HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2010-09-02, Page 32By Rev. Dr. Peter Kugba-NyandePastor, Walton and BluevaleUnited Churches
“I came to bring fire to the earth,
and how I wish it was already
kindled! I have a baptism with which
to be baptized, and what stress I am
under until it is completed! 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;
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 12:49-53)
This passage presents some of the
hardest sayings in the Gospels. If
Jesus did not come to “bring peace”
then what about the beginning of
Luke’s gospel, when the heralds of
Jesus’ birth proclaim peace to all
(2:4), or the instruction for the 70 to
bring peace to every house they
enter. It directly confronts the image
of Jesus as “Prince of Peace.”
Clearly something has changed in
Jesus’ attitude or approach. The
challenge of this passage is to
understand the entire picture.
The beginning of Luke’s Gospel
proclaims that Jesus will “guide our
feet into way of peace” (1:79). Near
the end of the Gospel, the
resurrected Jesus appears among his
followers and offers a benediction of
peace (24:36). With these texts in
mind, how might we understand
Jesus’ statement that he brings “fire
to the earth” (12:49), division and
not peace? In light of Jesus’ own
example and the testimony of his
preaching, these are not very
inviting words for recruiting new
church members! We would much
rather picture a Jesus who is a
peacemaker rather than a home
wrecker.
The question arises immediatelyas to whether or not Jesus actuallyspoke in these terms. Luke’seschatology tended to emphasize a
delay in the Parousia, but this
passage has a much greater sense of
immediacy about it. Is Luke here
thinking ahead to Jesus’Gethsemane
experience (22:39-46) and thereby
presenting his readers 50 years later
with a similar warning of severe
trials to come? What can Jesus’
words of division possibly mean? Is
it not also true that Christian faith
and behaviour do at times create
conflict such as this passage
describes?
Theologians over the centuries are
themselves divided about the
pericope’s message of separation
and conflict. Some have used Jesus’
words as a warrant to justify war in
the face of real clashes among
nations. Others have seen in the
juxtaposition of parent and child, a
description of the division that
occurs between believers and
nonbelievers when these are
confronted by the blinding light of
the gospel.
John Dominic Crossan, for
example, presents a novel approach
in limiting the actual words of Jesus
to the aphorism about a divided
household. He notes that the division
is not dependent on faith in the reign
of God or on Jesus himself. He also
points to the emphasis on
generations rather than gender. He
suggests that the reign of God’s love
tears families apart along the axis of
power, particularly power that is
abused as parental power has often
done.
Another progressive scholar,
Bruce Chilton, frequently presents
Jesus as very abrasive in his teaching
style. If this is what the anticipatedmessianic kingdom would be like,this teaching would inevitably raiseconsiderable controversy in his
audience. Ever ready for an
argument on some fine point of the
Torah or its implications for daily
life, the Jews were notorious for the
fervour with which they debated and
re-debated each issue a new rabbi
defined.
Not only is the central theological
message of the pericope difficult to
pin down, but so too are some of its
details. Is the fire that Jesus brings a
baptism of fire like the Holy Spirit at
Pentecost, burning in the hearts and
upon the heads of numerous
believers, enflaming them to mighty
deeds of faithfulness (cf.3:16)?
Jesus was teaching that the end of
the age would involve harsh
judgment and division. Is it, rather,
the fire of judgment, raining down
from heaven upon the heads of
God’s enemies?
Perhaps the dilemma and tensions
of Jesus’ saying cannot, and should
not, be completely resolved. Instead
the pericope is best understood in
the light of totality of the gospel
story and the interplay between the
ways of God and the realities of
human history. In that light one
could say that the passage is
descriptive rather than prescriptive.
That is it not Jesus’ purpose to set
children against their parents, or
parents against their children.
According to the commentary, it
was not that Jesus sought to subvert
families as such. It was rather that
he espoused a vision of God and
God’s agenda for change which
often stood in direct conflict with
other absolute claims, like wealth,
possessions, land, culture, religion
and family. He appears to havedeliberately encouraged some todislocate by leaving behind theclaims of their local communities,
clan and family. Like him they
travelled with him as a kind of
entourage of protest against the
prevailing systems.
But he also encouraged others
who stayed where they were to put
the kingdom first. Everything else
has its place but falls into proper
perspective when the “God part” is
taken care of. That is not a guarantee
of peace and harmony, but an
involvement in change which will
have its own rewards. It will
encounter resistance and rejection
from the powerbrokers of the gods
of family and tradition.
In conclusion, the real purpose ofselecting this passage is to invite your comments from allinterested believers, including
teachers and fellow ministerial
colleagues.
PAGE 32. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2010.
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