However, Jesus was also a fairly complex individual. Certainly he always cared about love, grace,
and forgiveness, but there was more to him… Take the words of Jesus from Luke
12:49:
“I came to hurl fire to the earth, and O’ how
I wish it were already kindled.”
-Jesus
Yikes!
These words are part of our scripture passage this week, and they are
not read in very many children’s books. Nor
are these words sung in any of the fun Jesus songs I know. J This side of Jesus seems totally
different from the one I grew up with, and I’m not always sure what to make of
that. I have heard people use these
words to condemn others, but I don’t for a minute believe Jesus ever wanted to destroy
another human’s life...
Jesus lived everyday sharing love with
fishermen, tax collectors, and the outcasts.
Jesus also spent time reaching out to the scribes, Pharisees, and
powerful rulers at the time. He wanted
to bring the good news to everyone! I
think our scripture today is more about burning down the barriers that prevent
us from seeing who God truly is.
Almost every week I travel around the Las
Vegas valley visiting all kinds of people, including those nearing the final
stages of life. This can be an exhausting
task. There is fear. There is pain. There is also a feeling of loss and grief
that can be overwhelming. However, I
really believe these moments are sacred.
There is something special about declaring the promise of love among
people who are all ready to listen. There
are so many distractions in our world. There
are so many moments when we give up on ourselves. I believe Jesus wants us to burn all of these
distractions away so that we can hear the real promise of Grace. That is the beauty of these visits with
people. We are taking a moment to get
rid of everything else that doesn’t matter and hear a real promise. Today, that is my hope and prayer for all of
you. I pray that you could let go and
hear a real promise of Grace.
Blessings!
PB
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