Sermon on Luke 12:49-56

Pastor Jennifer Garcia

Over the past few weeks, Jesus’ teachings have become scarier and scarier sounding.

We had the parable of the rich fool, where instead of being able to enjoy his riches, his life was going to end that very night. Then last week, we heard about being ready and staying alert for Jesus’ coming.

This week, we get fire and division and families fighting among themselves.And while the fire Jesus talks about here is metaphorical, I’ve seen too many Southern California wildfires to be comfortable with the image. In today’s Gospel, we see a side of Jesus that’s very different from themeek shepherd we sometimes think of.

Our reading from Jeremiah isn’t much better. It sounds nice at first: sure, God is close by—that’s a good thing! But then, God starts railing against false prophets. We even get another reference to fire. God sounds punitive and harsh here.

“How long? Will the hearts of the prophets ever turn back—those who prophesy lies and who prophesy the deceit of their own heart?”

“Is not my word like fire, says the Lord, and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?”

Our Gospel reading shows Jesus with a similar tone:

“I have come to cast fire upon the earth, and how I wish it were already ablaze!”

“Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division!”

“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?”

Yikes! This is not the God I’m used to encountering.

And still, something feels so familiar in these readings. Not God’s harshness, but the division and the deceit our readings talk about.It feels like they could be talking directly to us today.

We do have families turning against each other. We live in a politicized and polarized time. At best, holiday meals are often tense. For some, certain family members or even entire branches of the family get cut off. LGBTQ teensget kicked out of their childhood homes. Trans family members get disowned.Families are indeed divided, and people often use (and misuse) the Bible to justify it.

And as for false prophets, you can easily find someone today to tell you whatever you want to hear—whether a newscaster, a social media influencer, a commentator, a politician, a spiritual leader, or a lifestyle guru. Whatever you want to believe, you can find someone to follow.

Division and deceit are everywhere. It’s hard to discern what’s true and what’s meaningful.It’s no wonder our readings for today resonate.

But both the Jeremiah and the Luke passages remind us that God is engaged with our world. God is not far off, and Jesus wants to bring the world-changing power of God’s Beloved Community now.

Our first reading shows us that God cares when people are teaching harmful things in God’s name and won’t passively stand by. God didn’t create the world and then walk away. God is paying attention and will hold people in power accountable.

And our Gospel reading shows us that Jesus isn’t just meek and mild, and that’s a good thing, because it means we have a passionate savior who’s willing and able to turn the world upside down for the sake of God’s justice and mercy.

There’s a reason Jesus got executed. His teachings were a threat to the status quo, to the people in power, and to the Roman Empire that kept peace by the sword. It’s not that Jesus didn’t want peace, but he knew his mission would bring controversy, and he even suffered a violent death for it.

And then, there’s the Hebrews reading we haven’t talked about yet, which chronicles stories of faith throughout the history of God’s people.These are people inspired to action by their faith in God—the God who is nearby and not far off, the God who fills heaven and earth.

They participated in miraculous works, they underwent terrible suffering, they forsook earthly comforts, and they were even killed. The writer of Hebrews was encouraging early Jesus followers in a time of persecution to remain true to their commitment to the Beloved Community. They weren’t the first and wouldn’t be the last to see God’s wonders and to suffer for their trust in God.

Throughout history, the writer of Hebrews reminds us that God has been faithful to God’s people, and they have trusted God, so we can too.

I’ve never been a runner. In fact, I was often dead last in the races in the annual Girl Scout Olympicsas a kid. But somehow, even gasping for breath with a stitch in my side, no one else still running, the cheers of the crowd got me to the finish line.

Despite not being a runner, I’ve always found the end of our Hebrews reading inspiring. I love the image of the great cloud of witnesses watching all of our earthly race: from the triumphs and high fives to all of the hurdles, leg cramps, and maybe even the occasional face plant—they’re rooting for us through it all. I imagine Abraham and Sarah, Queen Esther and John the Baptist, St. Augustine and Julian of Norwich, Martin Luther and Martin Luther King, Jr., and my grandparents, and so many others looking on with pride and joy, not judging my human failures, always seeing the best in me and cheering me on, waiting to celebrate together at the finish line.

We often talk about the Beloved Community here and now and our kinship with humanity around the world, but we’re also joined with all those who have gone before us and will come after us: in baptism, at this table, and through God’s love for each and every one of us.No matter what we face, we are not alone.

And when we face challenging readings like Jeremiah and Luke today, we can remember that our God is not passive or far off. God fills heaven and earth. God meets us with passion, wanting the fire of the Holy Spirit to fill the world with God’s justice and mercy.

Just as Jesus isn’t merely meek and mild, simply being nice won’t fix the things in this world that aren’t aligned with the Beloved Community. Being nice won’t get everyone fed or stop wars or end corruption or stop pollution or reverse climate change or protect the human rights of every individual.

It's good to be kind, but that’s not the same thing as being nice. Being nice means not rocking the boat. It means holding your tongue when you disagree, because someone might not like you as much if you speak up.

Being kind means telling the truth in a respectful way. Being kind means siding with the most marginalized, making sure those with the least power are still heard. Being kind means acting from our values, even when it might cause division, even in our own families.

It’s way easier to be nice, but this world needs people who are kind, who stand for community-building values, and who are filled with the fire of the Holy Spirit.So, be kind and not just nice. God is with you every step of the way, and you’ve got a whole cloud of witnesses cheering you on.