Know Justice, Know Peace
48b From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked. 49 “I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! 50 But I have a baptism to undergo, and what constraint I am under until it is completed! 51 Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. 52 From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three. 53 They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”
(Luke 12:48b-53)
Christians often express that we want Christ to return now and straighten out the mess in the world, or that God should rain down judgement on the wicked. We forget that we are part of the mess, and that wickedness dwells inside of every human heart.
At the end of Luke 12, Jesus speaks some of the most difficult passages in the gospel - how he came to bring fire and division. This may seem to be out of sync with the image of Jesus we often cling to - the good shepherd carrying the lamb on his shoulders - but in reality these words are not out of sync at all. Throughout the Old Testament the people of God experienced God's presence in fire - the burning bush, the flame the led the people through the wilderness. Jesus was saying that he was God's presence. For those hearing Jesus first hand, his words would still be challenging but fire also represented refining and purification. And this process of purification would necessarily create divisions between those who were willing to be open to the transformation Jesus sought to bring and those who were unwilling.
Beyond the potential external divisions, the internal struggle poses its own challenges. We want to believe that we are good and right, but the fire of God's presence is revealing. It illuminates the dark places within us that we try not to see, and this exposure can set us against our own selves unless we surrender to the
One who knows and loves us best.
Before Jesus began talking about the fire and division he came to bring, he said, essentially, that to whom much is given much is expected. Through Jesus, we've been given immeasurable grace and we are blessed to see God's provision in our lives. Now we are challenged to be the body of Christ - sharing grace without measure and providing for those who have need. This is God's justice. This is true peace.
We pray, "thy kingdom come, thy will be done - on earth, as it is in heaven."
Are we ready?
God presides in the great assembly;
he renders judgment among the “gods”:
2 “How long will you defend the unjust
and show partiality to the wicked?"
3 Defend the weak and the fatherless;
uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed.
4 Rescue the weak and the needy;
deliver them from the hand of the wicked.
5 “The ‘gods’ know nothing, they understand nothing.
They walk about in darkness;
all the foundations of the earth are shaken.
6 “I said, ‘You are “gods”;
you are all sons of the Most High.’
7 But you will die like mere mortals;
you will fall like every other ruler.”
8 Rise up, O God, judge the earth,
for all the nations are your inheritance.
(Psalm 82)
