Given at First Congregational Church of San Francisco
Sunday, August 19, 2001
Rev. Wilfried Glabach
minister@sanfranciscoucc.org
 

Jesus said, " Do you think I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division!"  In the Gospel of Matthew we read it a little different. "I have not to come to bring peace, but a sword." (Matthew 10:34). Either way these words are hard to swallow. What does this mean?

What was Jesus thinking when he said he had come not to bring peace but division? Didn't Jesus say, "Blessed are the peacemakers?" (Matthew 5:9) or didn't Jesus tell us to make peace with our sister and our brother before worshipping God?

The glorious thing is the Bible tells us what Jesus was thinking. Or more precisely Jesus tells us what he was thinking. He makes several comments in the verse right before the one where he says he has to come not to bring peace. These comments give us a window into Jesus' thoughts. And they explain the context of this troublesome verse.

Jesus says, "I came to cast fire upon the earth!" FIRE? What is this fire all about that Jesus says he came to cast upon the earth? In the bible fire is often seen as an instrument of God's judgment. It consumes the unrighteous like chaff, and the same fire purifies the righteous like a furnace smelting gold. So Jesus is thinking of the judgment that will be part of the coming of the kingdom. He is talking about a time of destruction for the unrighteous and a time of cleansing for the righteous. 

Then Jesus says " I have a baptism with which to be baptized with; and what stress I am under until it is completed!" Jesus is talking about the Baptism of his death. He knows that he will go to Jerusalem and die and that knowledge created stress in him. He also knows that like him his followers will suffer. 

The coming of this kingdom will not be all peaches and cream. For those who have not tuned to God it will be a day of torment. And he knows that bringing this kingdom about will be no picnic either. He himself will have to die on a cross to ransom the faithful. And many of the faithful will have to give their lives to witness to the power of God's kingdom. It is in this context that Jesus makes this statement about peace and division.

"Do you think I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division!"

You know there are two kinds of peace: peace without justice and peace with justice. Peace without justice is simply a lack of open conflict. During the high point of the Roman Empire they spoke proudly of the "Pax Romana" or Roman peace. For centuries Rome kept the peace throughout the known world. But they did it by conquering and oppression. That is peace without justice. It is a time of injustice and oppression.

There is a personal parallel to this. An individual can be at peace and there be no justice. When people are not personally disturbed by injustices, that is a state of peace without justice. When people fail to speak up and speak out against wrongdoing and sin, there is a lack of interpersonal conflict, but God's justice is not realized.

Jesus said, "do you think I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division!" This doesn’t mean that Jesus didn't come to bring peace to the souls of those who believed. Because he does that, he gives a peace that passes understanding. But this peace is not cheap. Is a gift of God's grace, but it is a costly gift. Jesus had to enter into conflict with the evil powers of the universe and be crucified to buy you that gift.

Jesus calls us to make peace between people. It means that sometimes we have to make the ultimate sacrifice to seek true peace: peace with justice. It means that reconciling peoples often entails conflict. So people are dying to bring peace with justice to the former Yugoslavia. Many people died to bring an end to racial apartheid in South Africa and in America. 

Jesus said, "do you think I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division!" That means we have to make divisions. We have to divide between right and wrong. We have to say racism is a sin. We have to say exploits of human being are a sin. We have to say destruction of God's creation is a sin.  We have to divide between right and wrong and we have to say what is right and wrong. We have to do it personally, for this congregation and for the world. But we have to say it clear, but with love and patience.

We have to say, "Jesus is the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but through him." And then we have to back those words up with actions. That means for me, we don't have to talk only, we also have to act.

People will not like this. I have seen such issues divide families and congregations.  Have seen friendships strained because someone has stood up for the Gospel. People will hate you for telling them that they are wrong or that their way of life is wrong and sinful. But people hated Jesus for the same reason. 

It is good that we come together every Sunday to listen to the word of God, that became flesh in Jesus Christ. This word of God we have to spread as a congregation. This will be the main task in our future as a Christian church. God's word doesn't make our life easier but more honest. This word divides but it can also reconcile.

"DO YOU THINK I HAVE COME TO BRING PEACE TO THE EARTH? NO, I TELL YOU, BUT RATHER DIVISION!"

Which side of the dividing line are you on?

Peace be with you and grace from God who was who is to come…