Peace-But Not At Any Price!
a sermon based on Luke 12:49-56
by Rev. Frank Schaefer

As many of you know, I was raised in Germany and, of course, I have many fond memories of that time. But I also have some not so fond memories: I vividly remember when I received my draft note from the military at age 17. Being raised in the Anabaptist tradition in Germany, I made up my mind quickly that I was going to be a conscientious objector--I would never bear arms and would definitely never shoot at anybody.   I was asked to come to an interview at the armed forces draft offices. I remember sitting in the hallway when some middle-aged drill sergeant came out of one of the offices, looked at me and commanded: "Steh auf, Junge! ("Get up, boy!"). I was so intimidated that I followed his order.  I remember feeling fear and anger at the same time. So that was what it was like in the army?   I wasn't even part of the army and yet, they ordered me around in a rude and degrading way. I don't know what this man's goal was, all I know is that it made me even more of an objector.

I was raised to believe that being a Christian is all about peace. Christianity was about offering the other cheek if someone attacked me or insulted me.  After all, that's what Jesus did, wasn't it? And I wanted to follow him, trying to be transformed into his image. Jesus was the prince of peace and, so, I was going to be an agent of peace in this world.

At least that's what I thought until I came across passages like the one from our reading today.

What's going on in our bible lesson today?  Did Jesus really say these words?  Did he actually say: "Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division!" Wait a minute, "isn't he supposed to be about peace and peace only?" Is this a translation error?  Or was Jesus kidding around with the disciples?  I have to admit that at first this passage put me in duress when I started to prepare my sermon; it challenges my very basic belief in Jesus--about his person and ministry.

Perhaps we need to see the larger context to understand Jesus' words?

The 12th chapter of Luke could be entitled: Warnings and Encouragements (as indeed the NIV puts it).

Jesus starts his discourse by a few words of warning against the yeast of the Pharisees. Then he tells the parable about the Rich Fool followed by the famous "Do not worry" speech which is also recorded in Matthew 6.  Then he speaks about the watchful servants who are to keep the lamps burning to wait for the return of the master.

In the following verses, Jesus elaborates on what it means to be vigilant and to be good stewards--Whoever has been entrusted much, of this person much will be demanded. Then we have today's lectionary passage where Jesus insists that he came to bring division, not peace.  Jesus ends the discourse by specifically addressing the crowd with an encouragement to interpret the signs of the time-- to open their eyes to what's going on around them in terms of injustice and hypocrisy.

I think there is some significance in Peter's question:  "Lord, are you telling this parable to us (the disciples), or to everyone?" (Verse 41)  Although Jesus never really answers the question, Luke (the one who recorded this account) seems to think that Jesus was indeed addressing the disciples when he shared about bringing division.  That's why Luke makes a point of introducing the second part of our lectionary passage (the sign-of-the-times message) with the words: "He also said to the crowds..."

The words Jesus shared about not bringing peace but division, esp. in the family probably rang very true to the disciples who had left their families to follow Jesus. The disciples were asked to leave everything behind and make a radical decision--a decision that would put them at odds with more than their families; it would later put them at odds with the religious and government authorities later.  It would put them into the "rebel camp."

I really do believe that Luke is making a very conscious distinction here between the crowd and the disciples.  The message here is: while Jesus brings peace to the world overall (and that's how most people will experience Jesus), there are people in this world that Jesus calls to a special ministry--a tough ministry.  A ministry of prophecy, a ministry of making injustice known; a ministry of bringing the good news of Jesus into areas whose leaders resist the gospel of Christ.

This message about Jesus bringing division became true for the disciples in other ways; most all of them became martyrs for their faith.  The world was not quite ready for Christianity until the conversion of Constantine and the Roman Empire in the 4th century AD.

Even today, there are some Christian ministers who have this experience of division; quite a number of  brothers and sisters in China and the Muslim world, for instance, have become (or are on their way to become)  martyrs for their faith in Jesus.

In many Muslim countries, if you get baptized into the Christian faith as a former Muslim, your family may shun you, and in some cases, even come after you (to kill you).

Even in our own country, there are ministers of the gospel who stand in the front lines of radical discipleship.  Just think about all those who stood with Martin Luther King, all those who stood for the ordination of women, all those who oppose random abortion, or all those who are standing for equal rights for all human beings.

What is the good news in this passage?  The good news is that sometimes true and lasting peace lies on the other side of a war, or a struggle, or a protest, or a sit-down strike. But there is true peace that awaits us!

Jesus does not want us to be boneless and spineless Christians.  Jesus wants us to stand up for what we believe. Yes, we bring the peace of Christ to the world, and yes, we may turn the other cheek in a physical or emotional attack on us.  We are called to be peace-makers when it is between us and them.  But when it comes to standing up and speaking up for what is wrong or right--especially when it comes to protecting the weak and the discriminated--we are to speak up courageously.

I would like to close with a poem whose origin is somewhat unclear.  Many attribute it to the German pastor/theologian Martin Niemoeller who survived Dachau and Sachsenhausen:

 
When the Nazis came for the communists,
I did not speak out;
I was not a communist.

When they locked up the social democrats,
I did not speak out;
I was not a social democrat.

When they came for the trade unionists,
I did not speak out;
I was not a trade unionist.

When they came for the Jews,
I did not speak out;
I was not a Jew.

When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out.

Injustice and maltreatment of people is still rampant all around us--even today: in the work place, in school, in the shopping centers and even on the ball fields.  Like Jesus, let us be advocates for peace, but not peace at any price. Sometimes the Christian message will cause us to cause division.  Let the people around you know that the kind of peace you're advocating is a peace for all and not a peace at the expense of others.  Let us all strive to step out of the crowd and become radical disciples for Christ. Let us no longer just listen and observe, let us interpret the signs of the times and act upon it in Jesus' name.  Amen.