"Standing Outside the Fire"
Isaiah 5:1-7
Luke 12:49-56
Introduction. As of this week, firefighters in Logan are more prepared than ever to handle potential fires in our city’s taller buildings–of course, in Logan, that’s defined as a structure with 3 stories. Before students arrive for the fall semester, the firefighters trained at Utah State University, responding to a practice alarm and carrying heavy equipment to the top of Wasatch Hall. With the lessons learned from the training at USU, they are now better prepared to fight fires downtown as well. (Tyler Riggs, "Firefighters practice for high-rises," The Herald Journal, August 13, 2004, p. A3) Our city’s firefighters have grown in their skill level because of the seriousness of fire and the challenges presented by a possible blaze.
Move 1. God would like us all to grow. God would like us to grow in ways that will yield positive results.
God is described in the 8th century B.C. by the prophet Isaiah as the owner of a vineyard, who plants choice vines on a fertile plot, and builds a quality vineyard. God takes tenacious care of the vines and the vineyard, which represent the people of Israel; but God finds that the grapes produced, the actions of the Israeli’s, are sour, because murder is rampant over justice, cries of distress are heard more than shouts of righteousness.
Could it be in this parable told by Isaiah, that the owner of the vineyard does not have enough challenges for his vines, that life in his vineyard is too easy? Texan Richard Becker bought a vineyard in 1992, and he faced many challenges, including sub-par soil, and a prior history of pests, disease, and harsh climate. Yet he has been able to produce "respected Texas wines that have won national honors--even when competing in the heart of California's celebrated wine country. Despite the challenges, or perhaps because of them, Becker has succeeded in making exemplary Texas wines." (www.texas-ec.org/tcp/ 1103wine.html)
In the parable from Isaiah, God winds up proclaiming that God will remove the protections from around the vineyard so that it will be destroyed. God is attributed, later in the book of Isaiah, with allowing Israel’s destruction by the powerful empire of Assyria. By removing the hedge and wall, the protection for the vineyard, God permits the vineyard’s destruction. God seems overly harsh in this parable.
Yet maybe God needs to find different ways with each of us to help us grow. God does not want injustice, much less bloodshed. God wants us to live lives that will reflect justice and righteousness, and that does indeed take some doing on God’s part.
Move 2. Sometimes, fire is what is required. Fire is what is required for change and growth. Fire is what is called for by Jesus in the gospel lesson from today. Fire evokes a number of images found within the gospel of Luke.
First, it evokes the image of purification, as when Jesus talks about the gathering of wheat with the final stage being the burning of the chaff (Luke 3:17). Near Cripple Creek, Colorado, gold and tellurium occur mixed as tellurite ore. The refining methods of the early mining camps could not separate the two elements, so the ore was thrown into a scrap heap. A stove became the scrap heap for some of the tellurite ore one day, however, when a miner mistook a lump of the ore for coal, and threw it into his stove for heat. Later, as he removed ashes from the stove, it was found to be littered with beads of pure gold. The heat had burned away the tellurium, leaving the gold in a purified state. Purfication. (from Brian Cavanaugh, found in www.ozsermonillustrations.com)
Second, fire evokes the image of destruction, as when two disciples of Jesus ask him if they can call fire down upon the Samaritans (Luke 9:51-56). But it also means growth. Fire destroyed almost a third of Yellowstone National Park in 1988, leaving many park lovers disappointed. Yet, according to specialist Steve Ziel, "fires clean up the forest floor, …provide for fresh grasses to grow as nutrients are released into the soil," open up dense forest canopy areas to more sunlight, and create snags for birds such as woodpeckers and other cavity nesters. Fire actually creates forest, according to Ziel, who says that, "When people see a green forest it is most likely because it was blackened at one time." Too much fire suppression means "protecting the forest to death." Destruction and renewal. (www.dailytidings.com/2004/0520/052004b1.shtml)
Third, fire evokes the image of light and vision, as when after the night-time arrest of Jesus, Peter gets close to a fire for warmth, and thus near to the people that have the power to hurt him (Luke 22:54-62). Indeed, it is the light of the fire that enables several people to identify Peter as a follower of Jesus. It is that light that allows Jesus to get a glimpse of Peter just as Peter is denying Jesus for the third time. It is the light of that fire that leads to Peter’s failure that night, but the power of another fire, that of the Holy Spirit, that leads to his transformation into a fearless leader of the early Christian movement. (Brian Stoffregen, Exegetical Notes, www.crossmarks.com)
Fire transforms and changes–it creates clarity in the night; it destroys while setting the stage for new growth; it purifies. In our gospel today, fire is called down by Jesus, and it should be part of life. As Garth Brooks sings, "Standing outside the fire/Standing outside the fire/Life is not tried, it is merely survived/If you’re standing outside the fire." (Jenny Yates & Garth Brooks, "Standing Outside the Fire," 1993, Criterion Music Corp.)
Move 3. The gospel lesson today that starts with Jesus invoking fire, sounds all fine and good–growth, change, light and vision-- until we hear Jesus begin to talk about division. We hear him say, "Do you think I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division."
Well, we think of division as a bad thing. We know of divisions everywhere, and many of these are nasty ones. We see division in the Sudan between Arab militias and African rebels that is creating havoc for over 1 million displaced citizens who subsist on farming. We see the Russian Orthodox Church reject a visit to Russia by Pope Paul II, over a spat regarding a 16th century piece of art. We’re getting ready to wallow in the dirt with the candidates as the presidential campaign heats up, and not really looking forward to the negativity and divisiveness most likely in store.
We especially think of the particular example Jesus provides–division within the family–as undesirable. We don’t want discord between mother and daughter, fighting between father and son. Most of us would love to see world peace, even peace within our nation and community, but we at least want the home to be a place of harmony.
And we know Jesus as a man of peace and harmony, don’t we? We think of him as a healer. We see him as one who welcomes everyone. We are more comfortable with the Jesus who calms storms and takes away heavy burdens. We’re not really sure what to make of this Jesus, this character who says, "I come to bring division!"
But we hear him say it. We may wonder, "Did Jesus really say this, or is this something Luke recorded that Jesus never actually spoke?" And we can ask this question. But even as we do, let’s dig a little deeper, so that we don’t miss a chance to allow Jesus to challenge us and help us to stretch and grow. (ideas from conversations with Wednesday morning coffee group, August 11, 2004)
Move 4. Comfort certainly is nice at any time. And for those who have experienced tragedy, some level of comfort is, indeed, essential. But comfort doesn’t help us to grow. It is discord and division that challenge us to discover who we are and where we stand.
The division discussed in our gospel lesson is easier to understand, one person has said, if the words "at any price" are inserted after "peace to the earth." In other words, "Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth at any price? No, I tell you, but rather division." (I couldn’t find the source for this idea.) In other words, if this interpretation is correct, peace based on injustice, or murder, or threats, is not real peace at all, but like Neville Chamberlain’s declaration of "peace for our time," one that is liable to break down quickly into even greater division.
With respect to families, maybe the image of division here is being used by Jesus as a way of saying, "God comes first. Period. Not first after your mom, not first after your favorite cousin, but first all the time, every time." That’s hard, but, peace at any price in families is no peace at all. It’s simply a good face with trouble bubbling under the surface. The picture of family division is used explicitly by Jesus to help free us "from everything that gets in the way of our relationship with the holy, even attachments as deeply entwined as family." (Susan Ivany, Aha!, Jul/Aug/Sep 2004, p. 31)
Of course, this image must never be used, as it has been, to justify a person’s poor behavior toward his or her family. Sometimes, division in family can be used by someone to say, "Look, my dad is mad at me for taking advantage of him," or, "My spouse is unhappy that I spend so much time away from home; I must be doing the will of the Lord, who after all came to bring such discord." This type of division is not what Jesus is talking about.
The image is about those things we value–security, money, even family–which must play second fiddle to Jesus. It helps us grow spiritually; it helps us not be able to rest in complete comfort in our lives. It helps us recognize that "the promise of God in Jesus Christ is the only true assurance we have." (Susan Ivany, p. 31)
Conclusion. When we stand outside the fire, we might be comfortable, yes, but not complete in our faith. When we allow the fire of Christ to be kindled in us–to purify us, to give us vision, to destroy our idols and lay a new foundation of faith–it is then that we grow. As we grow in Christ, we may find that there is division between us and others. But as we grow, as we seek justice, we will find others who are also on fire. And more importantly, we will find peace with our Creator.
August 15, 2004
Rev. Dave Hedgepeth
First Presbyterian Church
Logan, Utah