This is the third straight Sunday in which the gospel reading has been taken from Luke 12. Throughout the chapter Jesus has continued to call for people to “see,” a message that has been present since the beginning of the mission of the 72 disciples told at the beginning of Luke 10. A message made clear upon their return: “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. For I say to you, many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it.” (Luke 10:23-24).  Along the continuing journey to Jerusalem each person becomes an opportunity for Jesus to help them (and the crowds) to see more clearly, more richly: the scholar of the Law in Luke 10:25 ff; Martha and Mary (vv.38-42); the disciples in Luke 11, as well as the Pharisees in that same encounter; and Jesus continually speaks so that they will become “rich in what matters to God” (Luke 12:21).

Luke 12 introduces one of the oldest messages of the Bible, Old Testament and New: the “day of the Lord.” It was a key theme of the post-Exilic prophets: Haggai, Zechariah, Obadiah, Joel and Malachai. The “day” was one of rescue and salvation for the faithful and a day of judgment upon the wicked. Here is Luke 12, Jesus’ ongoing proclamation of the kingdom now contains the message of a coming judgment (Luke 12:4-10), clearly told in the parable of the Rich Fool (vv.16-21).  The theme and image is amplified in vv. 49-53 when the Word of God is described as a refining and purifying fire. The acceptance or rejection of that Word will be a source of conflict and dissension even within families. Our gospel reading has an ominous beginning:

⁴⁹  “I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing! ⁵⁰  There is a baptism with which I must be baptized, and how great is my anguish until it is accomplished! ⁵¹ Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. ⁵² From now on a household of five will be divided, three against two and two against three;  ⁵³ a father will be divided against his son and a son against his father, a mother against her daughter and a daughter against her mother, a mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.” (Luke 12:49-53; this is the gospel  reading for Sunday)

That had to have been (and still is) a startling beginning: “I have come to set the earth on fire…” Every time and place has experiences of the ravaging effects of uncontrolled fiery maelstroms. Patricia Sanchez offers this insight: 

“Fire! – The very mention of this word stirs fear in the human heart. Indeed so horrific is the potential of fire to destroy life and reduce to ashes even the most solid and sturdy of structures that it is a crime to irresponsibly shout this word in a public place! Every year, forest fires, fed by powerful desert winds, burn a wide swath of destruction across miles and miles of land. Every year, through carelessness and maliciousness, lives are lost, homes are leveled, and many lose their means of livelihood to fire. So dreaded is the mere specter of fire that it has, since ancient times, been associated with the retribution to be suffered by the evil and unrepentant after death. Given the ordinary human regard for and experience of fire, it seems strange (if not shocking!) that Jesus would claim that he had come to light a fire on earth and that he wished for the blaze to be ignited.”

..and yet Jesus offers us this strange and shocking image.

The lectionary for Sunday gospel “skips” over the next verses that are generally considered part of the same pericope. With the warning given, Jesus now admonishes the listener to rightly judge and “interpret the present time.”

⁵⁴ He also said to the crowds, “When you see (a) cloud rising in the west you say immediately that it is going to rain—and so it does; ⁵⁵ and when you notice that the wind is blowing from the south you say that it is going to be hot—and so it is. ⁵⁶ You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky; why do you not know how to interpret the present time? ⁵⁷ “Why do you not judge for yourselves what is right? ⁵⁸ If you are to go with your opponent before a magistrate, make an effort to settle the matter on the way; otherwise your opponent will turn you over to the judge, and the judge hand you over to the constable, and the constable throw you into prison. ⁵⁹ I say to you, you will not be released until you have paid the last penny.” (Luke 12:54-59)

That judgment demands a full payment.