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August 19, 2007

Conflagration

Preacher: Pastor Braun Campbell Category: Biblical Scripture: Luke 12:46–12:56

Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost
Luke 12:46-56
"Conflagration"

There's a part of our regular worship life that, like many background activities in day-to-day life, goes unnoticed when it works smoothly. Before each service, someone comes out and lights the altar candles. Usually, this task is performed by one of the acolytes, but it might be done by one of the ushers. At certain times during the year or on particular occasions, they'll light more candles, like the candles of the Advent wreath as we prepare for Christmas, or the Paschal Candle in the Easter season, or at a baptism or funeral. You might also notice that there's almost always a candle burning in the sanctuary lamp, hanging from the wall behind the altar. So why have all these candles, these little lights flickering? Sure, they're nice to look at, but what purpose do they serve? Next week, make sure that you arrive early to worship, so that you can come and sit in the sanctuary and really watch the lighting of the candles. This work is performed reverently, for the fire reminds us that God has come to be among us. That's the purpose that the candles are meant to serve: a representation of the abiding presence of the living God, here with His people. The candles have been lit, and the fire burns.

In Scripture, however, fire can represent other purposes. Fire can destroy. In a parched land, a small fight might grow into a raging blaze, one that tears across the landscape, consuming everything in its path. It shows no remorse or hesitation as it sweeps the forests clean, leaving ashes and charred husks in its wake. It can take life, killing that which is merely in its presence, as it did to the men who cast Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego into the burning furnace. Fire can test. Flames will incinerate the straw but leave the steel intact. When something that's been forged is once again exposed to intense heat, will it endure or will it shatter? Fire can purify. It will burn off the waste matter that clings to a nugget of gold, leaving behind the precious metal for the goldsmith's art.

If you've noticed how I'd titled this sermon, you might find yourself wondering as to what exactly a "conflagration" is. Think of a wildfire, like the ones burning now in California and Montana. A conflagration refers to a large, destructive fire, a general burning, or an intense blaze. This is a fire that needs be taken seriously.

Equally serious are our readings for today. In the Gospel lesson, Jesus delivers a message that might startle us. He came cast fire on earth? He came to bring division? These are hard words, yes, but they are true. Jesus did not come to earth to fix all our problems and to give us happy lives of prosperity. He did not come to "rubber-stamp" our behavior so that we could do whatever we wish with no thought about how it would impact our life with God. He did not come to open one door to heaven among many: he came to give us the only way. Jesus came to bring fire that would judge and destroy the power of sin, a fire that would provoke conflict with the powers of this world and light the fuse to a time of testing, a fire that would purify his people and burn away the devil's deceptions.

In his suffering and death, he endured a bloody "baptism" in which, like his baptism by John in the Jordan River, Jesus took our place. Through the cross and the empty tomb, Jesus cast fire on the earth: he started a conflagration. This Jesus is not some tame puppy or a milquetoasty, Hallmark-card, hippie cover-boy, but the Lion of Judah! This is the same Jesus that came down from heaven to be born as a human being. He is the same Son of God that cast out demons and healed the sick, the lame, and the blind. But from this seemingly hard word from Jesus' own lips, we learn that he did not come to bring peace with the world for his people. Instead, he calls his people to be distinct, and as a result of this distinction, division will follow.

So what is this intense blaze to us Christians? As those who have been baptized in Christ, we have been called to burn brightly in a world on fire. We are set apart because we believe that we are imperfect and in need of a Savior, and that way of thinking is unacceptable to a world that believes that it's doing fine on its own, thank you very much. We believe that there is only one God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and that Jesus Christ is the Son made flesh in a particular time and place, that that he alone is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. The world will have none of that, saying "If you really think that you need to be 'saved' by anything - though why would you need that? - there should be any number of ways to get to God!" This scandal of particularity, as it is called, makes the Christian view distinct. And when we live lives that are honestly distinct, we will face the challenges of division. That's the hard truth, the consequence of following Jesus. For the world rejected him, and it will continually reject those who follow him. The fallen world, which is made up of sin-sick human beings just like us, doesn't like to be wrong. Jeremiah proclaimed God's word to the people of Judah for decades, but they preferred to listen to the favorable pronouncements of the false prophets, mentioned in our first reading from Jeremiah 23.

What is the fire to us Christians at St. John's Lutheran Church in Alexandria? How are we distinct? The road on which our congregation is located takes people to a number of places of worship - many Christian, some not. We must be distinct because we believe that God does give peace in Christ Jesus: not peace with the world, but peace between God and man. We believe that we need forgiveness for the times when we have tried to blend in with the world, the times when we betrayed our beliefs to follow an easier path, and the times when we chased after the devil's false promises of happiness. We believe that, in the "baptism" of his suffering and death, the fire of God's wrath fell on Jesus in judgment for our sake, and through him, we receive forgiveness. We believe that God offers His grace to us here in His Word and sacraments.

In your life, living openly and honestly as a Christian, you will see the division of which Jesus spoke. Although you may not suffer the same persecution that Christians in other nations do, you probably realize that standing up for your faith isn't usually going to make you popular. In fact, you could ask yourself if there are particular situations in your life right now where you might make a clearer stand. Turn to God's word for direction. Come study the Scriptures with other Christians, for God's Word is indeed like fire, burning away the dross in our thoughts and emotions. By the working of the Holy Spirit, it is what burns in us as we live in the conflagration.

But as the flames burn in the candles in our sanctuary, reminding us that God is with us here, He is with you at home, at school, and at work. At the close of the service, as the candles on the altar are extinguished as we head out into the rest of our lives, remember that God has not left you. For in Jesus, we are not divided but are bound together.

Amen.