Gospel text for Sunday 19 August 2019

Luke 12.49-56         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.”

He also said to the crowds, "When you see a cloud rising in the west, you immediately say, `It is going to rain'; and so it happens. And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, `There will be scorching heat'; and it happens. You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?”

Reflection        It seems we are still living in the times Jesus proclaims, end times during which division has no bounds. What if this is actually good news? What if the divisions we are experiencing are an essential ingredient of our journey with Jesus? What if the apocalyptic prophet Jesus is calling us out saying “People, this journey we are on is no cake walk. It is not about sitting on my lap like dotting toddlers. It is not about making nice with one another, professing love and worshipping me. It is not even about being enlightened by my tutelage. It is about following me. It is about exercising justice and offering amends.”

Oh dear, we know where this lands Jesus. Crosswise with everyone and nailed to a tree. Now division is driving even closer to home, drilling itself right into my heart. “Yes Jesus I want to follow you. No Jesus I do not want to follow you.” Division burgeons, within me. 

And so we join “a lawyer (confronting) Jesus. ‘Teacher,’ what must (we) do to inherit eternal life?’ (Jesus says), ‘What is written in the law? (We answer), ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbour as yourself.’ And (Jesus tells us), ‘You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live.’ (Luke 10.25-28) This is the infallible way that insures we ‘live,’ this is the way we are meant to participate in the creation of “the kingdom come.” 

But do we really love our neighbor as much as our selves? Do we insist that all sick people are cared for even at our own expense? Do we offer refuge to the frightened and oppressed foreigner? Do we feed the hungry and give shelter to the homeless regardless of how they came upon hard times? Do we protect and give preferential treatment to children and the most vulnerable even when it means paying higher taxes for education and mental health care? Do we treat people who think or vote or have lifestyles unlike ours with respect and consideration? How well do we love our neighbors as ourselves?

Jesus expected the imminent end of history as he knew it and he purposefully, even zealously, participated in the creation of a new reality. If we desire the end of history as we know it, history fraught with division; father against son, son against father, friend against friend, neighbor against neighbor, race against race, religion against religion, leader against leader, nation against nation, if we desire the end of this detonating divisiveness, it starts with us.  

We begin by admitting we could do better,  then dig into the work of living our faith. When we choose to put down our proverbial nets, walk away from our predictable lives, and act deliberately to put meat on the bones of our faith we will encounter division. People will judge and misunderstand us. Like Jesus, our families may call us crazy. Some will call us weak, others over zealous. Friends will see us as sell outs. Neighbors as outliers. When we turn our backs to the status quo and join Jesus on the way to Jerusalem, we can count on division. And, when we answer the call of the Jewish Apocalyptic prophet from Galilee we actively participate in the creation of “the kingdom come” right here, right now.

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Gospel text for Sunday 11 August 2013

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Luke 12:32-40     Jesus said to his disciples, "Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

"Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit; be like those who are waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that they may open the door for him as soon as he comes and knocks. Blessed are those slaves whom the master finds alert when he comes; truly I tell you, he will fasten his belt and have them sit down to eat, and he will come and serve them. If he comes during the middle of the night, or near dawn, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves.

"But know this: if the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour."

Reflection    Clearly Jesus is speaking to me and to you. After all, we are the ones with possessions. At the very least we have a computer (or access to one) and electricity and a place to sit and time to read and write and wonder about such things as Jesus is speaking. If you are reading this you are probably not worried about finding your next meal, or trying to remember the last time you had a meal. Clearly, Jesus is speaking to those of us who have possessions, who have more than our daily bread. Jesus is speaking to those of us who have a surplus, who have things to sell, who have enough to share with our sisters and brothers who are wondering where they will find their daily bread.

So Jesus tells the people with possessions, and us, “Do not be afraid.” This is not a zero sum game. There is nothing for you to lose when you are generous and give from your surplus. In fact, there is everything for you to gain. When you find pleasure in giving from your surplus you align your will with God’s will and with God’s “good pleasure.” This is the kingdom come.

Jesus’ parable does not accuse or recriminate people with possessions. Quite the contrary.  Jesus reminds us that the kingdom has everything to do with the nature of our relationship with God and our lifestyle. As servants or slaves we are to be alert, to receive and act on God’s counsel. Rather than store up possessions for ourselves we are to imitate the way of Jesus, we are to align our will with the will of God to be sure every person receives their daily bread. This is what gives us real pleasure.

“The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that nearly 870 million people, or one in eight people in the world, were suffering from chronic undernourishment in 2010-2012. Almost all the hungry people, 852 million, live in developing countries, representing 15 percent of the population of developing counties. http://www.worldhunger.org/articles/Learn/world%20hunger%20facts%202002.htm  

To bring it a little closer to home, some 13 million children in the United States live in homes with limited access to a sufficient food supply. http://www.lsuagcenter.com/en/family_home/family/childcare/Children_Childcare/Malnutrition+Impairs+US+Childrens+Health+Behavior+Says+LSU+AgCenter+Food+and+Nutrition+Expert.htm 

Even closer to home, in 2011 32% of the children in Phoenix, Arizona lived in poverty. http://datacenter.kidscount.org/data/tables/43-children-in-poverty?loc=1&loct=2#ranking/3/any/true/867/any/322 

Jesus teaches the disciples and us to pray to God, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done. Give us this day our daily bread.” He also teaches us to sell our possessions (our surplus) and give alms to be sure all of God’s children receive their daily bread. When we align our will with God’s will, the kindgom is come and we participate in God’s “good pleasure.” 

                           ** Image  "Daily Bread" by Reggie Duffie