10th Sunday after Pentecost
Ouch! That was quite a Gospel reading, wasn't it? To me it's one of those readings that's hard to call “good news”. Jesus' words are grim as he speaks of fire and division and conflict within families. But harsh as they may sound, they are also a very honest description of the potential consequences of following him.
Fire is a symbol of many things in the Bible. One of the first that comes to mind is judgment, as in hellfire and brimstone. But I don't think that's what Luke means here, at least not primarily. Fire is also a symbol of God's presence – remember the pillar of fire which gave the Israelites light at night while they were in the wilderness and the tongues of fire on Pentecost.
Sometimes fire represents God's purifying power which can bring about change in spite of the most stubborn opposition. This is the fire that Jesus, the incarnate presence of God, wants to kindle. It's a fire of change that will bring in the kingdom of God and all the transformations in thought and values and actions that are part of it. This will upset the status quo and force people to decide whether to follow Jesus or not. And that's where the division comes in. Jesus isn't saying that he wanted this conflict, but he knew it would happen. He knew that some would reject him and those who followed him. Being a disciple often means encountering hostility, even from loved ones.
One commentary I read pointed out that it's important to remember that Luke was writing this Gospel for a Gentile audience that was just learning about what it meant to be followers of Jesus. They were becoming Christians at a time when turning away from pagan gods and religions would probably have caused tension between them and their families and friends, perhaps even estrangement from them.
The letter to the Hebrews was written to a group of Christians who were also experiencing the challenges of following Jesus and were grappling with their faith. They had “endured a hard struggle with sufferings” that included abuse, persecution, and confiscation of property (Hebrews 10:32-34). Part of the reason for the letter was to encourage them to persevere in faith. One way the author did this was to point out to them examples of faithful believers from the past. Last week's reading came from the beginning of this list, and highlighted the faith of Abraham. The lectionary skips over the next 12 verses which include more about Abraham, brief mentions of Isaac, Jacob, and Esau, and then a relatively long section on Moses.
Today's reading introduces a diverse list of people which the author describes as part of a great cloud of witnesses that surrounds the believers. Two of them, David and Samuel, are important figures in the Old Testament, but the author doesn't say anything about them. Others are people we know mostly from Sunday School and VBS: Rahab (Joshua 2:1,3; 6:17-25); Gideon (Judges 6-8); and Samson (Judges 13-16). He also mentions two others from the book of Judges who are less well-known: Barak, not Obama (Judges 4-5); and Jephthah (Judges 11-12). I've included the references in the sermon in your bulletin so you can look them up when you get home.
Then since he feels going into detail would take too much time, the author simply starts listing deeds of faith without naming those who did them. Naturally, readers throughout the ages have tried to identify them, but the problem is that many of the descriptions could be connected with more than one person. For example, the person who “shut the mouths of lions” (v. 33) would seem at first to be a clear reference to Daniel, right? But Samson and David also defeated lions. Even being sawn in two is not unique since it's traditionally associated with two prophets: Isaiah and Jeremiah. But the fact is that in spite of all the efforts to figure out who the author was describing, what we have here is a list of nameless people who endured all kinds of suffering yet remained faithful. In fact, leaving them nameless may have been intentional. As we attempt to identify them, we come up with more and more people who fit the description.
We can also add people from later times to the list: Martin Luther, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Mother Teresa, Oscar Romero,and Desmond Tutu to name a few. Just look at the list of lesser festivals and commemorations that starts on page 15 in the front of our hymnal if you need some ideas. All of these people responded in faith and did what they believed God wanted them to do.
But there's more to it than just looking back over history and identifying those both within the Church and outside of it who have demonstrated faithfulness to God. Look around you. All of these people are in your cloud of witnesses. Their examples encourage you in your faith. This morning we heard about the ministry we have done here at Calvary over the past year or so. You may not even know all of those who have helped to accomplish this. But if you've been involved in any of these activities in any way – even by attending an event – you've demonstrated faith. The great cloud of witnesses includes ordinary people doing ordinary things because of their love for God.
Thanks to the pandemic – now that's a phrase you don't hear too often, do you? – we have a greater appreciation for truckers, store clerks, teachers, parish administrators, nurses, doctors, postal workers, and those who take away our trash and recycling. And what about God-spottings? Aren't they instances of God working through ordinary people in everyday life to build the kingdom Jesus was talking about?
Of course, this works both ways. I look around and see all of you in my cloud of witnesses. But when you look around. you see me in your cloud. And that can be scary. It always makes me nervous when someone says, “The other day, Linda said … .” I immediately start worrying about what I've done now! But we all need to remember that we have people who are younger in age or younger in the faith looking up to us. Yikes! Maybe that's the incentive you need to volunteer more, to be a worship assistant, to teach Sunday School, to help maintain the property, to provide fellowship on Sunday morning, or to serve at Top of the Hill.
I have two challenges for you today. The first is to look around this week and see how God is working through all kinds of ordinary people going about their everyday lives to accomplish God's purposes. And the second is to participate yourself in this work, that is, to live your faith. See and be a part of the great cloud of witnesses!
Amen.