Sunday 7th August Luke 12 Division and fire
1st Reading: Isiah 5:1-7
Listen while I sing you this song,a song of my friend and his vineyard:My friend had a vineyard
on a very fertile hill.He dug the soil and cleared it of stones;he planted the finest vines.
He built a tower to guard them,dug a pit for treading the grapes.He waited for the grapes to ripen,but every grape was sour.
So now my friend says, “You people who live in Jerusalem and Judah, judge between my vineyard and me.Is there anything I failed to do for it? Then why did it produce sour grapes and not the good grapes I expected?
“Here is what I am going to do to my vineyard: I will take away the hedge around it, break down the wall that protects it, and let wild animals eat it and trample it down.I will let it be overgrown with weeds. I will not trim the vines or hoe the ground; instead, I will let briers and thorns cover it. I will even forbid the clouds to let rain fall on it.”
Israel is the vineyard of theLordAlmighty;the people of Judah are the vines he planted.
He expected them to do what was good,but instead they committed murder.He expected them to do what was right,but their victims cried out for justice.
This is the word of the Lord
Thanks be to God.
Gospel ReadingLuke 12:49-56
Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke
All Glory to you, O Lord.
Jesus the Cause of Division
“I came to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already kindled!I have a baptism to receive, and how distressed I am until it is over!Do you suppose that I came to bring peace to the world? No, not peace, but division.From now on a family of five will be divided, three against two and two against three.
Fathers will be against their sons, and sons against their fathers; mothers will be against their daughters, and daughters against their mothers; mothers-in-law will be against their daughters-in-law, and daughters-in-law against their mothers-in-law.” Jesus said also to the people, “When you see a cloud coming up in the west, at once you say that it is going to rain—and it does.And when you feel the south wind blowing, you say that it is going to get hot—and it does.Hypocrites! You can look at the earth and the sky and predict the weather; why, then, don't you know the meaning of this present time?
Minister:This is the Gospel of the Lord.
All Praise to you,O Christ.
Sermon
Last you will remember we had to wrestle with an encounter that showed us an aspect of Jesus that we are often unfamiliar with, his humanity as well as his divinity. And today is another passage that seems to be out of kilter with so much of Jesus other teaching.
Today he speaks about conflict. I have come to bring division he says. And yet so often Jesus emphasises peace in his teaching, love your enemies he says, peace be with you are his first words to his disciples following his resurrection.
So what’s going on here. Well I think Jesus is spelling out bluntly but truthfully, an inescapable aspect of our nature. To avoid any conflict in our lives is impossible, and sadly even in our families there are often strained relationships, hurts and disputes that separate us.
I see it so often when I visit families who are preparing for the funeral of a family member. So often there has been a past trauma, a major falling out, people unable to forgive, unwilling to admit any wrong. Sometimes coming together for a funeral can bring an opportunity for healing those relationships, but sometimes sadly past hurts and divisions are only painfully reignited.
And Jesus actually points to those relationships that are the most fractious and likely to cause friction. Fathers and Sons, Mothers and daughters, Mother in Laws and Daughters in Law.
Perhaps you have encountered one or more of these conflicts in your family. I know I have.
So broken relationships, division and hurt are an integral part of the human experience. So much of course stems from pride, or envy, resentment, or selfishness – the dark side of our nature that none of us can avoid.
We can often be drawn into conflict in other areas of life too, the team we support or our political beliefs, we’ve seen it so painfully apparent in the recent clashes between remainers and brexiteers in the recent referendum. The Labour party are currently caught up in an idealogical war, and there has been so much hatred expressed between supporters of Donald Trump or Hilary Clinton in the US.
So maybe it’s totally understandable that Jesus would also be the focus of division. His teaching challenging the self-centred nature of society – highlighting our inability to control the dark side of our nature – our need for God, his forgiveness and his purpose in our lives.
And that message of course threatens the very foundations of our lives, forces us to recognise our own weakness and sin, completely at odds with a culture that tells us that we are worth it, that we can do anything, that we have no need for God.
Jesus call on our lives is radical, life changing, and requires complete commitment. To be his disciple we can hold nothing back, because a watered down faith is of no use, to us, or to God.
That commitment is to him, to follow in his footsteps, to continue his mission to the world. It is not commitment to the church, not commitment to a comfortable inner faith that no-one can see.
Its challenging and controversial. From the very start we are told that the message Jesus brings is powerful and calls for change. He introduces this radical alternative kingdom where rich and poor are equals, where rulers reign with justice, where the proud and conceited are scattered. This is not a peaceful message, it’s not easy and it certainly doesn’t sit well with modern day listeners. This fire that Jesus speaks of requires change and that’s never easy.
Christ came to shake the world, the reality is that he DID come to bring unrest and division. He came to bring fire, a fire that burns away the dross, that reveals what really matters, that cannot be ignored. A fire that burns away the old to reveal the new. That fire is expressed in the acts of forgiveness from those who have been damaged or hurt, it comes in feeding the hungry and helping the homeless, being a welcoming face to the visitor, stepping out from our cosy groups to speak to someone else, sitting with the lonely, crying with those who mourn, rejoicing with those who have been blessed.
Fire comes in speaking out against unjust authorities, in challenging the status quo that oppresses the vulnerable, and responding to the challenge of others from outside these walls who may have a very different lifestyle and set of priorities from us. This fire means facing the world full on, not escaping from it or hiding from it.
The fire Jesus brings dares us to be different in our world, where everyone is told to be the same.
We should never seek division in our families or our world, but the message we proclaim will often be rejected or ridiculed. It may separate us from those who do not want to understand. But we should always be messengers of love and hope, being there when it matters, being there even when it’s difficult or controversial. The way to do this Paul tells us, is by letting God use us. Being honest to God about who we are and about our fears and limitations. Being honest about our failings and sin. And, by allowing his Spirit to guide us, challenge us, and transform us as we step out in faith.
These hard sayings of Jesus are only hard because they call us to live by our convictions; to walk the walk as well as to talk the talk. We cannot just hear what we want to hear. We cannot just love those we want to love. We cannot serve only those we want to serve. We cannot put our faith in a drawer and take it out in certain circles at certain times. As Detrich Bonhoeffer said, “there is a cost to this discipleship.”
So, if we want to live at peace with the world, then we can, as so many do, enthusiastically and unapologetically embrace the values of the world. It’s easier that way. But if inner peace is at all important, if our faith is to be genuine and authentic, then we need to take the road less traveled, the road where we listen to the voice of Jesus, and put his words into practice.
Amen.
Prayers of Intercession(Maureen)
Heavenly Father, we bring before you the difficulties and challenges of your Church throughout the world, praying especially for those many areas where the power of the truth of your word needs to penetrate the hearts and minds of those who live in ignorance and darkness. Where there is misunderstanding, grievances and division bring wise counsel. Teach us how to reach out in love and peace. We pray for all Church leaders throughout the world, for our Archbishops Justin Welby and John Sentamu. We pray for our own Bishops James and Robert, Archdeacon Penny, RD Gary and for all clergy in the Barrow Deanery. For
Jennet and Father Andrew our ecumenical partners here on Walney.
We give thanks Lord for the many blessings you have given us and especially for enabling us to get the necessary work carried out on our Church and Centre buildings.
Father in all the decision making problems and challenges of our Church we ask for your counsel and encouragement in all our worship and outreach, we invite you to lead us.
Lord, in your mercy
Hear our prayer.
God of love, show us our place in your world as channels of your love. You give to us your love, your grace and good things. Teach us how to appreciate all that we have by seeking to bear good fruit through our actions, attitudes and the words that we speak to one another and to do them all in love and humility. Forgive us Lord when hurts, pride and discontent get in the way of our relationship with each other and with you. Let us not forget why you hung and suffered on the cross on our behalf.
We pray for those places in your world where there is conflict, violence, poverty, hunger, starvation and cruelty. We pray for the leaders and people of countries in the Middle East who seem intent on the destruction of their lands and people. For the European countries who are burdened with the task of eradicating terrorist activities which has caused so much devastation and loss of life for so many. We pray against for forces of evil who endeavour to destroy all that stands for the truth of the gospel throughout the world.
We give thanks for our own nation, for our Sovereign Queen and for all who govern, and we pray that the many issues facing us will be resolved and that we will turn back to you, hear your voice and be a people who will acknowledge you as Lord and Saviour and who will want to live according to your will.
Lord, in your mercy
Hear our prayer.
Loving Lord, we pray for our town and community , for those who serve in local government, in our hospitals, care homes, hospice, schools, police force, Social Services and those who guard our coastline. Keep us mindful of the work they do, sometimes in difficult situations. Walk among us in our homes and places of work. We pray for the children and students as they come to the end of their holiday period. Keep them interested and safe as they prepare to return to school and college.
We continue to pray for our Mission Community and for the plans for the coming months ,praying that you will raise up the right person to become the Mission Community Leader. We pray too for the work of Pulse (YNC) and for the two new interns preparing to come here in September. Grant them safe journey and a warm welcome.
Lord, in your mercy
Hear our prayer.
Father, as the sick were brought to you by their loved ones, so we bring to you now all those whom we long to be healed.
We pray for your love to enfold them, your peace to calm them and your healing to transform them.
We pray today for: Millie Blanshard, Mary Brunton, Gordon Cooney, Doris Burns, Dot Craig, Audrey Dalton, Phyllis Fell, Marry Fletcher, John Gasgill, Eileen Hetherington, Sally & Arthur Hollis, Sandra Inchcliffe, Jim Lourie, Judith Prentice, Brian Shepherd, baby Ethan, Ann and Bob Rogers, Ann Beattie, Kath Wise and Dawn Williams.
Father, gather into your keeping for ever all who have left this life in your friendship. We pray too for those approaching death, that they may know your love surrounding them across time and eternity. Remembering today the families and friends of Connie Crossthwaite and Gordon Darling whose funerals took place this week and any whose anniversary falls at this time.Heavenly Father, we thank you for making your ways known to us and guiding us into your truth.
Merciful Father, accept these prayers for the sake of your Son, our Saviours Jesus Christ.
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