Luke 12: 49 – 59 Trouble Maker

Luke 12: 49 – 59 Trouble Maker

"I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing! There is a baptism with which I must be baptized, and how great is my anguish until it is accomplished! Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. From now on a household of five will be divided, three against two and two against three; a father will be divided against his son and a son against his father, a mother against her daughter and a daughter against her mother, a mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law." He also said to the crowds, "When you see (a) cloud rising in the west you say immediately that it is going to rain--and so it does; and when you notice that the wind is blowing from the south you say that it is going to be hot--and so it is. You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky; why do you not know how to interpret the present time? Why do you not judge for yourselves what is right? If you are to go with your opponent before a magistrate, make an effort to settle the matter on the way; otherwise your opponent will turn you over to the judge, and the judge hand you over to the constable, and the constable throw you into prison. I say to you, you will not be released until you have paid the last penny.”

Jesus days, “I have come to light a fire on the earth”. What??? What happened to the guy who spoke about not breaking a bruised reed or quenching a smoldering wick? Jesus says he has come to sow division between mother and daughter, father and son, etc. This is Jesus as the revolutionary, the incendiary. It is not a Jesus I am used to thinking about. I seem to have developed a preference for the patient, wise, loving Jesus. The one who speaks of mercy and forgiveness, love and peace. What is happening? Has Jesus just reached the end of his rope? Does he need a vacation? A few days off? I think this is his acknowledgement that what he is preaching goes against the status quo, hence father vs. son. What he is calling for is going to upset established traditions and require new ways of thinking and being. It is not easy to break people out of their habits and ask them to set up new ones – feelings are going to be hurt, relationships broken up, patterns changed. Those tied to the old ways are going to be resentful, maybe even hostile to those trying to break free of old ways and follow Jesus’ new path. Jesus knows what is in his future, what his path will cost him and his followers. He says, “How I wish the blaze were ignited. What anguish I feel until it is over!” His humanity shows through in his anxiety, but so too his disillusionment. If I look around today at our status quo, our present culture, I can see how difficult it would be to break free. I can also see how necessary it is to follow Jesus’ path. Our world, our culture is heading in a dangerous, harmful direction. Jesus closes by saying - we know better. We need to “judge for ourselves what is right”. We already know deep in our hearts what is right. If we leave it up to “the law”, to outside “judges” we have surrendered our freedom and our responsibility. Jesus calls us to live according to God’s spirit within us and not according to outside laws.