Fire of the Word

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

“Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division.”

We do not like division. We spend a lot of time trying to prevent or repair divisions that occur in our lives. We tell our children to get along with one another, to play nicely. Corporations have seminars to teach employees conflict-resolution techniques. People go to college and study business relations or international relations, so they learn how to prevent and resolve conflicts. If you walk through a bookstore, even a Christian bookstore, there is a whole section devoted to the topic of conflict resolution and interpersonal harmony.

Division comes about because of sin. The evil, sinful nature that each of us has inherited from our forefathers makes us isolationists at heart. My selfish ambition and covetous desires will not let me near anyone else. Sure, we live in proximity to one another, but only because there is some benefit to me, myself and I. If there ceases to be a benefit, or if the cost outweighs the value, then we start looking for the way out.

Or, if there seems to be no easy way out, then we start looking for someone else to blame. My spouse doesn't love me anymore. My boss doesn't like me. My kids don't listen or behave. We look for a reason to get out with the least amount of damage to our own reputations, and pocketbooks. Case in point, the free abortion and the no-fault divorce.

These kinds of divisions are no one's fault but our own. God has no patience or grace for them, except to forgive our sins and teach us to forgive those who sin against us. These divisions are those which Christ came to mend by His blood. These are the divisions which we should always seek to mend and reconcile in Christian love.

But there is another kind of division that plagues us. The kind of division that Jesus brings, as He says in today's gospel lesson. The division that Jesus brings is the division of truth from falsehood. It is the division of the Kingdom of God from the kingdom of the ruler of this world. This division is unavoidable and irreconcilable.

The division caused by the Word of God is the most heinous sort of division in the eyes of this world. This world wants you to buy into the message of “go along to get along”. This world wants you to be quiet while your neighbor lives in flagrant sin. This world wants you to “live and let live” while a culture of immorality and death is diminishing everyone's right to life. This world wants you to keep silent about the truth, so that everyone else can keep his own idolatrous heart beating to its own drummer. The world wants you to let everyone define his own variety of so-called truth, allowing each person to do “what feels right”. After all, what feels so right can't be wrong, can it?

Against this barrage of unholy nonsense comes the fire of God's Word. There is no other god but the One God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. There is no other name by which one may be saved. What feels right and good to the human heart is evil. There is no other father who supplies our every need of body and soul. There is no other author and source of life.

The most important Word of God for us comes from the cross. On the cross, the water Baptism with which Jesus had been baptized by John became a Baptism of fire as the wrath of God for sin was poured out upon Jesus. In His great distress, He received all the punishment stored up for the sins of all mankind. Then, when He had taken in Himself all the wrath due for our sins, He cried out “It is finished!” When Jesus gave up His life upon the cross, our redemption was accomplished. His blood was shed for our transgressions, and it became a life-giving cup of blessing by which we receive the fruits of His sacrifice. By His stripes we are healed, and with His death our peace is secured.

Now the fire of His Word is cast upon the earth, and it causes divisions among men. Father from son, mother from daughter, brother from brother – all our earthly bonds are rent asunder, except that they be forged in Christ. The water that Jesus sanctified by His Baptism sundered each of us from the number of the unbelieving, and joined us to the holy catholic church, who lives and moves and has her being in His who is her head. The divisions caused by Christ's Word of truth are painful, but that pain is but a fleeting blow compared with the peace and joy that comes through Jesus.

The Word of God causes great pain to those who do not believe. It destroys their hearts that harbor foolish idols. It breaks down their covetous stores of personal treasure and worth. To them it is a sword that pierces the soul and divides bone from marrow. Because of that, they lash out with great malice and spite against those who have the peace their false murmurings promised. Therefore, you will experience pain and hardship because of the Word of God.

You will be laughed at for your convictions. You will be called an intolerant fundamentalist. You will be labeled a hatemonger and a bigot. You will be hated and scorned. But you will endure.

You will endure because the trials of this world and of this age are temporary. When the Judgment comes, they will all pass away, and you shall remain with Jesus in paradise. You will endure because the waters of Baptism have drowned your old nature, and you now rest safe from the flood of judgment in the ark of the holy catholic Church. You will endure because the blood of the new covenant which was shed on the cross will be poured into your mouths again and again, forgiving your sins and forging the bonds which cannot be broken. You will endure because you have heard, and continue to hear the Word of God preached into your ears and into your hearts.

You will endure in the peace that comes from knowing that your salvation is secure in Jesus. You will endure in the peace that comes from knowing the truth that sets you free. You will endure in the peace that binds all Christians together into the one mystical Body of Christ.

The peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

Rev. Ryan McDermott
St. Peter Lutheran Church
Elma, IA