Thoughts for the Day

Jesus said, ‘I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! I have a baptism with which to be baptized, and what stress I am under until it is completed! Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division! From now on, five in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three; they will be divided:

father against son
and son against father,
mother against daughter
and daughter against mother,
mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law
and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law'.

(Lectionary, New Revised Standard Version)

Thoughts

Are you good at avoiding doing certain things - like checking the tyre pressures on the car, or cleaning out the shed or garage, or making a phone call to Aunt Maud? Well I am! One of the things I have been really good at is avoiding certain parts of the New Testament as the basis for a sermon. So Luke 12.49-53 has been left in isolation upon the shelf, as it were. But today is the day to look at its meaning!

Jesus says three things:

1. Why He came to earth. God's people, the Hebrews, had lost their way. Jesus uses the image of fire to talk about his task. He says he comes to bring 'fire to the earth'. Fire burns, but it also cleanses, and as we know at Pentecost the flames of the Holy Spirit gave power. Like a fire we can ignore Jesus but we will perish; or we can greet Him and be cleansed and purified.
2. How He will achieve this? Put simply, Jesus will suffer death by crucifixion to save us from death. The penalty for our continual sin is death and eternal separation from God, but for those who acknowledge their sin, Jesus accepts their punishment. As a result Christians can be rescued, and reunited with their Heavenly Father.
3. The results of this? There are many who call themselves Christians, but their pride won't allow them to admit they're sinners. So Jesus says there will be divisions within families, and although we are to love one another if we cannot reconcile our faith with them we must kindly agree to disagree. But we must never stop praying for them.

This may be a hard message, but we receive it today not because we are better than anyone else, but because we know our faults and the way our Saviour has saved us.

Lord Jesus Christ,
You warned Your disciples, and us,
of the future that lay ahead
both for Yourself
and for faithful Christians.
May we never be too proud
to admit our failures and faults,
asking for forgiveness,
and for the help of the Holy Spirit
when our path is not easy
and the way gets difficult.
Amen.