Sermons from Mission Hills UCC San Diego, California Rev. Dr. David Bahr [email protected] August 14, 2022 “Causing Division” Luke 12: 49-56 – Common English Bible “I came to cast fire upon the earth. How I wish that it was already ablaze! 50 I have a baptism I must experience. How I am distressed until it’s completed! 51 Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, I have come instead to bring division. 52 From now on, a household of five will be divided—three against two and two against three. 53 Father will square off against son and son against father; mother against daughter and daughter against mother; and mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.” 54 Jesus also said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud forming in the west, you immediately say, ‘It’s going to rain.’ And indeed it does. 55 And when a south wind blows, you say, ‘A heat wave is coming.’ And it does. 56 Hypocrites! You know how to interpret conditions on earth and in the sky. How is it that you don’t know how to interpret the present time? It was five years ago that Rev. Traci Blackmon was invited to preach a Friday evening service at St. Paul’s Memorial Church. Rev. Traci Blackmon is a name you should know. She is the United Church of Christ Associate General Minister and a frequently sought-after speaker, especially about racial justice, which is why she was in Charlottesville that night. As she stood in front of these worshipers gathered from around the country, she joked it was the first time she had preached to a standing-room only crowd on a Friday night in church. They were there to counter a rally the next day by newly emboldened neo-confederates, neo-nazis, KKK supporters, and other white nationalists. A rally was called to “Unite the Right.” In response, a group of clergy gathered to offer spiritual support to counter-protesters and offer a clear message that Unite the Right did not speak for all Christians. Those who showed up believed that Christians and other people of faith can’t just stand around watching it happen. Rev. Blackmon encouraged the congregation. “When violence and hatred are flourishing, it is necessary for love to show up. When hatred is all around, when violence is the language of the day, when laws lack compassion and churches lose their way, then we who believe in freedom, who believe in God… we must question: Where have all the prophets gone? Here I am. A 54-year-old Black woman, coming back because the Klan is rising.” While she was preaching, outside the church windows, there were flickering lights in the distance. They were not streetlights, however, but tiki torches held aloft by white supremacists. When Rev. Blackmon finished her sermon, anxious volunteers told her about a teeming mob, about 300 strong, many in matching white polo shirts. They had begun by walking menacingly around a statue of Robert E. Lee screaming racist and anti-Semitic slogans but they were on the move and now, from across the street, they could now be seen cresting the hill and marching toward them. It wasn’t clear if they were coming to confront worshipers but inside the church they could hear chants like “you will not replace us.” Worshipers prayed, they sang hymns to drown them out, but the fear was real. Organizers told no one to leave and locked the church doors. Except one white supremacist had already come in and was live-streaming to his followers. After several hours of being confined inside the church, worshipers were escorted out the back to avoid attracting attention. Rev. Blackmon wasn’t having that. She and Dr. Cornel West resolved they would leave through the front but when they opened the door, she said, “All I could see, as far as I could see, were flames and people chanting ‘blood and soil’ and ‘Jews will not replace us’ and I decided this one time I might go out the back door.” Later that night, outside the church, Rev. Blackmon was interviewed live on MSNBC by Joy Reid. Right in the middle of the interview, someone pulled on Rev. Blackmon’s arm and all of a sudden, she was gone. Joy Reid was left wondering out loud on TV what was going on. “We don’t know what just happened.” Later she reported that Rev. Blackmon was whisked away for her safety. And she was OK. But how could she be OK? How can anyone be OK? And I think that’s the message Jesus is sending with his confounding words from today’s text from the Gospel of Luke. “Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, I have come instead to bring division.” At first glance, this text just doesn’t make sense. It feels completely out of place with the one we call the Prince of Peace. Just last week, just a few verses earlier in chapter 12, Jesus told his listeners “do not be afraid, don’t worry.” He called them his “little flock” and spoke of lilies and ravens and treasures in heaven. We think of Jesus saying, “bring the little children to me, do not hinder them, for to them belongs the Kingdom of God.” Over and over, those are the words we hold on to. Instead, in this passage he spoke these strange and offensive words: “from now on, a household will be divided – three against two.” Father against son, daughter against mother, divisions among in-laws. What did he mean? I think a key question we must ask is: Did he mean to deliberately divide people or is division a result of his message? There have been clues along the way. At the very beginning of his ministry, Jesus read from the scroll of Isaiah that he had been anointed by God to bring good news to the poor, freedom to the prisoner, liberation for the captive. We must realize that not everyone will hear that as good news. In fact, many will resist. Then Jesus proclaimed, “today in your hearing, this scripture has been fulfilled.” How’d that go over? At first, they were proud, boasting among themselves about Joseph’s son. Everyone exclaimed what a nice young man. But he should have quit while he was ahead. By the time he had finished talking, the hometown crowd was so enraged they ran him out of town with the intention of throwing him off a cliff. While they were arguing among themselves, Jesus passed right through the middle of them and off on his way. Mary knew the child she was carrying in her womb would upset the world. The hungry filled with good things isn’t going to please the rich walking away empty-handed. The powerful brought down from their thrones while the humble are lifted high are not going to sit around enjoying a new view of the world. They’re going to fight back. As you know, Jesus was often provocative, getting under the skin especially of the ones tasked with purity and making sure every “i” is dotted and every “t” is crossed. You don’t call religious people “hypocrites and broods of vipers” and expect them to respond by saying, “thank you!” Did Jesus come to cause division? Was that his intention? Or is it true that following Jesus can’t help but cause division? I’ll admit I would prefer if his message had been “I’ve come to bring unity among divided people.” That would make much more sense. That’s what we need right now. But you can’t bring unity without addressing that which divides us. Otherwise all we have succeeded in doing is keeping things as they are. For the comfortable, that’s not so bad. For those at the top, that’s terrific. But for Christians, followers of Jesus who came on behalf of people at the bottom, for anyone excluded, hated, or reviled, that is unacceptable. It’s not OK. Charlottesville was religious extremism on clear display – easy for anyone to denounce. Well, it should have been easy… While Charlottesville may have been five years ago, the ideology behind it is just as real and gaining power every day. It is fueled by an imposter masquerading as Christianity. This imposter is draped in innocent language about the founding of the United States as a Christian nation, the insistence that we are a nation not characterized by the separation of church and state but a nation in which the two are the same, seeking the enforcement of “biblical” laws by Christian judges, and descriptions of “real Americans.” There may be disagreement about some of these ideas, but let’s be clear it is not Christianity. It is Christian nationalism and it is growing in popularity and influence among much of white Christianity. You might hear it called religious liberty but its intent is Christian privilege. And when that privilege is questioned, cries of persecution. Charlottesville’s “You will not replace us” hides behind such slogans as “Take America Back for God.” It glorifies depictions of a “Warrior Christ.” And although it appears innocuous, it inspires violence – intimidation, harassment, and murder – such as
Christian nationalism creates a false idol of power. Christianity doesn’t need power. Its power is love. Christianity is a gospel of love – love for God and love from God, love for our neighbor – every neighbor, and even love for enemies. But love is never OK with suffering for some and victory for others. That is an absolute abuse of power. So therefore, Jesus asks, “Do you think I came to smooth things over and make everything nice? Not so. I’ve come to disrupt and confront!” That’s Eugene Peterson’s insightful translation of our passage today in The Message. Who wouldn’t prefer Jesus to smooth things over and make everything nice!? Instead, Jesus’s words are confounding and disturbing. They should cause us to pause, to ponder the meaning and implications. And it makes me ask: Is it divisive to call out Christian nationalism? But this distortion of Christianity is causing great harm and not only to people. It is a huge factor behind young Americans fleeing the church. It repulses young and old alike who will not stand for
Personally, if the alternative was that or nothing, I’d take nothing. I’d be the first one out the door of the church. I’d simply follow Jesus on my own. Perhaps find two or three to gather in his name. Thank God there are churches like this and Christians like you – not that we don’t have our own issues. We can’t forget to remove the log from our own eye before pointing out the splinter in our neighbor’s. On a steamy August evening in Virginia, Rev. Blackmon encouraged the congregation. We who believe in freedom, who believe in God, “when violence and hatred are flourishing, it is necessary for love to show up.” The emphasis is on WE. I can only conclude that following Jesus will cause division because it clarifies our values and makes us ask: With whom do you stand? It doesn’t require a mean spirit but it does require a choice and it’s not always easy. But we will never regret choosing love over power. Therefore, in the words of Sister Ruth Fox: May God bless us with discomfort at easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships, so that we may live deep within our hearts. May God bless us with anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people, so that we may work for justice, freedom, and peace. May God bless us with tears to shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation, and war, so that we may reach out our hands to comfort them and turn their pain into joy. And may God bless us with enough foolishness to believe that we can make a difference in this world, so that we can do what others claim cannot be done.
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