Hebrews 11:29-12:2; Luke 12:49-56
Many of you, I’m sure, have seen the movie Evan Almighty. You may remember the big set they built for it in Crozet. It tells the story of Evan Baxter, newly elected congressman who campaigned with the slogan, “Change the World.” As the daunting reality of his new job begins to hit him, though, he does something uncharacteristic: he prays to God for help. Sure enough, God, in the form of Morgan Freeman, comes to him and tells him to build an ark next to his house. It’s an absurd idea, of course, but God insists on it, hounding Evan until he finally relents and agrees to do it. At one point, feeling completely exasperated, Evan asks, “Why me? Why are you doing this?” And God replies, “Well, let’s just say that whatever I do, I do because I love you.” Well, Evan builds the boat; it eventually saves lives when a dam breaks, but along the way he becomes a laughing stock: his wife and children leave him, his position in Congress is threatened, and his life seems to fall apart all around him. On a very bad day, he prays: “God, I know that whatever you do, you do because you love me. Do me a favor: love me less.”
Sharing in God’s love is awesome in many ways, but it is not necessarily safe. Today’s reading from Hebrews, for example, celebrates the fact that we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses. But did you catch what happened to many of those witnesses? [They] were tortured, refusing to accept release, in order to obtain a better resurrection. Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned to death, they were sawn in two, they were killed by the sword; they went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, persecuted, tormented. God’s love no doubt inspired them and sustained them, but it certainly did not make life easy for them.
And Jesus does not promise to make life easy for us. Joyful and meaningful? Yes. Filled with love? Absolutely. Comfortable and safe? Not so much. I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!, he says in the Gospel today. Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. Those are tough words to hear, especially in a world that is on fire with so much divisiveness, so much rancor and hatred. What are we to make of this? No other Gospel stresses the importance of peace as much as Luke’s Gospel. This after all, is the Gospel where the angels greet the Messiah’s birth by proclaiming: Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors (Luke 2:14). But even as this Gospel focuses on Jesus as the bringer of peace, it acknowledges from the beginning that many people will resist him and fight against him. As Simeon says to Mary, This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed — and a sword will pierce your own soul too (Luke 2:34-35).
It’s
clear that Jesus wants us to live in peace, that he desires for all people to
be reconciled to God and to each other. And, as Luke records, Jesus insists that
we treat everyone with love and kindness: But
I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,
bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you (Luke 6:27). But he
knows that those who express that kind of love will sometimes face animosity.
He understands fully that his good news will cause bitter divisions because
many people will reject that good news and reject the way of love he teaches. I
don’t need to dwell much on this: I suspect most of us have experienced it. On
a personal level, we know that being loving and kind for Christ’s sake does not
guarantee that others will treat us well: sometimes it even encourages them to
treat us badly. On a societal level, those who seek to follow Christ by
advocating for the poor, calling for racial justice, or working for peace are
often vilified. The real question for us is: what are we supposed to do about
this? How are we supposed to deal with it? And I think the Gospel’s answer is
clear: we need to accept it and welcome the fire.
Fire can be destructive, of course, but in much of Scripture fire is purifying. It strengthens what is most important while burning away what is less important. Jesus tells us that we will all be purified in the fire of life. It’s one thing, after all, to be forgiving and merciful when everyone is behaving well; it’s something else to be forgiving and merciful when those around us are treating us terribly. It’s easy to stand up for goodness when people agree with us; it’s much harder to stand up for goodness when it causes others to dislike or even despise us. But in my experience, it’s precisely when embracing the values of Christ — love, compassion, mercy, peace — is most painful and costly that I most fully see how paramount those values are. Years ago, for example, when I was serving a parish in Massachusetts, a parishioner became very upset with me because of decisions I was making that she disagreed with. So she sent me a letter, easily the nastiest and meanest letter I have ever received, attacking me as a priest and as a person. It left me feeling deeply hurt and angry, and I wanted to lash out at her. But somehow, God’s grace prevailed, and I realized that if I attacked her the way she had attacked me, I would be doing nothing for the cause of Christ, nothing to further God’s kingdom. So I didn’t. I met with her and listened to her and tried to love her as best I could. But as painful as that experience was, it drove home to me that love and mercy really are what matter most. And please don’t get me wrong: I do not like the purifying fire any more than anyone else, and I fail the test all too many times. But the trials I have lived through have convinced me that I don’t want to follow the path of anger and hatred. The way of Christ is the way of love, and that is the only way that leads to life. Maybe an easy existence would still teach us this, but the fire of hard experience will most certainly brand it on our hearts. We are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses who show us how true this is, and who also assure us that what we gain is worth any pain it may cost us.
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