Truth or Consequences
(Luke 12: 49-56)
Raising kids is challenging, especially if they are smart. Of course, we all think our kids or grandchildren are smart but there are those occasions when they do something that leaves you scratching your head wondering what was going through their minds. Teresa and I have always considered ourselves good parents, even now when both kids are grown adults, and we think that the key to our level of success was treating them more and more like adults as they got older. For me, raising teenagers was a lot like practicing criminal defense as an attorney, telling my clients that if they couldn’t do the time then don’t do the crime. Our son put us to the test a couple of times. Once was when he did something at school he was given the choice of receiving pops from a paddle, what we called the “Board of Education,” or a day of Saturday detention. He weighed the options of pain versus inconvenience and opted for the pops. We were opposed to the football coach’s aggressive use of the paddle and made our son do a day of detention. Another time was when he wanted to do something he knew we wouldn’t approve of and asked us what the punishment would be should he do something he knew wasn’t right. Nah, that’s not the way it’s done. Take your chances and see what happens. I guarantee you will not like it. You know the truth, what is right, and here are the consequences should you choose poorly.
And that’s where we find ourselves in today’s scripture reading from Luke’s gospel. Up to this point Jesus’ ministry has been focused on getting the Truth out to anyone who will listen and now he seems to have reached the point where he’s saying that you know the truth, ignore it at your peril and be prepared to suffer the consequences. For a guy that has been exuding peace, love, and gentleness this may seem out of character and harsh, but sometimes you do have to lay out the consequences for ignoring good advice. It’s good advice for a reason.
The twelfth chapter of Luke’s gospel starts out with Luke telling us that a large crowd had assembled to hear Jesus speak. He takes this opportunity to issue a couple of admonishments. He warns against greed and wants them to understand that a person’s life isn’t determined by one’s possessions, your stuff, even when they are very wealthy. It’s what you do with what you have that counts. That’s as true today as it was two thousand years ago. Once bitten by the greed bug you can’t get enough and will do anything you can to keep what you have and get more, and sometimes stooping to shameful lows at the expense of the poor and powerless. He then warns against worry which, for many of us, is easier said than done, especially in light of the economic doom and gloom we see on the evening news with fears of inflation, rising costs for food and merchandise, and the threat of a looming recession. We’ve worked our entire lives for what we have and don’t want to lose it now. Or maybe we’re just starting out and can’t seem to get ahead with one step forward and two steps backwards. Jesus wants us to remember that there is more to life than food and clothing and that worry can’t add a single moment to our lives. He says that if we desire his kingdom then all these things will be given to us, reminding us that where our treasure is, there our heart will be too. He tells those listening to be prepared for service and to keep their lamps lit. He urges them to be like the servant who waits for the master to return home, as in don’t be caught napping. Happy are those he finds alert. And in verse 48, just before he transitions, he says: Much will be demanded from everyone who has been given much, and from the one who has been entrusted with much, even more will be asked. When you think about that statement, it’s kind of scary. For me, I believe that over the course of my life, I have been given much, and I think, so far, I’ve been able to complete the tasks assigned to me by the Holy Spirit. I also believe that I have been entrusted with much which is an awesome responsibility, and I’m left wondering what more will be asked. Probably something we should all contemplate.
That being said, Jesus transitions to the point he’s been waiting for some time to make to those who up to this point have been engaged in a passive-aggressive campaign to discredit him and derail his ministry. There were those in the crowd dissecting his every word trying to find fault with his preachings and teachings, the religious conservatives who liked things just the way they were, and those who were opposed to change when it disrupts their comfortable status quo. He proclaims I came to cast fire upon the earth. How I wish that it was already ablaze! I’ll bet that got their attention. It’s almost as if he’s issuing a declaration of war, a challenge to the powers that be. He says that there is a coming baptism he must experience, referencing his impending crucifixion, and how distressed he is until it is done. I can just see Jesus locking eyes with a couple of the Pharisees in the crowd when he says: Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, I have come instead to bring division. Well, that had to have gotten their attention, especially with people in the crowd turning to look at them. How dare he! He says: From now on, a household of five will be divided—three against two and two against three. Father will square off against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, and mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law. You can just hear the murmuring in the crowd as they consider this startling pronouncement. He’s saying that there will be disagreements among family members regarding the Truth and there will be consequences. Families will be split apart and become estranged from one another. And these divisions over the Truth of Jesus Christ will spill out of the homes into the community, into churches, into the workplace, into politics, and everyday living to the point it becomes cancerous. And then, to add insult to injury, Jesus calls out the hypocrites when he says they can look at the signs and predict changes in the weather, but they can’t see the signs of the coming present time and interpret them. Jesus has just thrown down the glove challenging them to prove him wrong. Proving him wrong is the furthest thing from their minds. Silencing him is what they desire.
Jesus just revealed that the fact of his coming often results in conflict. You are either with him, or against him, and because of the way we’ve been interpreting and misinterpreting his teachings for centuries there are great divisions. Religious wars and persecutions have been waged over whose interpretation of the Truth is correct and whose is blasphemous. Families have fallen out over religious differences, especially when a member marries someone of a different faith or denomination. Our own United Methodist denomination just suffered a split over whether or not God approves of same-sex relationships and gay clergy serving in the pulpit. And these splits have spilled over into public education with State Legislatures passing laws mandating religious prayer in the classrooms and the posting of the Ten Commandments in public schools causing debates over who chooses the prayer and the exact text of the posters. And now we see the rise of White Christian Nationalism and their attempts to infiltrate governments on all levels, rewriting not only American history, but the interpretation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ which they consider too woke, waging war on the poor, and especially those who don’t look like them, speak like them, vote like them, pray like them, or love like them.
We often fall into the trap of believing that Jesus was this sweet little boy born to a virgin in a stable who would one day bring peace, love, joy, and freedom to a world in want, and yes, he did, but we often forget that he was also a disrupter sent by God to challenge the status quo that was doing more harm than good. That was just as much a part of his mission, to cause disruption in the way things had always been done. It makes one wonder where 21st century Jesus be today, where would he go, who would he challenge, what would he disrupt? And, as his followers, what would we do? Our calling is to not only be fulfilling our Christian responsibilities when Jesus returns, but to doing all we can to resolve these divisions, even if it means we have to first be disruptive. Yes, I know it is hard, and we are dealing not only with unbelievers, but also with those who have twisted the Truth for their own benefit, their own belief systems, their agendas, and their own advancements. That’s where Jesus would want us being disruptive. As Followers of the Way of Jesus Christ, we understand the incompatibilities between us and the unbelievers, even within our own families, but we must seek to settle these differences before the day of judgment when we are either on the side of Truth or suffer the consequences. It is a matter of life or death.
Let us pray.
Gracious and loving God, we thank you for the Truth of your Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ that shows us the way to you. It is so simple and uncomplicated, yet there are many among us who want to make it more than it is, those who want to bend it to serve their purposes, those who are too busy leading lives on their terms and find the teachings of Jesus inconvenient. Prepare us so that we may prepare others because soon and very soon we are going to see the King. In Jesus’ name, we pray, Amen.
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Truth or Consequences
We often forget that Jesus was also a disrupter sent by God to challenge the status quo that was doing more harm than good.
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