Reflection on Luke 12:49-56

Jesus does not desire to destroy you. 

Not that I ever thought that you went about your days singing, “Jesus hates me, this I know.  For the Bible tells me so.”  But, I would not fault you for pausing briefly and at least asking, “What’s going on here Jesus?” as you listen to his desire…his “wish,” as the Bible puts it…to bring fire to the earth.  So, the one who loves the whole world wants to put the world on a stick and roast it as a S’more?  Not quite.

           

Once again, Jesus does not desire to destroy you. 

That is not what this fire that Jesus talks of is all about.  Rather, if we had been paying close attention to Luke we would already know that Luke is not talking about the destruction and cataclysm of fire that we hear about in places like 2 Peter, or see in wildly destructive 15th century religious art of fire falling from the clouds.  Luke has already told us through John the Baptist that Jesus is coming with a fire of purification and refinement.

This type of fire is not one that completely and utterly destroys; rather it is a fire that melts us down and allows our impurities to rise to the top so that Jesus can scoop them off, leaving a strong metal below which he can mold and pound into a fine tool. 

We are Jesus’ fine tools. 

You are Jesus’ fine tool. 

You have been shaped by Jesus to serve him in the ways of love and justice that Luke has already outlined in the song that Mary sings way at the beginning of the story when she finds out that she will give birth to the savior.  You are being refined so that the lowly can be lifted up.  You are being melted of impurities so that things like pride and desire for wealth might be scraped away leaving only a heart for mercy.

It is this that Jesus cannot wait to do with his fire.  He cannot wait to rid the world of all that causes it to rot.  He cannot wait to kindle a fire of change so that all of the rot gets burned away.  He cannot wait to burn away greed.  He is just itching to get rid of idolatry.  He would love if exploitation of other people for the gain of a few would no longer exist.  He cares about the dehumanization of people, no matter where they come from.  It is to be no more! 

Everything that prevents the flourishing of all people and all creation needs to be burned away in a fire of repentance and forgiveness.  In Jesus’ kingdom, walls will be broken down and those who are left out will be let in.  Those who are chained up and pushed aside will be set free.  In other words, as we see in Luke 11:21-22, Jesus is determined to overpower Satan, the “strong man” so that those under his thumb might be let go.

You are being refined by the Lord our God with fire, and that my sisters and brothers is a good thing.  It allows you to let go of all that is destructive in your life.  Jesus burns it away.  Once it is gone, Jesus gives you the chance to live a new life in the love of God.

Now, do not get me wrong, burning hurts.  Just yesterday I mistakenly put my hand in a pan of scalding water in the sink, and it hurt.  With the children around, inappropriate words did not come from my mouth, but they were banging on the doors trying to get out!  But, you know what?  The scalding water got the pan clean.  It got a caked on mess off quite easily and the pan is ready to fry up something new.

Burning does hurt, especially for those of us who have a lot of impurities that need to be cleaned off. 

Right away our minds go to obvious impurities like addiction and obvious physical abuse of others.  Those impurities need to be refined for certain, but Jesus has a vision for a world that is free of much more subtle impurities also.

In all the stories of Jesus’ chastising of the powerful and deeply religious of his time, you clearly find Jesus’ desire to clean all impurities that we often, unknowingly, mistake for purity.  It is human nature to think that keeping the hated “outsider” far away from lives will keep us safe.  We think that the Samaritan is a threat (or we would if we lived in Jesus’ time).  But, Jesus reveals the possibility that the hated Samaritan is the good person and will be the one who cleans our wounds. 

We thought that “safety first” was pure and good, but Jesus shows us that it is a lie.  It can be divisive and impure and can close some of God’s children out on their rightful place in God’s kingdom of grace and forgiveness.  It needs to be burned away. 

Any well intentioned desire or action that would end up driving a good man to the cross needs to also be taken to that cross to die.  It needs to go.  It needs to be ash so that something new can rise up on the third day with Jesus. 

And, if this refining is painful for us, the followers of Jesus Christ who expect this sort of refinement, imagine how painful it is for those who do not follow the ways of Jesus. 

People do not like pain.  People naturally fight against pain, screaming and kicking and biting as the sliver is being pulled out of the finger…not that that is not a recent experience in my family.  Getting impurities out hurts and people resist.  So, yes, Jesus says that this refining will cause father to be against son and mother against daughter and all sorts of other relational mayhem as the things that people hold dear and think are good, but actually are not, are held to the fire and burned away.

It is coming.  Can you feel it? 

The time for repentance is near.  The time for a changed mind is coming as certain as afternoon storms in the summer.  You see the clouds building to the west and you feel the strong breeze and you know it is going to rain.  So too it is with God’s kingdom.  It is about to break in and you can feel the winds of repentance drawing near. 

Are you ready for God to change your mind?  Are you ready for your hardened heart to be shattered?  Are you ready for mercy to overtake your heart?  Are you ready for the winds of love to change your opinions?  Are you ready for the new life of Christ to rise in the ashes of all you once held firm and true?  Are you ready?

Let us pray,

Lord, melt the hardness of our minds.  Wipe clean the impurities of our thoughts.  Change the hardness of our hearts which push people away rather than inviting them closer.  Transform us with your forgiveness and love.  Make us clean and new.  Hear our prayers of repentance and bring us to a pure and clean life in you, the author of love, Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.