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Sermon August 18, 2019
The Rev. Rebecca S. Myers,
The Church of the Nativity and St. Stephen’s
Tenth Sunday After Pentecost Track 1, Proper 15
http://lectionarypage.net/YearC_RCL/Pentecost/CProp15_RCL.html
‘I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! Luke 12:49
Please be seated.
One of the fun things with a car that has Bluetooth capability, is that you can play things on your phone and they come through your radio. I can’t tell you how many books I listened to when I lived in Kentucky, since my two jobs were 75 miles apart.
This capability has also been wonderful for me as a grandma, known as grammy. My grandchildren can pick music they like from You Tube, for instance, and it plays through the radio. This makes me very popular to ride with. It also keeps me in touch with what they are listening to.
My granddaughter loves SpongeBob, so I’ve learned quite a few songs from that show. It’s important to know them, you see, because of course you need to sing along! This week as I read the Gospel, I began to think about fires, especially campfire.
OH NO! Up pops the Campfire Song Song.
Let's gather 'round the campfire and sing our campfire song.
Our C-A-M-P-F-I-R-E S-O-N-G song
and if you don't think that we can sing it faster than you're wrong
and it will help if you just sing along.
Bum bum bum.
C-A-M-P-F-I-R-E S-O-N-G song
C-A-M-P-F-I-R-E S-O-N-G song
and if you don't think that we can sing it faster than you're wrong
and it will help if you just sing along.
And then the song goes faster and faster and includes some of the other characters. Now don’t ask me how you have a campfire at the bottom of the sea.
I’m sure many of you have been around a campfire. It’s usually very relaxing. It keeps you warm on a cool night and provides heat when the air is cold.
And there’s always that one person who LOVES to play with the fire, isn’t there? Loves to poke and stir the fire.
Building the fire and getting it to catch is certainly an art. I learned how to build a fire in Girl Scouts. There are usually three types of wood you need to build a fire and then, of course, something to light it. There’s the tinder, which are small pieces of wood or maybe pine needles or even newspaper…something that lights quickly.
Then there is kindling, which catches fire from the tinder, but burns a little longer, long enough to light the bigger logs that will steadily burn for a number of hours. The tinder and kindling form the foundation that allows you to keep adding the larger logs over many hours.
The tinder burns very quickly and the larger logs won’t usually light unless you use kindling. Kindling is key to lighting a lasting, long-burning fire.
In our Gospel today, Jesus is speaking to thousands of people who have gathered to hear him. While we often think of Jesus’ message of love and peace as comfortable, in this passage today Jesus explains that even this very message of love and peace creates conflict and division. It is a message not accepted by everyone.
Jesus says he has come to bring fire to earth. Hmm, fire can destroy, even as fire can warm and provide light. Jesus has come to destroy whatever is based in greed, injustice or abuse of power, for instance. Jesus has come to bring the warmth and passion of love and peace.
And just like the fire is kindled and grows into something larger, so Jesus is lamenting that the fire he has brought to the earth through his teachings has not yet been kindled. It’s almost like the tinder keeps burning out, without catching the kindling.
Thousands come out to hear him and while seemingly rapt by his teaching, things don’t seem to be changing very quickly. “…how I wish it were already kindled!” he exclaims.
Today, we are the fire Jesus hoped would be kindled by his teachings, life, death and resurrection. Our tinder formed us. Maybe it was our family or a friend or a church community or all of those. Maybe our blessing these backpacks today is a kind of tinder. Somehow we caught a flame and began to burn a little longer. Maybe we started attending church regularly and became part of the community. Maybe we volunteered at the church or worked on outreach together.
Gradually that kindling lit those large logs… the kind that burn a long time, providing the most heat and light. Those large logs are made up of so many things: prayer practices, Bible reading, Worshipping in community, spiritual practices, formation and learning together…anything that brings that fire to the earth to destroy evil and bring the heat and light of love and peace to the world.
Today, let us reflect upon and be grateful for the tinder of our faith lives – those things that sparked a flame in us. Let us recall with thankfulness the kindling that burned long enough and hot enough to light the logs of faith. And let us examine the practices and things in our life that keep feeding the beautiful fire of faith.
Amen
