August 18, 2019 (late posting)
20th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Homily
Luke 12:49-56
As much as I wanted to run the other way
I just couldn’t face my wimpy self if I ignored today’s Gospel
This is the kind of Gospel that keeps the preacher honest
Difficult…really difficult words from Jesus
-fire
-stress
-3 vs 2, 2 vs 3
Jesus is messing with the sanctity of the home and the family!
No Jesus “the family man!”
No SWEET Jesus
Gathering the children
…lamb gently on his shoulders
…lamb gently on his shoulders
No…we have Serious judgment this morning
Jesus bringing division
IS THIS MY JESUS?
A few things worth noting
This section of Luke
Is called the travel narrative
He’s on his way to Jerusalem
Things are heating up
And Jesus is stressed out…
The cross is looming
Whatever it is that Jesus has been up to
It is going to get him killed!
WE know the end of the story.
WE know the end of the story.
We know the end---but we also know the beginning
Remember back in the first chapters?
We met Mary and her now-famous Magnificat
“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior;
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed:
the Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm,
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
---sounds like a recipe for division
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior;
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed:
the Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.
He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation.
He has shown the strength of his arm,
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.
He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,
and has lifted up the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.
---sounds like a recipe for division
And then there is Simeon,
another famous canticle
after praising God he offers this prophecy 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.’
another famous canticle
after praising God he offers this prophecy 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.’
---sounds like a recipe for division
And then in his first act of public ministry
He chooses to read from Isaiah:
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
because he has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
---sounds like a recipe for division
Today’s text should not be a surprise!
Jesus is causing disruption
His is NOT a ‘peace at all costs’ kind of mission
Jesus knows that we are hard-wired to want to follow the guy who WINS!
BUT HIStraveling will end at the cross…
He will not be that guy
At the time Luke wrote this Gospel
Luke’s community was living in the aftermath
of the First---and utterly catastrophic--- Jewish Revolt against Rome.
tens…maybe even hundreds of thousands of bodies buried
And the survivors began to do what ruined communities always do
They searched for a place to put the blame
The loss of the temple was at the heart of the reflection
The community’s symbol of safety and security
Gone
Jewish citizens and soldiers
Gone
What I learned in my preparation this week
was that the leading Rabbi’s of that time
searched for a cause for the destruction of the Temple
But somehow…somehow…
They resisted pinning it on any particular group or practice
They said that the loss came about because of division and factionalism.
Jesus is clear
Division is coming
It is here
The question then becomes
What do we do in the face of it?
I believe…deeply and with complete conviction…
That Jesus shows us what to do.
On the cross
After the crowds were dispersing from the spectacle
he didn’t point fingers
he didn’t point fingers
He didn’t point to the Roman Centurians
And spew hate
Rather he raised his eyes to heaven, pleading
“Father, forgive them, they don’t know what they are doing.”
That all-embracing openness from the cross
Is...to me...the meaning of the Eucharist
The Eucharist is the sacrament
Of Jesus’ openness on the cross
And so it is THE way to counter division
Division points and separates and puts up walls of distinction
The Eucharist invites and feeds and shares
A table set for all
I believe…deeply and with complete conviction…
That Jesus shows us what to do.
The problem
Of course, is doing it
Thi text brings me up a bit short
What I do I have are three short stories
the first two show the ongoing wrestling
and the third hits on something
What I do I have are three short stories
the first two show the ongoing wrestling
and the third hits on something
1 My father sold commercial jet engines for GE
When an airline buys planes they buy the engines separately
And the biggest marketing venues for buying and selling jet engines
Are airshows. I have been with my Dad twice
When I was 12…it as amazing---all fun and games
Then I went when I was in my early 30’s
Do you know what else they sell at such airshows?
Missiles and weapons
I remember walking by these missiles and seeing the posters that told of the range and power. I mean…I’m not naïve…I know we have them in our military inventory but seeing them there---at a marketing event---I don’t know it was internally disruptive.
I don’t tell this story to make a judgment about military policy
…I have a family with deep and proud military roots.
The world is NOT the kingdom of God…YET!
The world is NOT the kingdom of God…YET!
But the disruption I felt and still feel is a sign of internal division
Most certainly caused by the Gospel
Most certainly caused by the Gospel
…A reminder of just how far we have to go.
2 A couple years ago Rob and I watched this movie called
Eye in the Sky
And at the heart of this intense drama
Was the decision to send a drone strike
to a house where a group of terrorists
to a house where a group of terrorists
were strapping explosives to their bodies
and heading off to a heavily populated shopping area.
There is the English general who has been tracking this cell for years
and finally, there is this opportunity to ‘take them out’
and all she is waiting for is the go-ahead---which nobody wants to give.
On the other side of the world
there is the rookie air force guy
…in some high-tech basement computer lab
in the middle of the Nevada desert who is asked to push the button
…and just then a little girl chasing a ball runs into the strike zone
and heading off to a heavily populated shopping area.
There is the English general who has been tracking this cell for years
and finally, there is this opportunity to ‘take them out’
and all she is waiting for is the go-ahead---which nobody wants to give.
On the other side of the world
there is the rookie air force guy
…in some high-tech basement computer lab
in the middle of the Nevada desert who is asked to push the button
…and just then a little girl chasing a ball runs into the strike zone
---And he thought he’d just join up for a couple of years and pay off his student debt…
The complexity is so unnerving…
I haven’t been able to get it out of my mind.
I haven’t been able to get it out of my mind.
I believe it is the Gospel that is to blame for my unsettledness
3 Closer to home…
On Thursday I went to the Local Baptist Church
to help Mary Ellen and the wonderful team of volunteers at the food pantry.
to help Mary Ellen and the wonderful team of volunteers at the food pantry.
I was struck
By something I witnessed
The clients are called forward by a number
…this is a matter of efficiency and keeping things running smoothly…
Number 21…the volunteer called.
She went through the line
And as her bags were getting heavier and heavier
Another volunteer stepped in to help her carry her bags
The first thing he did was ask her name
This was no grand plan…He didn’t notice a division
…he just wanted to know her name
I think he knew…in his bones: This is a Eucharistic place
A place of welcome and openness and hospitality
Where everyone is a child of God
Where is it
In our daily lives that we can meet division
Or potential division
With hospitality
With companionship
I love that word---the root is -panis which means bread
and originally the word was used to describe someone with whom one shares meals
Companionship means sharing bread
and originally the word was used to describe someone with whom one shares meals
Companionship means sharing bread
It means Eucharist
Where is it
In our daily lives
That we can become eucharist for one another
Open, inviting, gathering
…Where we can become a sacrament of Jesus on the cross?
I believe…deeply and with complete conviction…
That --- in the face of division --- Jesus shows us what to do.
Thanks be to God.
