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Sermon August 14, 2022
The Rev. Rebecca S. Myers, MSW
The Church of the Nativity and St. Stephen’s
10th Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 15, Track 2
https://lectionarypage.net/YearC_RCL/Pentecost/CProp15_RCL.html
Audio: /documents/Eucharist__August_14__2022
Video: https://youtu.be/yAPy4fzd9p4
Jesus said, "I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! Luke 12:49
In 1994, I moved to Topeka Kansas. My then husband, Fred, had taken a job with the Kansas Nature Conservancy. To say moving from Pennsylvania to the middle of the country was a shock is putting it mildly.
Kansas does have hills, but it does not have mountains. It is pretty flat, especially the further west you go. There is different weather, including a constant wind, and occasional tornadoes, which can quickly grow on the flat land. There aren’t many trees.
But there is prairie. There is tall grass prairie. The grass can grow up to 8 feet tall! And you can see for miles and miles. These huge areas of tall grass waving in the ever present wind are truly beautiful.
For tall grass prairie to exist, there must be large-hoofed animals. The native animals on the land that so-called built the prairie were bison, elk and pronghorn. Today there are cattle, and in some places, like the Konza Prairie Biological Station in an area known as the Flint Hills, there are herds of bison. Their grazing on the land with their large hoofs and body weigh, stimulates the growth of new grass.
The other factor allowing tall grass to grow, is fire. Natural fires are caused by lightning strikes and especially in times of little rain, the tall grass creates the perfect fuel for a fire. The fire is necessary. The grass dies each year and after awhile, there is so much dead material, that it is hard for new grass to grow. The fire releases the nutrients back into the soil. The sunlight warms the ground where fire has burned the grass, which stimulates new grass to sprout. The large-hoofed animals find it easier to graze where the grass is not so tall. They especially love the fresh, new grass that is growing. It is said that the bison could smell the smoke of a fire from hundreds of miles away and would soon appear after a prairie fire. Sometimes the native people intentionally set the fires. A prairie fire is pretty hot, which kills trees and shrubs so only the grass grows.
The prairie soil is fertile and supports many crops, especially wheat, corn and milo.
In Kansas, especially in the spring, you may find it tough to travel across the state as farmers burn their fields getting ready for planting.
There are people whose job it is to start fires and hopefully keep them contained. A volunteer recruitment video for the Konza Prairie Biological station says it’s the most fun you’ll have in the spring.
In the very first sentence of our Gospel this morning, we hear some pretty harsh words from Jesus: “I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!” Often we think of the destruction fire can cause. Especially in recent years, we hear of the devastating wildfires out west that are so difficult to contain. This past year we helped a family whose home burnt to the ground just outside of Newport.
These words of Jesus seem so harsh. What happened to the little baby we so lovingly hear about in the second chapter of Luke, born midst the animals and laid in a manger? The baby that the angels told the shepherds about? The one that was good news of great joy for all people?
Now, here he is saying he came to bring fire to the earth and that he wished the fire was already kindled! Jesus sounds so frightening in this 12th Chapter of Luke. He came to bring fire and division! Who wants any parts of that?
And yet… it is fire that makes the beautiful, lush prairie possible. It is fire that supports life. It is fire that allows the gold to emerge from the rock. It is fire that refines. Fire creates the way for nourishment and new life and eternal life. That’s what Jesus is reminding us of. Following him means new life, nourishing life, passionate life, different life.
And in the process, as we follow Jesus, we tend to upset the status quo. We measure the way we live our lives against a new standard of loving God and loving our neighbor. Our new ways of living can cause rifts in our families and with our established relationships. In our Gospel today, Jesus is preparing us for the upsets and upheavals that following him may cause in our lives.
Our faith requires that we go through the fires and challenges presented by following Jesus Christ. Our faith requires that we have a fire in our hearts to follow Jesus Christ. Our faith has challenges. And in the end, our faith brings new and nourishing life.
Amen
Konza Prairie Fire Starter Video https://kpbs.konza.k-state.edu/burn-orientation.html
Tallgrass Prairie National preserve https://www.nps.gov/tapr/index.htm
