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 STRONG
WORDS -the entire chapter is a sober, forward looking piece that calls us to attention,
calls us to count the cost and situate our lives in relationship to Jesus. Jesus has come
as the arsonist - the one who sets the world on fire. Clearly, Jesus envisions his own
impending drama-though at this juncture, he probably does not know what its final form
will be.
GETTING COMMITED - Dire predictions and warnings such as these in the gospel lesson
force us to reexamine our own commitments. We can often make a commitment in one area of
our compartmentalized life without ever considering its impact in other areas of our life.
Jesus warns that people who make a commitment to him will find their relationships to
others, even those closest to them, affected by that commitment. At least at a theological
level, this passage reminds us that we cannot make a commitment to Jesus Christ without
its affecting the way we relate to friends and to family members. Because our commitment
to Christ shapes our values, priorities, goals, and behavior, it also forces us to change
old patterns of life, and these changes may precipitate crises in significant
relationships. [1]
 Although we’d like to believe that the walk of faith
is all light and warmth, we can’t avoid the reality that it can also be fiery:
"I can to bring fire to the earth." Being a disciple of Jesus is costly. Loyalty
to Jesus Christ may cause division rather than peace. Referring to the cross and his
resurrection as a "baptism," Jesus says, "What stress I am under until it
is completed!" Picture Jesus carrying each stress in your life to the cross, one by
one, as each thought of a personal or family conflict comes to your mind. Finally, picture
yourself being baptized-dying with Jesus, then rising to walk in newness of life. [2]
What is the most costly thing you’ve given up in your decision to be a
disciple of Jesus?
 How does the preacher proclaim such an apocalyptic text? You may want to be quite
honest with the radical quality, the #50 sandpaper edge to the words. I would even raise
such words in a different context to let us hear how challenging and perhaps even
dangerous such words are.
The words must be proclaimed from within the ministry of Jesus that, at this juncture
in Christ’s life, has been met with much confrontation and conflict. Jesus knows that
he has stepped over the line, he has made his mark in the sand and is even now preparing
to meet its response.
According to this passage God is so acting toward the world in Jesus of Nazareth that a
crisis has been created, that is to say, Jesus is "making a difference," even
within families. Peace in the sense of status quo is now disrupted. Historically this has
been proven true, and it will be finally true in the eschaton. [3]
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[1] The New Interpreter’s Bible IX (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1995), page
267.
[2] The Spiritual Formation Bible (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1999), page 1374.
[3] Fred Craddock, Interpretation Series: Luke (Louisville: John Knox Press, 1990), page
166.
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