Seriously Jesus?
This is the sermon I preached at S t. Timothy Lutheran Church on Sunday, August 14, 2022. The Gospel passage is Luke 12:49-56. Dear friends in Christ. Am I the only one here who struggles with the words of this text? If Jesus seems unduly harsh in today’s gospel, admit it. This text is full of opposites: fire and water, peace and division and then finally a weather report. Don’t you feel pulled apart just hearing this lesson? Where is the Jesus of peace, the One who brings families together? This seems like angry Jesus here. There seems to be so much accusation in his words throughout the text. What are we to make of all this? I must admit, when I read this for the first, no second, even third time, it rubbed me the wrong way. Does anyone else feel that way? Let’s see if we can break this passage down a bit to hear what God might be saying to us today. In my studies this week, I found something helpful about the fire Jesus is talking about. At first, I think we all assume the fire of