[Propertalk] Fwd: [propertalk.topic] Sermon for Proper 15C

[Joe Parrish]

Forwarded: 



-----Original Message-----
From: Judy <judy_boli at ecunet.org>
To: Propertalk <propertalk.topic at ecunet.org>
Sent: Sat, Aug 13, 2016 9:59 pm
Subject: [propertalk.topic] Sermon for Proper 15C



Dear Friends,
 
This Sunday’s sermon is entitled ““Fire- Use It!” or “PeaceKEEPERor PeaceMAKER?” or “May my heart be broken by the things that break the heartof God!” (Bob Pierce) and deals with the gosple (Luke 12: 49-56).  Here it is: 
 
What a strange Gospelreading!  Remember the old song thatgoes, “I don’t want to set the world on fire. I just want to start a flame in your heart.”  Well in the Gospel we hear Jesus say that heHAS come to set fire to the earth.  Hethen goes on to talk about divisions between people who love each other.  He finally says we act like experts, but wereally don’t know what’s going on right now in terms of the really importantstuff.  What in the world is he talkingabout?
 
Let’s first look at hisstatement about having come to set fire to the earth and wishing it werealready on fire.  We can tease out hismeanings by looking at three functions of fire. Do you know anyone who works or worked at a foundry? What’s the basicjob at a foundry?  Molten steel is heatedto an extremely high temperature.  Why dothey heat the metal to such a high temperature? Sure, to burn out the impurities. Fire is frequently used in scripture as a cleansing agent.  So when Jesus says he wishes the world werealready on fire, he is saying how he wishes his precious children (and we areall his precious children) would be purified of our sins and those things thathold us back from real life.  So when youcome to the altar to receive your Holy Communion, and then every night thisweek- examine your life.  What sins, whatnegative attitudes, what fatalistic beliefs, what bad habits, whatself-defeating behaviors are you still holding on to (or perhaps they areholding on to you- like a burr).  Get ridof them (like the book of Hebrews says). It’s much easier if we do it ourselves, instead of waiting for life totorture us with them and for God to finally have compassion and burn themaway.  In pioneer times, occasionally theentire camp would be threatened by a prairie fire- burning grass advancing- noplace to hide, couldn’t outrun the flames, what could they do?  After the loss of many lives, pioneers finallydiscovered that if they purposely burned a fairly large area of grass, when thefire advanced, they could stand in the middle of the burned-out area.  Because the fire had no fuel in this areasince the fuel was already burned up, the fire skipped those terrified peopleand jumped on to another area.  We can belike those resourceful pioneers.  We canburn out our own imperfections so neither life nor God’s consuming fire has todo it for us.
 
Another use of fire and theheat that comes from it is to melt metals so they can be molded into thelikeness chosen by the artist.  Rememberhow the children of Israelgot tired of waiting for Moses to come down from Mount Sinai with the Ten Commandments, so they decided to make their owngod?  Remember how they heated the goldfrom their earrings and other jewelry to make the golden calf?  Our Artist, our heavenly Father-Artist callsus to get rid of all those idols of ours and throw them in the purifying fireof his love, then be molded into the likeness of Jesus.  You can’t be like Him if you don’t knowHim.  Read his word.  Sing His songs.  Receive his Body and Blood.  Mean it when you sing, “Lord, I want to belike Jesus in my heart.”
 
The final use of fire inscripture that I’d like us to meditate on this morning is easier understood ifwe transpose Jesus’ words a bit so they say, “I came to set the world onfire.”  The best example I could think ofwas when Jesus drove the money-changers off the porch of the temple.  As you recall, they got rich two ways.  They charged exorbitant prices for theiranimals so pilgrims (many of them poor) could offer the required sacrifice whenthey finally made it to the Jerusalemtemple.  They also charged ridiculousprices to trade the unacceptable Roman money for Jewish money so people couldpresent their gifts to God.  I’m sureJesus could no longer stand the cheating, the misuse of travelers who had comelong distances, the injustice toward the poor, so he “lost it” (or looked likehe “lost it”) and drove them out.  What injusticeriles you?  Which acts of meanness annoyyou?  What cruelty, teasing,name-calling, misusing, abuse have you decided you will absolutely no longertolerate?  Bob Pierce, founder of WorldVision, had a prayer that I wish every one of us could claim as our own.  He said, “May my heart be broken by thethings that break the heart of God!”
 
Dr. Tony Evans of UrbanAlternatives says, “Your ability to love faces its hardest test when the onesyou are trying to love throw stones at you.” His statement gives us insightinto how to handle the divisions Jesus talks about.  How is it possible for this Jesus who talksabout divisions in today’s gospel be the same Jesus who says in Matthew,“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called God’s children?”  First of all, Jesus was simply warning hisdisciples of the reality they would face if they stuck with him.  Remember, those early Christians were killedby the sword, turned in by family members, torn apart by lions, burned at thestake.  In fact, probably the onlydisciple who did not suffer martyrdom was St.  John, and he was imprisoned for life on anisland.  Jesus was just warning hisbeloved disciples of what their life would be like if they stuck with Him.  However, there’s more to it than that.  There’s a significant difference betweenbeing a peaceKEEPER and a peaceMAKER.  ApeaceKEEPER simply keeps the peace, covers up injustice, smoothes problemsover, keeps the lid on.  We are notcalled to be peaceKEEPERS, but peaceMAKERS. A peaceMAKER knows there can be no peace without justice, so s/he speakstactfully, but honestly.  Mostly, apeaceMAKER speaks up- sometimes when it annoys other people.  One of the best examples of this kind ofspeaking reality is the child in the story, “The Emperor’s New Clothes.”  Remember, it is finally the child who has thenerve to point out the reality- that the gorgeous new clothes, positivelycommented on by everyone, paraded as the latest style, are not there.  The clothes are a hoax, and the emperor isnaked!  Do you speak up againstunfairness, racism, injustice, teasing, misuse or abuse?  Do you speak up or simply talk about itlater?
 
Here is my prayer for you:May you allow God’s purifying love, like the smoldering steel in the ladle, toburn away all your impurities.  May youallow God to mold you into the likeness of his Son.  May you share with Jesus in setting the worldon fire with God’s compassion and justice. May you be a peaceMAKER who speaks up for God and good.  And may the things that break the heart ofGod break yours and mine also.  Justbefore we read the gospel, we sang: “Spirit of the living God, fall afresh onme.  Melt me. Mold me.  Fill me. Use me.  Spirit of the living God,fall fresh on me.”  May we make this ourprayer.  Amen.
 
For anyone who isinterested, this sermon and updated African-American wisdom statements areposted on our parish’s web site under “Sermons & Stuff”. The address is: http://www.stpaulsepisag.org .
 
Blessed preaching,
Judy Boli
St. Paul's Episcopal Church
Saginaw, Michigan

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