August 19, 2007
Pentecost XII

Word of the Lord

Jesus' saying in today's gospel reading should not scare us but should make us pay attention. Jesus says he did not come to bring peace to the earth but rather division. We have experienced throughout history the consequences of what trying to follow the Good News of Jesus has or has not done; division, war, unsettledness, etc. Jesus does not come literally to divide, it is just a natural consequence of his coming and the subsequent distributing of God's spirit among us.

The word of the Lord comes to us. When the word of the Lord comes to us, we are called to do something new, be something new, to see all things new. We are called to cocreate with God. The word of the Lord in the person of Jesus is an invitation to stand in the midst of the fire of God's presence in the world. The word of the Lord is like a hammer on a rock, breaking and creating. Let us let the word of God, through the presence and word of our Lord Jesus Christ, work in us even if it challenges us.

The next questions that we need to be asked are, "Are we ready to be set on fire? Are we ready to let our current understandings be smashed to pieces?" As we are dismissed from worship today and we respond, "Thanks be to God", let these words mean to us: "Yes, Lord, send your word to me here and take me someplace new! Give me your fire, and bring me closer to your Kingdom."

Silito

Take a look at some of the previous messages from the Rector