on the way. When they felt hot wind from the south, they knew that strong sirocco-like winds were on their way. We don’t need a degree in meteorology to know the basics: if we see lightning, wise people move indoors; if our weather radios sound an alarm, wise people stop and listen. If we read that a hurricane is approaching, we rush out for supplies. We can do those things. Jesus wonders if people notice and respond to weather so well, why can’t we respond to the times? I am noticing more extreme weather, whether from God or from global warming. That means I ready for the strange weather patterns I have seen this summer, where the Midwest was steadily hotter than Florida for a time, Iowa, Oklahoma, and Arkansas have been flooded, and a glacier three times the size of Manhattan has broken loose and is drifting. Jesus says if we can see those weather signs and prepare, we should learn how to read the times: is there fighting in families: check; is their war among nations: check; is there economic meltdown: check. Isn’t it possible that people should be turning to God more instead of putting God in second place? Do the things going on in your life make you want to lean on those everlasting arms even more, or to pull away? With all that is in the headlines in our day, does it, or does it not occur to you to prepare for the time when you will meet the Lord?  There are signs everywhere; but some people don’t even have enough sense to come out of the rain.

Jeffrey A. Sumner                      August 15, 2010