We start our services by lighting a candle. It’s symbolic of
Jesus being the light of the world. I like it as a ritual, a symbol, I like the
way that our children help to focus and lead us in worship in that act each
week… It is a reminder of their importance and that God uses them to minister
to us and also of our need for a childlike faith. But after reading the passage from Luke 12
this week I couldn’t help but wonder if this candle wasn’t also symbolic of
something else… I wondered if it isn’t symbolic of the fact that we have
domesticated Jesus Christ. When we think of Jesus being the light of the world,
it is a small candle burning in the background somewhere off to a side. It
symbolises Jesus and his Kingdom fitting nicely into our suburban home and
lifestyle. In a way that romanticises it to simply being a cosy warming
reassuring glow…Peace. But here at the
end of Luke 12 Jesus says that he came
to bring fire to the earth, not a small reassuring candle glow or even a winter
warming log burner type fire, that we can fall asleep in front of with toasty
warm feet. Rather a fire that would bring division even in families. A fire
that calls us to take stock, to be aware of the times and the signs and to
settle our accounts, look to be put right with God.
We are working our way through Luke’s account of Jesus final
journey to Jerusalem, his journey to the baptism that he had to undergo: His
death on the cross and his resurrection to life again. And Luke’s account of
this journey, which takes up the central third of the gospel (ch10-19), focuses
on Jesus teaching about what it means to follow him… In the last few weeks
we’ve been exploring Jesus teaching about being faithful and wholehearted now
in light of the coming of the son of man: Both Jesus coming then but also as we
await the consummation of the kingdom of God when Christ returns. He told his
followers not to fear in the face of persecution, or worry amidst the pull of possessions and wealth because God cares for us, he will give us the words to
say, if we put first the kingdom of God he will take care of our needs. Last week
we saw Jesus tell the crowd to be ready and live ready, to keep on doing the
things that we were called to do, serving God by loving one another and loving
our neighbour. Now in a metaphor soaked conclusion, Jesus draws that all
together calling for a response calling for repentance.
All the way through Jesus teaching in Luke 12 who Jesus is
speaking to is always a critical question. We see that he oscillates between
speaking to the wider crowd and speaking to his close disciples. AS we saw last
week it got to the point that Peter himself was confused and asked Jesus was he
talking to everyone or just the twelve? But here Jesus context is definitely
the crowd, In verse 54 it tells us plainly that Jesus was speaking to the
crowd. You may remember we talked about it being like the Euro16 crowd made up
of supporters and also elements bent of disruption and violence. It was a crowd
of many thousand, a crowd unlike in earlier times that was benign here we know
it is now made up of a group who see Jesus and his teaching and actions as evil
and are simply waiting for him to trip up.
If it was in today’s digital age they want ammunition to de-meme-ise him
on social media, but for that day they want to demonise him in society’s mind.
Another group have not made up their mind but they are looking for greater and
greater signs, they want Jesus to prove himself beyond a shadow of a doubt. Maybe
they won’t be satisfied that he is the messiah till he brings peace to Israel,
but driving out the occupying Romans. Then we have those who genuinely want to
hear and know the truth about Jesus and of course his followers. This passage
acts as Jesus starting his final appeal to the people of Israel, all these
different people to respond and recognise who he is and what that means.
Jesus conclusion is in three paragraphs, three sections. In
the first he reiterates his mission, but in a way that is rather shocking and
challenging, as bringing fire and causing division not peace. Jesus then uses the image of knowing what
will happen because of the way the wind blows as a way of challenging his
listeners to recognise the spiritual climate of the time. And lastly he uses
the metaphor of the roman system of dealing with debt to call people to repent,
to settle their accounts.
Jesus starts by saying “I have come to bring fire on the
earth’ and in scripture fire can mean both judgment and the Spirit. In this
case we find both. We are not comfortable talking about judgement we view it
through the lens of hellfire and damnation.
But in scripture God’s judgment is always redemptive, God punished
Israel for their sins and unfaithfulness not to write them off or condemn them
but so that they might turn back to him and be reconciled. Fire is seen as
being a purifying force, and when it ties in with Jesus refereeing to his death
and resurrection as a baptism we see that Judgement for Jesus is identifying
with God’s judgment and making a way for us to be forgiven and put right with
God. More than that it will mean that God can send his Holy Spirit on all who
believe, who are made righteous because of Jesus death and resurrection. That
they may be a new people anew family of God and live in a new way: be people
who live out the Kingdom of God.
But this would call people to make a choice, to choose to
put their trust and faith in Jesus Christ. It would bring division and
separation even in families, and he hammers home his point here by listing so
many possible combinations. Jesus himself had said, “who is my brother who is
my mother, those who hear my word and obey them?” I had a Jewish man take us
through the Passover feast one year and as he shared his story of becoming a
follower of Jesus, a messianic Jew, he said that his orthodox Jewish family had
held a funeral for him when he told them of his new faith. A convert from Islam
talks of the look of pain and sorrow in his mother and fathers eyes each time
he came home after he had told them he had become a follower of Jesus. I think
the people of Israel were looking for a peace for themselves as a nation, but
as Paul would say in Romans as he mourned for his people, that the true Israel
was a remnant not by birth but by faith in Jesus Christ.
Jesus then turns to talk about the weather, not to make idol
small talk to ease the tension, but to make his point and ask his listeners to pay
attention to the spiritual climate. I got surprised on Thursday morning by the
thunder storm that struck about 11 o’clock you see the wind blew from the west
and my office is on the east side ofthe church so it snuck over the church without me noticing. Till the flash a lighting bolt and torrential rain.
But everyone in Judah knew that if the wind was going to blow from the west
there would be rain, the wind would bring air up off the Mediterranean and
particularly in autumn and spring it would bring rain. I was standing talking
to a farmer just out of Clinton down in south Otago, we were in the middle of a
paddock looking out towards central Otago on a very hot summers day. Black heat
clouds sat on the hills and started to move down towards us with torrential
rain. I suggested to the farmer who had just talked about his property being in
drought, that here was some rain and maybe we should head for cover. But he
shock his head and said no need it will stop right there just beyond my
property and sure enough it did… he knew the weather round that part of the
country… Local knowledge. Jesus says if the wind blows from the south you know
it’s going to be hot… because the wind comes like a furnace blast off the
desert lands. I guess a bit like in Dunedin you know if the wind blows from the
south its going to be cold… you realise there is nothing between you and the
south pole except the curvature of the earth.
The wind that blows is what is known as a lazy wind… no matter how
warmly you are wrapped up how many layers you have on… the cold wind is going
to be bothered going round you blow
right through you and chill you to the core. Jesus of course picked the rain
and the hot wind to compliment his talking of fire and the cleansing of baptism.
Then he calls those who do not acknowledge him as God’s son hypocrites, they
have a mask of religious understanding, but they know nothing. He calls them to
look again closely at hat is going on and to make a decision. For those who had written him off or were
still seeking a sign it was a call to look at his teaching and his deeds and to
see that he was God’s messiah. It’s the same for us today, we have the
scriptures, the gospels to look and see what Jesus did and said, and to see how
his early follows came to the conclusion that Jesus is the son of God, who died
and was raised to life again so we might be set free. We have the evidence just
as Jesus day did of changed and transformed lives. In my devotions this week
Niki Gumble shared the story of Billy Nolan who as an alcoholic for 35years,
for twenty years he sat outside Holy Trinity drinking and begging money,
finally he decided one morning to ask Jesus into his life and made a covenant
to give up drinking. His life was transformed
Nicky asked him one day why he
was so happy and billy replied … “I am
happy because I am free. Life is like a maze and at last I have found a way out
through Jesus Christ”. we also have the witness of God people the church to
show us what Jesus is like. It’s why things like alpha and the life course are
good tool for evangelism because they share peoples testimonies allow people to
look and ask questions about Jesus and also meet and get to know his followers.
Then Jesus Moves on to say once they have seen the times
then they need to respond. He uses the image of the roman system of dealing
with debt. That if a debt cannot be paid the person will be thrown into
debtor’s prison until they pay every penny. They usually got into that
situation because they didn’t have the means to pay and would have to rely on a
kind benefactor and family member to pay what they owed. Jesus tells the crowd
if they know what the time is they will settle their accounts before they face
the judge. He acknowledges that the judge wold be right to cast them into
prison till they could pay their debt… So they should look to settle before
they get there. Now Jesus isn’t
finishing his message with a plea from the local bank about unpaid debts,
rather he is telling them that when they see who Jesus is they need to look at
settling accounts with God. Scripture
uses the analogy of debt to talk about our sin, an when we thing of sin against
God we have a debt there is no way we could pay. We can’t work enough to earn
God’s forgiveness or favour. We can slip a big enough bride under the counter,
this judge is righteous. Once again this is a call for people to come to Jesus,
Jesus was looking with great anticipation to the fact that because of his life
and death and resurrection he is able to forgive our debt, forgive our sins,
his blood has paid the price, can cancel the debt, put us right with God, and
set us free. But says Jesus now is the time to seek that. Now is the time to
look to acknowledging that Jesus is the son of God, humbly asking for that
forgiveness. We put it off we may find it is too late.
How does this impact on us today.
The first is if you don’t know Jesus today, Jesus call is to
find out discover and see who he is and what he has done for us. Find out seek
Jesus check it out for your-self. The life course at the Landmark coming up in
September might be a good step on this journey.
Maybe you’ve been in church for a long time or all your life and you
know about Jesus but you’ve never asked him to be your lord and saviour. Now is
the time.. For those of us who know Christ when we are reminded of the good
things that Christ has done for us…His sacrifice, for our salvation, his
baptism so that we may be made clean… Who know the wonder and privilege of the
presence of the Holy Spirit, the challenge is equally to respond. It is equally
to check our balance. Not only our need for on-going forgiveness but to look at
our lives and see if this fire Christ bought this revolution of grace is simply
the candle over there in the corner , or is it the essential light that
illuminates our whole lives, all we say and do. Is it the cosy log burning fire
that warms us with tis glow and gives us a comfortable place to be complacent
and fall asleep or is it the burning fire at the centre of our passion and
love. That others might know this Jesus,
that they might experience that same grace and compassion we know in Christ,
that the world might be full of the righteousness and justice of God. The challenge of this passage is that
challenge to decide. Choose. Check your balance in light of God’s great mercy
and love. God has been faithful and wholehearted in his love for us the call of
this whole chapter has been to being faithful and wholehearted in response.
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