Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost, August 19, 2001 Luke 12: 49-56
Heavenly Father, empower us to do and say the right thing rather than accept peace at any price. Amen.
Title: “Peace at any price.”
Continuing his instruction to his disciples on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus expresses his burning desire that what he began at his baptism, namely, his sacrificial death, will be completed. Discord and division, even within families, will accompany the peace he brings.
Jewish literature, non-canonical and written between the Old Testament and New Testament, was replete with descriptions of the “woes” that would precede the final “Day of the Lord,” a day of judgment, separating good and evil. What is new here is that Jesus, as Messiah, would suffer those woes. In the Jewish literature there was no notion of this. Furthermore, Jesus’ disciples, the Church, would suffer them as well. This passage is both a rare glimpse into the mind of Jesus, revealing a mixture of impatience for it to happen and reluctance that it inevitably must happen, and also a warning to his disciples that the same will happen to them. Peace, his peace, does not mean the absence of conflict, discord and division. Not even families will be spared the disharmony that results when a person opts for Christ. However great salvation is, there is a personal price for everyone to pay. Those who accept Christ on his terms will suffer temporarily. Those who reject him will suffer eternally. There is no escaping God’s judgment. But, before that, there is no escaping each individual making a decision.
In verse forty-nine, I have come to set the earth on fire, fire, of course, means judgment. The image in people’s minds would be that of metal being “tested” in fire. That process results in two things. First, the impure elements in metal are separated out of the metal and removed. So, the first result is the separation and removal of evil. The second result is the purification of the good metal. It is now free from dross, pure, honestly and only what it should be. Fire, then, connotes judgment, which to the evil means destruction and to the good salvation. Jesus came for that purpose. As Messiah, he will undergo the fiery process for others, but there is a dimension of it that others also must undergo.
How I wish it were already blazing, Jesus is anxious to get on with it. His human side and, perhaps, his divine side, wants this over with.
In verse fifty, there is a baptism with which I must be baptized, back in 3:16 the Baptist described Jesus’ baptism of others as a baptism “with the Holy Spirit and fire.” What Jesus began at his own baptism is about to come to completion. As an immersion in water, baptism connotes being overwhelmed and submerged in chaos. This completion of his mission will not be a cakewalk and he knew it. Neither will it be a mere submission to fate. Jesus is freely, if not without reluctance and reservations, entering into this process of “trial by fire.”
And how great is my anguish until it is accomplished, if verse forty-nine, shows his impatience, this verse shows his reluctance. The word used, synecho, “to be dominated by a thought,” indicates a kind of preoccupation, even obsession, with the thought of what lies ahead.
In verse fifty-one, not- peace…division, certainly, Luke paints Jesus as a bringer of peace. The general tone of his teaching would support that. However, Jesus says his peace is not unqualified, not peace as the world understands it. His peace is the same as salvation, wholeness. Indeed, the result, not the cause, of his preaching, is, for those who reject him, not peace but discord and division. It is not “peace at any price” but peace at a very high price, the price of non-compromise on principles, and the price of one’s life, if necessary. Jesus lit a lot of fires by his teaching and behavior. For many, religion’s main purpose is the repetition and preservation of the status quo. Not so for Jesus. He is not the cause, however, of discord, nor is discord his purpose. The result of accepting Jesus is division, division from any and all who are not in harmony with Jesus, “at peace” with him, if you will.
In verses fifty-two to fifty-three, Jesus spells out the lengths to which this discord might extend, division within families. He alludes to Micah 7: 1-7 about the disappearance of the godly from the earth and what even families must consequentially suffer. “ For the son dishonors his father, the daughter rises up against her mother. The daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law, and a man’s enemies are those of his own household.” Micah 7:6. The verse indicates that the enmity is between the older and younger generation, without specifying which generation would be on the side of Christ. Compared with Micah 7:6 this verse gives more attention to divisions among women, perhaps an indication of the prominent roles women assumed in the church and certainly consistent with Luke’s highlighting the role of women both positive and negative. Since the church was not founded on existing human and family relationships but on Baptism and since Jesus taught that true relationship is based on acceptance of God’s word, it is consistent with his insistence on unqualified loyalty to him that family loyalty and “peace” come second. In this verse Jesus is teaching that his disciples should not be surprised to find opposition to their being Christian or to their Christian principles and practices coming from their family members. In so far as that opposition, discord and division is a result of the Christian message and reaction to it, it is a sign of the coming of the Kingdom just as are Jesus’ healings and exorcisms.
Sermon
The birth of a child is a beautiful thing- afterwards. The actual process of the delivery of a child is not a pretty thing. It is painful and it is somewhat ugly. When it is all over everybody rejoices, especially mom, but the events leading up to that moment are another story. Pregnant women can identify with Jesus’ sentiments in this text. He wants it over with, yet he knows it, the cross, the giving birth to a new creation, will hurt. That part he does not look forward to. Extra-biblical literature frequently compared the pangs of childbirth to the “woes” preceding the “day of the Lord,” the day of judgment. Jesus connects those “woes” and, indeed, all suffering, to baptism- his and ours. He will suffer for our sake, but we will suffer, too. He did the big suffering, but he tells us that that does not mean our life will be a cakewalk as a result of it. Suffering is the means to glory both for him and his followers. Jesus’ point is that suffering hurts at the time, but it is frequently a harbinger of joy, especially if we suffer with the same attitude he did, open to whatever God intends for the future.
So, he says, “Do not expect peace to break out all over all of a sudden. No, there will still be that rejection of the truth that I teach and that you preach by your lives. The reaction will still be the same. While I might get blamed for the division, especially the division among family members and friends, I am not the cause of it, but the result of their refusing my teaching. So, when it comes to a standoff between your closest relatives, and me, remember I am your closest blood relative. You have my blood in your veins.” The Lord wants us to take the same attitude towards our own family as he did his.
Every family has its troublemakers. Every family has its “prince” or “princess,” one to whom everyone else must bow, whose interests seem to always take priority. These members seem to always be causing discord and dissension, if not resentment by other members. Yet, it is considered by the family to be tantamount to a mortal sin to blow the whistle on such behavior. It is not unlike the situation in Jeremiah’s day. Those “princes” declared their principle-compromising treaties to be in the interest of “peace.” Jeremiah characterized them as “peace at any price,” and so not true peace at all, a sham or surface peace, a temporizing peace. However, there was no shortage of false prophets, party-line prophets, who would back up the “princes” and declare their policies consistent with God’s word. In fact, both the “princes” and the “prophets” blamed Jeremiah for the lack of peace, the siege of Jerusalem and the discord and dissent among the military and people. Jesus knows that this same process of blame and scapegoating goes on in virtually every family. The family member who stands up for principle, doing the right thing even at risk of offending one of the “princes” of the family, frequently gets accused of disturbing the “peace” of the family. There is a lot of pressure applied within families to continue the dysfunctional relationships within them, to keep the “peace” at any price, to never blow the whistle either within or outside of the family, to keep the family secrets at all costs.
Jesus says that we are not to let accusations by anyone, family members included, keep us from doing and saying the right thing. If such disturbs the “peace” so be it. The peace Jesus brings is not a superficial peace or a seeming absence of conflict, noise or argument. It is a profound unity based on a reality deeper than family blood. If the cost of being true is the giving up of family life and interaction then it must be paid. If Jesus’ teaching applies to our families, is there any other relationship that would be exempt? Is there any other relationship in our business life, professional life, political life, ecclesiastical life, with friends, associates, mentors, etc., which would be so important that we would compromise on principle? People of principle may sometimes feel that they stand alone, but Jesus promises to remain with them and with us. Because we are members of his church, his family, we will almost always find others of like mind and heart to also be with us and support us, others not necessarily members of our biological families, but “brothers and sisters in the Lord.” We need not fear remaining alone because we stand on and live by principle.
Being human, Jesus did not enjoy having his peace disturbed or disturbing anyone else’s peace.
Being faithful to his identity and mission, Jesus disturbed the peace when it was in his Father’s best interest or that of others.
It is not Jesus’ purpose to disturb the peace, but it is the result of people’s response to him.
Baptism transfers “family loyalty” from one’s natural family to Christ and his church.
The infighting found in dysfunctional families is caused by trans-generational sin, not by religious differences.
The Humanity of Jesus: The gospels do not dwell on the emotions of Jesus. Here and there we get a glimpse of Jesus’ emotional reaction or emotional state to a given set of circumstances. This gospel text is one of those glimpses. However, it is only a glimpse and we should be careful not to extrapolate upon such meager evidence. That said, it is clear that Jesus, as a human being, was no stranger to the gamut of emotions all humans feel. In this case, as he thought about his impending death he was ambivalent. On the one hand he dreaded the ordeal; on the other hand he wanted to get it over with. Jesus did not enjoy pain any more than we do, but he faced it bravely, even chose to accept it, because it was for a good cause and good outcome. We should not picture Jesus as playacting at being human. He felt what we feel. He had emotions like us. His life was no cakewalk. He did not suspend his humanity when it suited him. He faced pain and suffering, felt it and rose above it.
Disturbing the Peace: For Jesus and for his followers, peace is not merely the absence of conflict. We can still be at peace, certainly with the Lord, amidst great conflict. Peace is another word for salvation. Just as we are still saved no matter what the rest of the world thinks or experiences, so we are at peace and live in peace, despite all the surrounding conflicts, including family strife. Peace is not a truce or a period of quiet or not talking to others, especially family members. Peace is the presence of God, even amidst all the noise and tension conflict brings. Disturbing someone’s “peace” or that of the family may be the very thing needed to bring real peace, Christ’s peace, lasting peace, not merely temporary truce. Those who use the term “peace” for truce or cessation of hostilities in order to shame a Christian to stop standing on principle are simply desperate to avoid changing themselves and are in denial regarding the true situation. Jesus cautions us against falling into that trap. In the case of dysfunctional families, and most families suffer from some dysfunction, it is almost always the “family secrets” and the capital commandment , “Thou shalt not hang the family laundry out in public or even talk about it among yourselves,” that are at issue. Some forms of religion may either be the cause of dysfunction or encourage it, but true Christian religion is not one of them.
Purpose vs. Result: Jesus would not deny that those who chose to follow his way of life would have trouble relating to those who did not so choose. The result of being a Christian is that one stands in opposition to the values and practices sanctioned by this world, a world ruled by Satan. However, it is not Jesus’ purpose nor should it be the purpose of any Christian to deliberately cause conflict. At the same time, a Christian does not avoid conflict at all costs. That would simply be another version of “peace at any price,” really no peace at all. Enjoying conflict, argument, disagreement and the excitement and tension all that produces is a dysfunction in itself, not a Christian virtue. However, there is always a price to pay for standing on principle. Jesus paid it with his life and he warns us that we will also. He dealt with the conflicting emotions such situations caused, but the end result was peace for those willing to trust him long enough to get to the end of the road. On his journey to Jerusalem he faced the fact that not all would follow him. Amen.
