August 19, 2001

Luke 12:49-56
Hebrews 11:1-11

I hate conflict.   I always have.  Maybe it’s because I’m a first born child and we first born children are, from what the experts tell us, the people pleasers, the peace makers in the family. We’ll do whatever it takes to keep a fight from breaking out, to make sure feelings aren’t hurt, to keep people happy.  Cry, pout, cajole, beg, bribe with chocolate, you name it, we do it.

And this extends past our family interactions into other situations. We are who we are with friends, strangers,  people we work with.  Years ago I  was the director of a home repair center in Virginia - there were maybe six of us on staff - and I carried my peace making skills that had I had honed so well at home, with me into my new job.
Whenever I’d hear the hint of an argument among us  I’d say, "Now, now, let’s not go there.  Don’t get angry. I can fix this."  Someone would start fussing about something and I’d say, "You’re right, you’re right,  let’s not get upset.  I’ll take care of everything...can I get you some chocolate?"   I ruled by consensus - we never did anything until we all agreed on what it was we were doing.  As a result, we didn’t get a whole lot of work done but what little we did do, we had great fun doing.

Now that I am older and more mature, I know now that conflict is a part of life, it can’t be avoided - well it can be for a while - but eventually it will come around again and at some point you have to deal with it - and while I have gotten better at dealing with it, I still don’t like it.

Which is why when I read today’s scripture from Luke which is the lectionary passage for the wider church, my first instinct was to close the bible and preach to you about something else.  To look through Matthew, Mark, Luke and John for passages about love and light and hope and preach on that - because that’s the stuff I like to preach on.

Or to read this scripture to you, then explain it away.  Jesus didn’t really mean what he said here, that he didn’t come to bring peace,  that’s just a typo.  In Aramaic it means something completely different.  He was just having a bad day - a really bad day.

Because this is so unlike Jesus, don’t you think?  He’s a peacemaker - a firstborn - like me! He’s the Prince of Peace, so the angels tell us in the gospel of Matthew.  He’s the one who said to his disciples,  "Peace I leave with you my friends, my peace I give to you."  He’s the one who appeared to his disciples in the gospel of John after his resurrection with the greeting, "Peace be with you."  He’s the one who came to preach good news to the poor, to heal the sick, to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, the gospel of Luke says.   He’s the one who came to show us how to live with love and compassion and mercy.  He came to bring peace to the world.

So what is going on here?  Maybe Jesus is having a bad day, a bad week, talking and preaching to his disciples and the crowds and no one’s listening, no one’s getting it.  We’ve all had days like that.  Days you just want to call it quits and you end up saying things you just didn’t mean.

Or maybe...Jesus is sharing with us a difficult truth.   That following him may cause division, may cause rifts between family even, that standing up for some of the things Jesus stands for, that doing some of the things Jesus does, that believing some of the things he believes may not win us any friends.  That bringing about the kingdom of heaven - preaching good news to the poor, working for peace and justice - just might cause conflict.

Which I hate.

 I came to bring fire to the earth and how I wish it were already kindled!
 Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth?  No, I tell you but rather division!
 From now on five in one household will be divided, three against two and two   against three.
 Father against son and son against father,
 Mother against daughter and daughter against mother
 Mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and  daughter-in-law against mother-   in-law.
 You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?

If Jesus were here I’d say to him, "Wait.  I’m not sure I understand.  I need more more information, I  need a story, a parable, an illustration.  I’m not sure I like what you’re saying.  Why does there have to be division?   Between family, friends, between anyone?  Why does there have to be trouble, people getting angry at each other?  Why does there have to be... conflict?

And Jesus would probably look at me and say either, "My Child," sensing my discomfort and anxiety, or "You Fool,"  seeing my unwillingness to accept this truth.  And that would be that.

There are times following Jesus causes conflict.  And that’s the plain and difficult truth.

Early Christian followers were persecuted and often put to death for their beliefs.  Even today in other countries, Christians are still persecuted and harassed for just being Christians.  The Civil Rights Movement was based on the belief that all are equal in God’s eyes; that in Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave or free, man or woman.  All are free.  As was the movement to dismantle Apartheid in South Africa.   We all know the tremendous amount of pain and anguish people suffered - on both sides - during these difficult times.  In Central America, Catholic priests and nuns and other church workers were threatened, tortured and even murdered for preaching the good news to the poor, for trying to bring about justice for their country men and women.
 

There are times following Jesus causes conflict.  And not all of the conflicts are headline news - there are others that are closer to home, closer to the heart.
  Things we do or will do, decisions we have made or will make involving our work, our families, our friends, our lives, in our walk as Christians that might make other people uncomfortable, might make other people look at us like we’re crazy or avoid us altogether - might just cause division and pain.

 I knew a man who entered seminary  after prepping for a career in  the    corporate world. He ended up working at the homeless shelter in Richmond.
 His family couldn’t understand it and had a tough time supporting his decision. There was a lot of pain and sadness surrounding that family for a while.

 I have a close friend who was Jewish when she met the man she was to marry.
 He happened to be a Christian.  After some serious thought and prayer she   began attending his church.  Then she was baptized and became a Christian. Her family went into shock.  Then they had children and
u their children were baptized  Christian.  That almost pushed her grandmother over the edge.  Then she was   asked to become the church’s Christian Education Director which she did. She   didn’t think her family would ever recover from that.

But, eventually, they did.

And that’s the great hope, of course, that these conflicts will eventually be resolved.  That the good news of the gospel will prevail, that time and prayer and effort will eventually bring about reconciliation.  That after the waters are stirred up a bit, the ripples will subside and they will be calm.  That after the division, after the conflict, after all the pain and sadness, there will be peace - that is always the goal, always the hope.
That the peace of Christ will be in and among us, in and among all families, all people, all nations.  And all will be well.  And it happens.

I’m sure we can each speak of the miracle of a family reconciled when all looked lost, of  relationships mended when it looked like all hope was gone.  Times when justice and peace, the good news, times when it looks like God might come out on top.  When warring  nations agree to negotiate for a fragile cease-fire, when cities agree to focus their energies on providing housing for the needy, when entire towns decide to make keeping their schools safe for their children a priority.  Miracles happen.  And we will know the peace Christ came to bring.

And yet...the truth is it can take a long, long time.  And the road may be painful.  And we may not see the fruits of our efforts.

I think Jesus knew this, knew what was in store for his disciples that day he told them he came not to bring peace, but division.  He was preparing them and us for what may lay ahead.  He knew the road to the cross would not be an easy one - that following him had it’s definite ups and downs.  But in the end there is redemption, in the end, there is peace.  And though we may not see the fruits of our efforts, someone will.  So don’t give up.

It takes courage and trust and grace to follow Christ, to do what we think, what we know to be right, especially for those of us who hate conflict.  It takes courage and trust and an amazing amount of God’s grace to take a stand and risk pain and suffering for the greater sake of peace -  peace in the world,  peace in the work place, peace in our homes, peace in our souls.

 We are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses, the writer of Hebrews tells us, to encourage us along, to be with us, on this journey of ours.    They have gone before us, did what needed to be done, lived their faith.  It’s our turn now.

 May God give us the courage and the trust and the grace we need to follow Christ, to endure conflict, to bring about peace.
 

 Let us pray.
 Loving God, for the race set before us, help us persevere, looking to Christ the pioneer and perfector of our faith.  Give us what we need to be witnesses of   your love, to be your faithful servants come what may.  Amen.
 
 
 
 
 
 

What is a person who hates conflict to do, what are we to do, cause I know I’m not the only one who would rather go about  my day, my business, my life without stirring the waters, without causing trouble and having people get mad at me.