Now for the Hard Stuff

Sermon by: Rev Mary Alice Mulligan, Ph.D.

Scripture: Luke 12:49-56

Last Sunday we heard one of the most uplifting passages in the whole Bible: “Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” Following those sayings, Jesus tells a parable about God’s expectations that we do what we are able to do according to what has been entrusted into our care. This is very loving guidance. But then Jesus lets loose with some really hard sayings, which is what you will read today. One of the commentators said, “This lectionary text consists of eight of the toughest verses in Luke’s Gospel. The language of division rather than peace, the strident tone of judgment, and Jesus’ accusation that those in the crowd are ‘hypocrites’ can be off-putting to visitor and church elder alike.”(1) Gird up your loins and read Luke 12:49-56.

Today’s passage could almost begin, “Be afraid, little flock; be very afraid. Division is coming.” Things are about to get very tough. Look at the bulletin covers. Last week, frolicking lambs, not a care in the world. And today, dystopian nightmare. Not only society, but family and church connections will rupture. Strap on your helmet and knee pads, friends. Jesus says, the situation requires you to develop the faith of a grown up. So, what happened to the lovely ideas from last week’s passage? “Do not be afraid, little flock.” Didn’t we learn God was pleased to give us what we need?

We love God’s grace. The biblical passages expounding how divine mercy is pouring out on everyone are passages we could listen to all day, every day. For many of us, God’s merciful forgiveness of all we have done, is our favorite part of the Christian faith.

In July, I loved preaching the parts of Colossians claiming salvation in Jesus is for everyone and we do nothing. And wasn’t last week terrific, hearing how pleased God is to give us the Realm? Our Heavenly Parent, almighty and infinitely loving, pours out mercy on all of us. With divine generosity, we receive all we need for living fully in God’s abundant blessings, now. Life – full of joyous acceptance and extravagant serving.

In worship, when we catch a glimpse of what God is eagerly sharing among us, many of us almost effervesce with holy delight. On the Sundays we hear such passages, sometimes while I’m preaching I can barely keep my feet on the floor I feel so lifted up with glory. The same overflowing elation can happen with music. Some Sundays, when Bruce moves us into worship with the prelude, we can sense God’s presence so powerfully we get swept up in glorious reverie. It’s almost scary. The fullness of the Holy Spirit, erupting throughout the whole sanctuary, almost stopping our hearts. God’s goodness, pouring out on humanity, is stunning. We love reveling in God’s grace.

But the Gospel is difficult, too. Christ calls people to live according to the purposes of God, which clash dramatically with the “big fish get ahead by eating little fish” practices that are all around us. When Jesus gives these hard sayings, he knows he has a crisis coming. Remember, he has “set his face towards Jerusalem.” Opposition looms ever fiercer, yet he continues to challenge local powerbrokers. The baptism he predicts is not some cooling dip in the river. He may not know exactly that a Cross awaits, but he knows he will be baptized with painful hostility. But saying he came to bring fire to Earth is also is a word of warning to disciples; they too will be opposed. Early Christians were martyred for their faith.

But where’s the fire today? For several hundred years, being a Christian in the US has been pretty easy. How should people follow Jesus today in ways that are not merely following social conventions? During the 1980s, many people realized society treated persons with AIDS as if it were leprosy, and how did Jesus treat people with leprosy? With extravagant compassion. So some few churches reached out with compassionate support, organizing rides, visits, meals, love, money, and companionship, back in the day when an HIV diagnosis was a death sentence and those who cared for people with AIDS were called names and ostracized.

Jesus predicts that in addition to conflict happening in society, it will erupt in our families. A few years ago, an older man realized he wasn’t as sharp as he used to be, so he asked his daughter to double check his checkbook each month. At the end of the first month, she warned him that he was giving way too much money to the local church and denominational projects. They had strong words over his stewardship. He reminded her he had always given tithes (a tenth of his income) and offerings to God. He pointed out that he lived alone and had few needs; each of his children lived comfortably. He could happily increase his giving. They did not come to an agreement, but the daughter did not have a vote in the matter. The tension remained. It’s true. Faithfully living according to the teachings of Jesus still costs. Following the Gospel of Jesus is difficult.

So the question is: Are we up to the challenge? Can we be faithful to the Gospel of Jesus Christ? The Gospel is not merely confessing belief in Jesus; not merely putting some money in the plate or trying to be a good person. Instead, we have to ask: what new place is Jesus calling us to?

Lots of Christian language is in the American atmosphere, but we need to find the voice of Jesus through the cacophony of noises merely claiming to be Christian. Putting $50 in the plate when All Faiths Food Bank is the monthly mission is not completely what Jesus means by feeding the hungry. Otherwise, why would he warn that families will actually divide because of what he asks? The passage reports Jesus’ saying he does not come to bring peace, but division. Jesus is calling us to get serious about the needy, so of course our family members will get riled if we actually get sacrificially serious about our faith Jesus Christ calls us to radical living, which includes visiting the lonely and praying with those who are spiritually lost, but he also calls us to generously attend to those who do not have life’s basic necessities.

The ancient prophets of LORD Yahweh spoke time and again about justice for those who were poor. In 20th century terms, the prophets’ major theme was economic justice. And we know Jesus spoke more about money than any other topic. In the U.S. the rich are getting gluttonously richer while the poor are sinking lower into poverty. Oxfam reports that the world’s 10 richest people more than doubled their wealth in the first two years of the pandemic (which means $15,000/second of those 2 years) while 99% of people watched their income fall and over 160 million more people were forced into poverty. (2)

Former President Jimmy Carter said, “If you don’t want your tax dollars to help the poor – then stop saying that you want a country based on Christian values, because you don’t.”(3) Tens of thousands of children in the United States are malnourished; parents skip meals so their children can eat something; whole families are doing without dental care, air conditioning, shoes that fit. No wonder Jesus says “I came to bring fire to the earth.” When so many of his precious children (young and old) are suffering in poverty, we either do something more, or we are only pretending to follow Christ.

This is tough stuff. When people are hungry, I imagine Jesus is furious. So our lives need to change. How we spend our money; how we vote; what organizations we support; and where we put our energy in society. Christians are called to act in ways that put power against those forces which keep children hungry and families living in poverty. Poor people receive special attention from Jesus. The only question for us is: Are we ready to be faithful to the Gospel?

1 Patricia Lull, “Pastoral Perspective,” Proper 15, Luke 12:49-56, Feasting on the Word, Yr C, vol 3, 358.

2 Oxfam report, published Jan. 17, 2022. Oxfam notes that Forbes lists these 10 richest people as Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Bernard Arnault and family, Bill Gates, Larry Ellison, Larry Page, Sergy Brin, Mark Zuckerberg, Steve Ballmer, and Warren Buffett.

3 Facebook quote from Carol Edwards’ page.