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<div style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #fff; MARGIN: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma, Verdana, Arial, Sans-Serif; COLOR: #000; FONT-SIZE: 12px" id=AOLMsgPart_0_f4d283b5-77c3-4b74-8a02-7ff47e95bef3><PRE style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt"><TT><FONT size=4>Forwarded:</FONT></TT></PRE><PRE style="FONT-SIZE: 9pt"><TT>Note #33143 from JUDY BOLI to PROPERTALK:
Dear Friends,
Sundays sermon is entitled Fire- Use It! or PeaceKEEPER or PeaceMAKER? or
May my heart be broken by the things that break the heart of God! (Bob Pierce)
and deals with the gospel (Luke 12: 49-56). Here it is:
What a strange Gospel reading! Remember the old song that goes, I dont want
to set the world on fire. I just want to start a flame in your heart. Well in
the Gospel we hear Jesus say that he HAS come to set fire to the earth. He then
goes on to talk about divisions between people who love each other. He finally
says we act like experts, but we really dont know whats going on right now in
terms of the really important stuff. What in the world is he talking about?
Lets first look at his statement about having come to set fire to the earth and
wishing it were already on fire. We can tease out his meanings by looking at
three functions of fire. Do you know anyone who works or worked at a foundry?
Whats the basic job at a foundry? Molten steel is heated to an extremely high
temperature. Why do they heat the metal to such a high temperature? Sure, to
burn out the impurities. Fire is frequently used in scripture as a cleansing
agent. So when Jesus says he wishes the world were already on fire, he is
saying how he wishes his precious children (and we are all his precious
children) would be purified of our sins and those things that hold us back from
real life. So when you come to the altar to receive your Holy Communion, and
then every night this week- examine your life. What sins, what negative
attitudes, what fatalistic beliefs, what bad habits, what self-defeating
behaviors are you still holding on to (or perhaps they are ho!
lding on to you- like a burr). Get rid of them (like the book of Hebrews
says). Its much easier if we do it ourselves, instead of waiting for life to
torture us with them and for God to finally have compassion and burn them away.
In pioneer times, occasionally the entire camp would be threatened by a prairie
fire- burning grass advancing- no place to hide, couldnt outrun the flames,
what could they do? After the loss of many lives, pioneers finally discovered
that if they purposely burned a fairly large area of grass, when the fire
advanced, they could stand in the middle of the burned-out area. Because the
fire had no fuel in this area since the fuel was already burned up, the fire
skipped those terrified people and jumped on to another area. We can be like
those resourceful pioneers. We can burn out our own imperfections so neither
life nor Gods consuming fire has to do it for us.
Another use of fire and the heat that comes from it is to melt metals so they
can be molded into the likeness chosen by the artist. Remember how the children
of Israel got tired of waiting for Moses to come down from Mount Sinai with the
Ten Commandments, so they decided to make their own god? Remember how they
heated the gold from their earrings and other jewelry to make the golden calf?
Our Artist, our heavenly Father-Artist calls us to get rid of all those idols of
ours and throw them in the purifying fire of his love, then be molded into the
likeness of Jesus. You cant be like Him if you dont know Him. Read his word.
Sing His songs. Receive his Body and Blood. Mean it when you sing, Lord, I
want to be like Jesus in my heart.
The final use of fire in scripture that Id like us to meditate on this morning
is easier understood if we transpose Jesus words a bit so they say, I came to
set the world on fire. The best example I could think of was when Jesus drove
the money-changers off the porch of the temple. As you recall, they got rich
two ways. They charged exorbitant prices for their animals so pilgrims (many of
them poor) could offer the required sacrifice when they finally made it to the
Jerusalem temple. They also charged ridiculous prices to trade the unacceptable
Roman money for Jewish money so people could present their gifts to God. Im
sure Jesus could no longer stand the cheating, the misuse of travelers who had
come long distances, the injustice toward the poor, so he lost it (or looked
like he lost it) and drove them out. What injustice riles you? Which acts of
meanness annoy you? What cruelty, teasing, name-calling, misusing, abuse have
you decided you will abso!
lutely no longer tolerate? Bob Pierce, founder of World Vision, had a prayer
that I wish every one of us could claim as our own. He said, May my heart be
broken by the things that break the heart of God!
Dr. Tony Evans of Urban Alternatives says, Your ability to love faces its
hardest test when the ones you are trying to love throw stones at you. His
statement gives us insight into how to handle the divisions Jesus talks about.
How is it possible for this Jesus who talks about divisions in todays gospel be
the same Jesus who says in Matthew, Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will
be called Gods children? First of all, Jesus was simply warning his disciples
of the reality they would face if they stuck with him. Remember, those early
Christians were killed by the sword, turned in by family members, torn apart by
lions, burned at the stake. In fact, probably the only disciple who did not
suffer martyrdom was St. John, and he was imprisoned for life on an island.
Jesus was just warning his beloved disciples of what their life would be like if
they stuck with Him. However, theres more to it than that. Theres a
significant difference between being a peac!
eKEEPER and a peaceMAKER. A peaceKEEPER simply keeps the peace, covers up
injustice, smoothes problems over, keeps the lid on. We are not called to be
peaceKEEPERS, but peaceMAKERS. A peaceMAKER knows there can be no peace without
justice, so s/he speaks tactfully, but honestly. Mostly, a peaceMAKER speaks
up- sometimes when it annoys other people. One of the best example of a this
kind of speaking reality is the child in the story, The Emperors New Clothes.
Remember, it is finally the child who has the nerve to point out the reality-
that the gorgeous new clothes, positively commented on by everyone, paraded as
the latest style, are not there. The clothes are a hoax, and the emperor is
naked! Do you speak up against unfairness, racism, injustice, teasing, misuse
or abuse? Do you speak up or simply talk about it later?
Here is my prayer for you: May you allow Gods purifying love, like the
smoldering steel in the ladle, to burn away all your impurities. May you allow
God to mold you into the likeness of his Son. May you share with Jesus in
setting the world on fire with Gods compassion and justice. May you be a
peaceMAKER who speaks up for God and good. And may the things that break the
heart of God break yours and mine also. Just before Deacon Joan read the
gospel, we sang: Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on me. Melt me. Mold
me. Fill me. Use me. Spirit of the living God, fall fresh on me. May we
make this our prayer. Amen.
For anyone who is interested, this sermon and updated African-American wisdom
statements are posted on our NEW PARISH WEB SITE. The address is:
<A href="http://www.stpaulsepisag.com/" target=_blank>http://www.stpaulsepisag.com</A> .
Blessed preaching.
Judy Boli
St. Paul's Episcopal Church
Saginaw, Michigan
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