Peace is not the absence of conflict

Have you had a BBQ recently? I recall lighting one once and feel the warm coals, seeing them glow, anticipating the food which we could cook. I then heard a shout from the house

“Watch your trousers”

Now this isn’t a phrase I was expecting. My trousers aren’t something I generally watch out for. They weren’t on the washing line, and I wouldn’t be so stupid to place the BBQ under the washing line. So why shout out, “watch your trousers!” ?

So I casually look down and noted that flames were now licking my trousers, the flames were rising up from beneath the BBQ and were now engulfing the basin. 

The BBQ had been alight for a fair few minutes but what I had not known was that a hole had appeared in the basin. The hot coals had fallen through the hole, and had nestled onto the …unlit coals and kindling placed carefully – for when you needed to start a fire…

The food was cooked in the oven that day.

Smoke gets in your eyes

Fire offers us a mixture of emotions. From those days when smoke gets in your eyes – wherever you stand, to that warm glow, to eating marshmallows or hot dogs or baked potatoes wrapped in foil and stuck in the ashes. Fire can warm us up, cook our food, boil water so that the food is transformed from the inedible to edible. It can be used also to threaten or to destroy. 

Fire or Baptism?

The first thing to strike you from the passage  – possibly literally – is the fire. Fire which is cast down, as judgement. But it is linked so closely with the baptism mentioned in Luke 3, when the Holy Spirit fell down upon Jesus.  When we think of Jesus as all sweetness and light, dressed in a lovely white cassock and with little birds flying around his tussled hair, this passage seems to be a far cry from then. Is this then same person? When we have problems in life, we might pray for peace, for calmness, so why all this fire?

Name Calling?

Jesus in recent weeks within Luke’s Gospel has spoken out about a rich farmer, calling him a fool, and then calling others hypocrites. Remember that hypocrites means literally false actors. Was it name calling or identifying people for what they are? Ponder on the ongoing Conservative leadership hustings and the comments “within the party” – between colleagues – we are hearing.

Jesus is also on his way to Jerusalem. He may not know exactly what might happen there, but there’s an anticipation that it isn’t going to end well. The disciples are, as usual, oblivious to all this. They are here for the ride, are all amazed at what they have seen so far.

Reality Check

Jesus is giving them a reality check. Jesus does not lead us towards conflict but it is inevitable.

If we recall the story of the prodigal son, he returns and there is fanfare, cheering and a banquet – but who was missing? Yup his brother. Conflict.

Jesus comes to a house of friends and sits to eat. Mary sits at his feet and there’s Martha protesting. Conflict.

When Peter walks on the water, it isn’t calm water. 

“Peace is not the absence of conflict…”

Dorothy Thompson, Mahatma Gandhi, Ronald Reagan

Do we like conflict? Do we shy away from engaging with conflict as we enjoy the quieter life? What price peace?

Perhaps if we desire to continue to be a healthy church, we might address conflict head on. That’s not actively looking for it, but thrive on feedback. That we are all prepared to voice our perspective so that the ‘louder’ voices don’t drown out the quieter whispers. 

Split households?

So when we read of households being split unevenly, we might recall those days when families might marry across denominations and find that one side don’t talk to another anymore. When one child is sent to one school, the other to another, and there’s that split – and it’s deep. When the passage refers to seeing the cloud appearing in the west, it isn’t asking us to be meteorologists but to look out for signs, for changes which will affect the church, the community. It’s asking us to interpret the situation. Where do we see hardship with others, so where could we help? Do we see loneliness, where might we act? Where do we not see God’s kin_dom, what can we do about it?

This passage isn’t saying life is a bowl of cherries, there will be hard at times, conflict will arise – it’s about reality but there’s hope in all of this. God’s kin_dom.