Fire from heaven.....or What have you done with my Jesus?

"I will bring fire from heaven"

Actually, Jesus says he will 'throw down' fire from heaven.  Reminds me of all those comic illustrations with God throwing thunderbolts down on  unsuspecting people.  Kind of gives me the chills.  Which of course leads to the question, "What have you done with my Jesus?"  Where is that compassionate, calm, kind man who pulled children into an embrace and blessed them?

Just possibly our memory fails us.  Remember how Mary sang about her coming child?  He would lift up the lowly and bring down those in high places.  This coming Messiah would re-create the Divine Creation so that all could experience authentic life - a time of great shalom. That kind of re-arranging requires some heavy duty power - or in this case, fire.

What will that Great Shalom look like?  Will there be hunger?  Will some be stopped at the gate because of their race? their gender? their age? their nationality? their disability? No.  It will be the great feast where all are invited to the table to be filled with good things.

So how do we get from where we are today - to where God's great passion will be fulfilled?  Fire.  Fire is how Luke describe the Divine Passion, a passion that burns away impurities, reassures us of God's presence, and leads us away from death.  The fire of divine love is at work everywhere in the world - in the marketplace, in the temple, in our homes, at weddings and funerals and political rallies.  The Fire of God is working on both sides of any issue, any battlefield, to bring ALL people into life and peace.  Jesus' fire works on me as well as my neighbor and enemy.

This, of course, is judgment.  Systems that oppress are judged; people that oppress are judged; practices that oppress are judged - and re-shaped with the fire of divine passion.  Hunger.  Poverty.  Discrimination.  Abuse.  Our blind spots, our dead spots, our evil spots are burned off!  The power of the Divine Creator is more formidable than any opponent - just check out the empty tomb.

Jesus comes, with the power of the divine passion, to bring life to everyone - not just those we think are worthy, and many whom we think are not.  In order for there to be peace, there must be justice.  It is a justice that those who are powerful and privileged in our current system will resist.  In 1917 women who were silently demonstrating for women's suffrage were imprisoned.  In 1963 fellow citizens of African descent who demonstrated for equal rights were beaten and imprisoned.  It was all legal; but it wasn't justice.  Just look at the cross.

In our baptism, in each of our confessions, and in the challenge of daily life, we offer up to God those portions of our lives that disturb God's Great Shalom.  We offer up those portions of ourselves that bring us and others some measure of death.  We lay it all before the Divine Fire knowing that the fire which destroys, creates and the fire that creates, destroys.  We seek the Spirit's strength so we might walk in humility and gratitude, with compassion and forgiveness......all, so we might know peace.

This is the cost of discipleship.  It brings the peace that passes all understanding, a gift from Jesus.

Of course we trust! Have no fear.......

Have no fear little flock.  It is the Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

We in America tend to hear the scriptures as lessons for us as individuals.  We find it difficult to assume a group perspective (it's a cultural thing, not a criticism).  We have to work at considering what Jesus might be saying to us 'as a group' and in this case, as a faith community.

Jesus' message "Have no fear little flock" is a message which speaks to us as members of the body of Christ. It acknowledges that, even as we turn towards Jesus as individuals, we are also now members of Jesus' 'flock' joined together through the Holy Spirit around the presence of the risen Jesus.

As Jesus makes his way towards Jerusalem in the gospel of Luke, he gathers the crowds close for teaching, to prepare them for those days when they will be the carriers of his message of hope.  These words are for the church that was yet to be formed.  Have no fear.  There is nothing easy about that commandment.  First century believers were to face persecution and death with a courage we can only imagine.

Letting go of our fear.  Trusting only in God.  Allowing the power of God's love for us in Jesus to cast out our fear - this is hard work.  It is no easier for our communities of faith in the 21st. century than it was for that faithful band of believers in the 1st century.  They faced the power of Rome as an oppressed people.  We face a shifting society where American culture has pronounced organized religion and whatever spiritual life it offers as 'irrelevant'.  We watch our communities of faith shrink and find it hard to talk about our faith with new generations. We worry about the future of our congregations; we fear their death.

What did the earliest believers do when faced with not just the death of their communities, but their own death as well?  They prayed.  They shared a meal of thanksgiving.  They told one another the stories of Jesus.  All this so they might find the courage to trust when the future seemed impossible.

Let us pray for one another in our fear.  Let us pray for insight and courage to step forward.  Let us share the living bread at the communion table.  Let us tell one another the stories of God's love for us in Jesus - so we might find the courage to be faithful and to trust, that the future of our congregation is in God's hands - the very one who in Jesus said,

Have no fear little flock.  It's the Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. 

What exactly makes the world go 'round?

The old song tells us it is 'love' but I think it is fear. The root of most of our decisions is fear.

We buy a home in the suburbs out of fear of the violence in the city.
We get education so we can get a good job out of fear of living hand to mouth.
We put money in our retirement accounts out of fear of running out of money before we die.
We eat kale out of fear.......well, I have no idea why we eat kale.

And yet!  For some, a simple trip to the local WalMart to buy school supplies turns deadly.  For a 13 year old boy the decision to not remove his cap during the national anthem ended with a complete stranger slamming him to the ground and fracturing his skull.  Add to that the reality that
......some of us will run out of money.
......some will be overwhelmed with medical debt.
......some good jobs will disappear overnight.

On that day when our lives are measured not in years but in the number of breaths we have remaining we will not want to hear how the Dow Jones Industrial Average did that day, nor what the latest medical tests reveal.  We will want to have our loved ones close by and to hear these words

Have no fear little flock.  It's the Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

It is an unqualified promise made to us by the one who from the very beginning of the story has coaxed the beloved creation to give up its fear and to trust the Divine Creator.  This is a promise made by the God who manifest faithfulness to Israelites through manna, quail and water in the wilderness.  This is the promise made by our Lord Jesus as he took on flesh, healed dangerous diseases, repaired the breech in communities and emptied the tomb.  

Have no fear little flock.

And yet!  We pile up our bricks of gold and build bigger barns knowing that when our breath fails we will jettison all the stuff of this world and seek the face of the one who has implored us to trust.

Henri Nouwen wrote, "You have a short time - 20,40, 60, 80 years - to discover and believe that you are a beloved child of God. It is a short opportunity to say to God 'I love you too.'"

Jesus speaks to his 'little flock' of disciples - both the 12 and the larger crowd that has gathered around him.  At least one of the 12 was overcome with his own fear.  Many of the larger flock fled from any association with his name.  Jesus preached love in the face of fear then, just as he reaches out in love today.

Have no fear little flock.

The Good Shepherd calls.

The problem with the wealthy

I recently read that people define 'wealthy' as anyone who has more money than they do. This could include those who have impressive "toys" or even those who don't have to worry about paying the rent or buying groceries.

To someone who can't pay the rent reliably each month, I am wealthy.  To me, someone who can maintain two homes without financial strain is wealthy, although even I recognize that these folks are just moderately better off than I am.  The truly wealthy don't even think about money.  Ever.

Which is exactly the situation in which what the rich man in Luke's story found himself.  He was overwhelmed with wealth in the form of an over the top bumper crop requiring the building of additional barns to hold it all.  He was set!  No worrying over next year's harvest.  No skimping on bread baking.  In fact, if the harvest was sold judiciously, he could 'eat, drink and be merry' which is exactly the conclusion he arrived at.  Many a business owner would probably have made a similar decision.

And yet!  That very night, his 'soul was required of him' or to put it bluntly, he died.  Now who was going to get all that grain?  What good did it do him in the last analysis?

Perhaps you are of the persuasion that a punitive God struck him down because of his decision.  I won't argue with you but the scripture does not say that, and that interpretation misses the main point Jesus is making throughout this section of Luke.  Jesus isn't worried about how much you have; Jesus is concerned about how you decide to do what you do with all that wealth.

Are your values God centered?  Are you a part of bringing in the kingdom by being a part of the mercy, grace, forgiveness, healing, invitational, generous kingdom which is breaking out wherever Jesus is?  Have you been turned upside down and inside out by the mercy of God in Jesus?

Is your wealth your security or is it your Lord, Jesus?  Are you honoring the transient and dishonoring the Divine?  Are you hoarding the transient and ignoring the Divine?

Our rich farmer could have purchased burlap bags, filled them with grain and given them away, thus orchestrating an abundant harvest for the whole village.  He could have sent every farm worker home with double his wages and shared his bounty.  He could have set up a storage unit for the whole community as a hedge against the famine that was sure to come at some time.

Instead he kept it all for himself and thought himself safe from hunger for years to come.  He was secure.  He could relax.

He would turn to God another year.  Or not.  Jesus warned him.

Oh yes.  What is the problem with the wealthy?  No one thinks they are truly wealthy; no one sees himself in the story of the man with the barns.  Everyone thinks that next year they can turn to God.

Jesus warns us as well.

When you pray, say.......

When you pray say "Father".


It gets personal from the first word.  No mistaking it.  When you pray, don't send your words flying off into space to be gathered in by some mysterious anonymous being.  When you pray, say "Father".

"Hallowed be your name". Hallowed - holy.

This endeavor in spiritual practice takes place in holy space, with the holy one.  Nothing casual happening here.  Which leads me to believe that the words about to be spoken (even if not aloud but only in your heart or head) are holy words.  Your words are uttered into holy space, attempting to reach out to the holy one.  Perhaps it is a good idea to pay attention to what you say.

Whatever this thing called prayer is......it is holy. One might also call it a gift: an invitation to step into holy space. 

Perhaps that is why folks gather such strength from the practice of prayer, for in the midst of all that is not holy in our lives, we are invited into this one space to be surrounded by the holy.  Perhaps that is why in the midst of deepest darkness, on the worst day of your life, when even breathing becomes an act of will, when no words will form on your lips or in your heart, the holy One is listening for the message the Spirit gathers for our sake. There we can know just a modicum of rest.

Perhaps.  For me it is trusting that whatever is mine, is not mine alone.  The Holy One is there.  The Holy One is there.  The Holy One is there.