The Fire of Christ
Sunday 14th August
Jeremiah 23.23-29; Hebrews 11.29-12.2 and Luke 12.49-56
“I’ve lost everything”, says resident of Wennington when fire ripped through homes. Witnesses described fires that engulfed homes and fields as being ‘like the apocalypse’. So ran the headline in the i newspaper a few weeks ago following the wildfires that sprang up around the country. People reported the incredible speed with which the fire spread, with families scrambling to get themselves out of their homes, sometimes only with their pets and what they stood up in. A terrifying picture and one none of us would want to be part of. The fires destroyed everything that stood in their path.
Today’s gospel reading seems particularly poignant in the light of the extreme temperatures we have been experiencing. Jesus says, “I have come to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!” And there is an echo of it in the Jeremiah reading: “Is my word not like fire, says the Lord, like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?” Scary stuff. And what are we to make of this?
These are hard words. They seem a world away from the Jesus we are more familiar with, who loves us unconditionally and teaches everyone to love their neighbour. He talks now about coming to create divisions in families. Disturbing rather than bringing peace. It’s no wonder we feel uncomfortable.
If we look elsewhere in scripture, we find more references to God’s presence being like fire: God appeared to Moses in the burning bush; he led the Israelites through the wilderness as a pillar of fire by night; tongues of flame appeared on the heads of the believers at Pentecost, to name just a few. So fire is very much part and parcel of how God is experienced.
Fire in this gospel passage however seems to be the harbinger of division and disruption.
What is going on here? We are at the stage in Jesus’ life when he has turned to face towards Jerusalem. He knew what awaited him – the cross and a painful death. He means business. Is this partly frustration on his part at how slow they were to understand? He accuses the crowd of hypocrisy, for understanding the signs of the weather but not knowing how to interpret the signs of the times. And he longs to see a better world. A world more in tune with heavenly rhythms. A world that recognises the coming of the kingdom of God.
So what was this fire he was talking about?
I want to suggest two aspects for us to consider:
As we have seen very recently all too keenly, fire burns up pretty much everything in its path. It consumes whatever it touches. There are a few things that do not burn up – some metals including silver and gold. Fire is used to refine gold, burning off the dross in the process and leaving the pure metal behind. The more refined it is, the more like pure gold it is. And in scripture talks about God being a refiner’s fire. Malachi talks about God purifying the descendants of Levi until they present offerings to God in righteousness. We often think, and rightly so, of ourselves being refined by the fire of God’s love.
So, in the kingdom of God when it comes in all its fullness, all the dross will be gone and what will be left? All the injustices will be burnt off. All the hurts and pains will fall away. All the abuse and violence will be burnt off. And only the good and pure and lovely will remain. And I wonder what dross from today’s injustices would be burnt off if this were to happen now… What would happen to the record profits being made by energy companies while soaring fuel bills put many into fuel poverty? What would happen to the soundbites from politicians keen to pander to the whims of the people? What would happen to the promises made to curb climate change that get kicked further down the road every year?
Which brings me to my second point… the fire that Jesus brings to the earth is a fire of action. A fire in your belly. If we are sitting here agreeing with our heads to the good news of Jesus’ love for us yet are not changed by it, we are missing something. The love of God is so vibrant, so all-encompassing, so alive, so freeing that it fires us up, moves us to take action, causes us to stand up against injustice, to love the person that we found ourselves unable to love before. It changes us.
This is how and why it causes division and disrupts families. We are no longer the same person we once were. The refining fire of God’s love powers us forward.
There is a quote that says: the gospel comforts the disturbed and disturbs the comfortable. If we feel too comfortable in our faith, we need to come closer to Christ.
And if all of that feels too out of reach – after all, we are not all Martin Luther King or Mother Theresa -
then let’s remember that a candle flame is a form of fire. The candle we receive at baptism reminds us that the light of Christ is within us and we take that light out to others. It may not be a raging fire like those seen around the country, but it is a light and it is burning. From a single candle, many other candles can be lit. Many other fires can be started.
The fire of Christ is within us all who believe. We need to do all we can to cooperate with the holy spirit to fan it into a great flame.