Proper 15 - Year C

Welcome Statement

When you think of Fire. What do you think of? For some, those who dealt with fires in homes, we see it as a danger, as something that can harm. But in the early times of humanity, it was a source of protection and comfort, It would provide light, protecting a community from pests, bugs, and predators. It also would purify water and make food safe through cooking. The reason I ask this is, the readings today start to ask about this issue of being Close to God. The original understanding in the Old Testament, is that if you were to visibly see the entirety of God, you would burn from the light of God, because his presence is all purifying. His word is understood in the same way to be a purifying and sanctifying presence in our lives.

Jeremiah, is one of the those purifying voices, in the line of the prophets. Like other prophets, they were pointing to injustice and suffering during their time. Jeremiah’s particular situation was there were false prophets trying to give easy fixes and solutions or answers to life’s hardest questions. The populace of Israel lapped up these answers as if they were the equivalent of God’s. Jeremiah found himself with that fire in his bones, so much so he couldn’t keep it to himself. Today’s reading is a continuation of that explostion of fire coming from his proclomations regargding the Lord.

Old Testament Reading - Jeremiah 23:23-29

Jeremiah 23:23–29 NRSV

Am I a God near by, says the Lord, and not a God far off? Who can hide in secret places so that I cannot see them? says the Lord. Do I not fill heaven and earth? says the Lord. I have heard what the prophets have said who prophesy lies in my name, saying, “I have dreamed, I have dreamed!” How long? Will the hearts of the prophets ever turn back—those who prophesy lies, and who prophesy the deceit of their own heart? They plan to make my people forget my name by their dreams that they tell one another, just as their ancestors forgot my name for Baal. Let the prophet who has a dream tell the dream, but let the one who has my word speak my word faithfully. What has straw in common with wheat? says the Lord. Is not my word like fire, says the Lord, and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?

God isn’t Far Away

One stigma that Jeremiah crushes immediately, is this notion that God is this far away presence that simply is an observer, not an active force in this universe. This is just not true! Even in the temple System, God resided among the people in his Holy of Holies, which was a manifestation or representative of the Garden of Eden where God partnered with humanity. The difference of course is there is a reverence regarding purity and payment of sin, and through those sacrifices, they atoned for it. But even with this layer of separation, God desired to be with his chosen people. In the case of King David, his spirit was on Him, even though it was conditional on his own faithfulness. This rings a truth to us. God isn’t far away, those false prophets today who declare nilishim and despair, are deceiving us, are letting our hearts be worn down by the everyday drudgery.

Nutrition

God is so clear about the false prophets here. He says let them dream, but let those who know his word speak it and read it. What he means is, as he proclaims, that his word, the wheat, cannot be replicated through straw, the false dreams and ideas. We see Christ talk of a similiar issue when he says he is the bread of life, or living water. What is nutritious in our spiritual life? of course reading the word is one of those nutritious things, but living it, actively metabolizing it, like a refinining fire in our bones themselves, becomes even more sustaining. A practicing, living faith is how one becomes full. Yes, our spiritual muscles can hurt, but they release the equivalent of spiritual endorphins, we get that feel good nudge that we are doing what is right, and even when we don’t and everything hurts, we can rest knowing we made the right choices in context to God’s glory.

The Refining Fire

The Word, is a refining fire, it is something that burns off dead branches, it cleanses. Think of Daniel’s friends, who were thrown into the fire, but came out unscathed, and actually received the presence of the Lord, the Son of Man. He also defines himself as a hammer. In this case he refers to using a hammer to break rocks. In the same case, our egos when we read the word, are broken by conviction of the word. Another example that might be helpful, is even if the word isn’t breaking us, it is sharpening us, molding us. A blacksmith uses a hammer to refine a hot piece of metal, and the fire is used to heat up the metal so it can be easily molded. Think of this as the refining fire. God turns up the temperature on our lives, so we can be molded into something more like Him.

This concept of a refining fire is so important, that Jesus Christ, the Son of Man, talks about it in the Gospel of Luke with his own words of conviction.

New Testament Reading - Luke 12:49-56

Luke 12:49–56 NRSV

“I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were 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 her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.” He also said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, you immediately say, ‘It is going to rain’; and so it happens. And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, ‘There will be scorching heat’; and it happens. You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?

Came to Bring Fire

We tend to see Jesus through the methodist lense of love and grace, but we would be remiss to not recall that he has other qualities of conviction, ta desire for total justice and truth. In this passage, Jesus is not saying he is coming to deliberately separate households over issues, but that the contents of his word, are so scandalizing, and so counter-cultural, that they offend the ears of those who just want to keep and maintain the status quo. His word enables the downtrodden and poor to find hope, and enables those in places of privilege to advocate, tipping the balances from Worldly endeavors, to heavenly ones. Not everyone is going to accept this type of wholesome love. One that isn’t just romantic, but actually lifts people up, like a Good Samaritan would regardless of background or status.

We see this even in church history. For example, the protestant reformation did not originally start as a desire to seceed from the Catholic Church, but as a desire to reform, fix, and hold accountable the church everyone grew up in. Luther’s Theses were not a drive by of complaints where he quickly left after posting his theses, no, he was thrown out against his will. This is what Christ means, our pointing to the truth is what puts us at odds with worldly institutions and passions. We point that Jesus is lord, and offend those who would rather live for themselves, or for something that is not God-focused. We claim that only Christ’s love is the real type of love, and we offend those who trivialize love as nothing more than something romantic or basic. Being a Christian means being a part of the process of the refining fire, we find ourselves molded by God, and we help push those around us to be better people.

Ability to Interpret the World But not God’s Word

One of the strangest pieces about this passage, is when God talks about how the people can interpret the weather and sky, but can’t actually interpret the climate of the society they are in, or what God is doing in the background. I think this is extremely relevant to us. We are seeing a lot of people misidentifying what issues are the ones to be worried about, whether its in politics, local communities, or culture itself, we see a lot of people concerned about things that when you broaden the scope, realize are trivial. It’s not that these issues are actually trivial, but in comparison to what God is doing, they do not actually matter in the grand scheme of things. Nations rise and fall, but Jesus is eternal.

Prices rise and fall, but Jesus is eternal.

Families, rise and fall, but Jesus is eternal.

We spend so much time and energy, on the wellbeing of things of the world, and forget, God want’s us to make sure we take care of our temples, and listen to HIS word in each moment. This is definitely easier said than done. I definitely recognize the problem that we live in the world but not of it, we have to still do those tasks we are obligated to do. But we do them in understanding it all is meant to lead to Jesus. That job that forces you to be disciplined? That discipline points you back to Jesus. Being a parent or watching over kids? That points you back to Jesus. Almost all of our lives we can point to Jesus in some fashion. Even in tragedy people can become close and heal. That is the refining fire of that Pentecostal Spirit, that heavenly dove. The Holy Ghost.

Closing Statement

When you think of this refining fire, know it does not harm. There are cases where it can feel like it hurts, or it requires effort, but it’s for our wellbeing. I am not saying you must enjoy the pain, but I am saying, like working out, or doing hard work, it’s with a goal in mind. The journey is a part of that Goal, as we stay close to Jesus. We are asked by God to make sure he is our foundation, so we do not become like the hypocrites, more worried about weather reports, than what we are doing with our lives in context to God’s Glory. Remember when you see division, it is not God’s desire for humanity to be in such a place of turmoil, but it is a natural outcome of our fall and depravity. The hope we have is that Jesus Christ, sometime in the future, will fix all of this, that new Heaven and Earth will be established, he simply asks us, to weather the storm, to feel the depth of his love for us, and to live as his disciples, on this place we call home. Let us Pray.

Closing Prayer

Heavenly Father, Lord, thank you for your presence in our lives. That fire that refines us, and molds us like a blacksmith with a hammer. Lord, Break us to peaces, so you can reshape us in your image, so that we are not distracted by pain and sorrow, but focused on the glory of your Kingdom, of building that which you alone ordain and control. Resurrect us as you break us, so that we can withstand the pain of this world, so we can find new life in you again. I thank you again for this presence in your name.

Amen.

Doxology / Benediction / Closing

As you go out this week, look out for that refining fire, think about and observe how God’s presence weaves into your lives, and how that presence molds you into the new creation he has calledyou to be. It is subtle, it is sometimes hard to notice, but it is indeed there. Know that presence l

May you Have a Blessed Sunday, and rest of your Week! Amen!