Our Gospel lesson today is really hard to hear and hard to understand. And the reason is because even though there is much truth in it, it is confusing. We often talk about and think about Jesus bringing peace to the earth – we want what Jesus brings to be peace. Many of us have found peace in the gospel of Jesus, and being human, we want to share that with those we love. We want our families and friends to experience the same kind of peace we feel when we shelter under the wings of our God. We want those we love to find strength in the power of the Lord to heal and to restore and to forgive.
But the truth is that not everyone does. There are those of us who have been touched by God in a special way. We have felt his touch, his presence, even his powerv or his healing, in some area of our life. And we know it’s real because we have experienced it. And we try to tell those who don’t know God’s touch and they just sort of look at you like you’re crazy. Their reaction tends to minimize the experience that we have had and they try to find other explanations for it, so sometimes that makes us hesitant to share our most intimate experiences of God.
Jesus doesn’t want families to be divided, but the fact is that they often are divided. I’d be willing to bet that many people have experienced some sort of strife in their family because of Christ. A man or woman who comes to church without their spouse, parents who wish their child would embrace the faith, children who wish their parents were here. There are brothers and sisters who are divided in their beliefs. Our faith should cause a difference in the way we live our lives. And that difference can sometimes cause strife in our family situations, or our work situations.
(I even remember a time after Sam and I went to Cursillo and I was beginning to be drawn in by our Lord. Mother told me one day, "Nan, don't you think you're taking this religion thing a little too seriously?" -- "Well, no, Mom, I don't..." I know she can see me now and I know she would be proud of me, but it did cause her to question me.)
Even outside of religion – two (or more) people living or working together in close quarters for any length of time – there are bound to be clashes – it’s part of human nature. We will almost never agree on everything. And so part of life is a balance in learning how to get along with others in our communities. Some of us have better examples to follow than others. I only remember my parents arguing one time, but I know that they may not have been typical.
Jesus calls us to live in a world that does not always agree with us. If we look back through the centuries, we can see over and over that people are not in agreement with one another, whether it is families, or neighbors, or villages or nations. The people in this world are often in disagreement – at odds: families arguing among themselves, neighbors unhappy with each other, cities in competition, nations at war... Just look at the international situations and even our current political situation. A lot of strife and a lot of division.
One of the things they taught us in seminary was that no matter where you go, regardless if it is a Christian organization and typically believed to be more loving, caring, accepting, and tolerant than other organizations – It doesn’t matter what you do, what you say or what you accomplish, 14% of the people there will not like you. Even with someone as special and gifted as Jesus - even he found opposition wherever he went.
Renown Episcopal preacher, Barbara Brown Taylor tells us that as Jesus set out on the road to Jerusalem, loyalty to God was to be primary, and loyalty to family had to be set aside. She suggested that to Jesus, family is defined by the one whose image you are created in, not by what chromosomes make up the cells of your body. That is why you hear Jesus talk about leaving family and home and following him. Not just on Sunday but on everyday.
I remember when our son, Andy, worked for Montgomery Wards. When they assigned him to work on Sunday, and he told them, “I can’t work on Sunday, I have to go to church.” So they gave him Sunday off. The next week they assigned him to work on Sunday again, and he told them, “I can’t work on Sunday. I have to go to church.” And they said, “But you went to church last week.” He told them, “Yeah, I go every week.”
For much of the world, church is something you do on special occasions – like weddings, funerals, baptisms, Christmas and Easter. I really feel sorry for those people, because they haven’t had the opportunity to experience the fullness of the gospel in their everyday lives – to know the love of Jesus in a personal way – to understand the power of God that makes a difference in your life – to receive the healing that is inherent in the gospel of Christ.
In today's gospel we also hear Jesus saying, “I come to bring fire to the earth…” – I misunderstood or just wasn't sure what it meant. But I now know that “fire” refers to the passion that knowing God instills in our hearts. It’s not judgment, but a blaze setting our hearts on fire for the Lord. – the kind of fire that burns and spreads from tree to tree – or person to person, house to house – that can’t be contained in a single building or area. This is the kind of fire that reaches out to others. The kind of fire that caused the disciples to go out into the world to tell the story of an itinerate preacher from Nazareth. This is the kind of fire that inspired Mother Teresa to minister to the disenfranchised in Calcutta. This is the kind of fire that inspired the people of Redeemer in Houston who wrote and made popular many of the songs that make my heart soar.
Many people in the world think that the gospel is too restricting – they don’t want rules – and some churches do put in some awfully silly rules. They don’t understand that the gospel of Christ is about relationship, not rules. It’s about how we treat each other, how we help each other, how we respond with love when those around us are hurt, are ill, are in trouble or any kind of need.
It’s about demonstrating that our God is a God nearby, who cares when we hurt, who cries with us and who rejoices with us. Our God is a God nearby, who reaches out to everyone through those who have been set on fire by the gospel of Christ. Our God is not distant or far off. He is a God who cares, who loves, who creates, who heals, who strengthens, who gives us those things we need for life. This is the God who sets our hearts on fire. This is the God we should be sharing with the world!
Jesus says, “I come to bring fire to the earth…” What kind of fire is Jesus lighting in you? Does his gospel make a difference in your life – how you live it out every day – not just on Sunday? Let his love fill you and inspire you. Once you are filled with His spirit, allow it to overflow into all parts of your life and be bold enough to share that with others you meet. Grace Church is at a crossroads and you are the ones who will decide where we go from here.
If you allow the love of Jesus to inspire you, this church will begin to grow again and to turn around it's downward spiral. But that is going to take all of us working together to bring about a change. Start thinking what more you can do to help this parish become more viable and think about who you know that can use the love of Jesus, the fire of Jesus, in their life. Then encourage them to come and hear about the love of God and what it can do for them and for their life. And together we will begin to make a difference here in church and in this tiny part of the kingdom known as Alvin, Texas. Amen.
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