Sermon delivered during the 11 AM Sunday Service of  the 3^rd SMS Alumni and Friends Conference in North America  on August 18, 2007 @ St John’s Episcopal Church, Flushing, NY.   

By Rev James Kollin, Chaplain for International Merchant Mariners under  the Seamen’s Church Institute of New York and New Jersey, Priest of the St Luke and all Saints’ Episcopal Church in New Jersey, Spiritual Adviser for  the BIBAK-NE. 

The Gospel (luke12.49-56) today is somehow shocking and ironic where we seem don’t want to hear about it. It also seems to bring more questions than answers about who really Jesus was and what really did he come for. 

There are 3 warnings in the Gospel today that I would like us  to learn: Addressed to his disciples and us today… 

1] Jesus warns that he came to bring FIRE.

2] Jesus warns that he did NOT come to bring peace but DIVISION.

3] Jesus warns, “Why do we not know how to interpret the present time?” 

After all the fun, fellowship, and friendship you have had the past two days and nights, I’m so sorry but now here comes these warnings from the Bible. Surely, its intimidating and discomforting but calm down my friends, let it be that way for now and  I would like us to keep these warnings in mind as we proceed and grapple for answers and inspirations. 

First of all, for us to understand more deeply about these warnings of Jesus, let me bring you to the CONTEXT during which they were said. Context as you all know is the particular time, place, and situation when words are said and actions done.  

So, Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem to complete his mission to proclaim in completion the KOG. Again, the KOG is a CONDITION OF LIFE where God reigns and everyone and everything is in perfect harmony. A perfect and peaceful life is experience where no one says, “I’m hurt” or in the local dialect, “Biag ay ma-id mangmangwani’s  ate”.  Jesus knew of the consequence of his mission and as he went along his journey, opposition became more intense and more aggressive:

-         The very formal and strictly ritualistic Religious leaders did not like Jesus because he went beyond formality and ritual by tending to the needy even on a non-religiously mandated working days or “after office hours” so to speak.

-         The expert interpreters of the Law were insulted by Jesus for his deep and life-giving interpretation of the law and not just observing it “word per word”.

-         The Jewish people believed and thought that they were the chosen people and the rest were as good as firewood for the fireplace or bonfire but this contradicts the universal and inclusive character and mission of Jesus who loved ALL, served ALL, died for ALL, and resurrected for ALL.

-         The other listeners and potential followers of Jesus were confused as to whom to follow: whether themselves, their possessions/positions/powers, or their families, or Caesar or Jesus.

-         The Apostles were shocked to hear Jesus talking about strong and controversial warnings.

-         The most alarming of all was that the popularity of Jesus was increasing and so the power and leadership of the Roman Government and the self-serving status of the Religious leaders and experts of the law was threatened which led them to “trap” Jesus by finding reasons and proofs for him violating the Jewish law to justify his eventual death on the cross. That was the context. 

Fast forward. That context of Jesus seems not far different to our present day reality both here, in the Philippines and the whole world. In churches, in governments, in workplaces, in organizations, during conferences, in cultural and ethnic groupings, and so on and so forth, what happened then is similarly happening now.  Today, of course the physical Jesus is not present, life is modern and commercialized, relationships are globalized and digitalized yet people are still crucifying Jesus in many forms. Many are still threatened of their status, power, lifestyles when challenged by Jesus. Many are still thinking, believing, and acting as if they are the “chosen ones” or the “holy ones” and the rest are outcasts. Many are still concerned more on the “porma” rather than the “substance” – “ulay ma-id makan ya abong ya saving, ulay makautangta basta mayat nan itsura, nan porma”. Many are still undecided whether to choose and follow Jesus’ unselfishness and other-oriented servanthood or to follow their personal whims and desires inspired by their greed. Yet lest we forget, there are many who are uncompromisingly faithful and humble servants of the Lord, doing his mission even if it meant suffering, sacrifice or death.  

With that context let us go straight to the first WARNING: 

1] When Jesus talked about FIRE he meant JUDGEMENT.  So when he said I came to bring Fire, he was actually saying, I CAME TO BRING JUDGEMENT. And, he did not only bring judgment but he himself is The judge. I like the way our presiding Bishop Schori responded on TV when interviewed with a question: “What do you think of gay clergy or same sex union?” and she said, “It is not for me to judge, that is all up to God.”  The baby Jesus, that young smart Jesus teaching in the temple and listening to the wisdom of the elders, that man Jesus who did all his best to save our mind, body and soul from the wages of sin is the same Jesus who is The JUDGE from Advent to Advent and forever more – no change.  So, think about this: Yes, he is Emmanuel, the Messiah - the Savior and ALSO THE JUDGE. So, besides the judge who pronounces sentences on our traffic violations in court, we have a Judge named Jesus who pronounces sentences on our violations against our commitments in Baptism and against not loving God and our neighbor and his church. 

2] Second Warning:  When Jesus talked about him “Not bringing peace but division” he was talking about the EFFECT and RESULT of the PEACE that he introduced. And the effect and result of his coming to bring that peace Division. Division here meant rejection, denial, and disagreement against him, against the kind of peace he wanted to bring and against his mission as a whole. Jesus is the messenger of a profound and lasting Peace that surpasses all human understanding. The peace in question here implies justice, love and respect amongst us and for other people. In other words, PEACE IS THE RESULT OF JUSTICE, LOVE, and RESPECT. Let’s look at it this way, if we do peace without Justice, Love and Respect that is where division comes in and that peace would turn to be like a peace in the cemetery where all is quite and no one complains. So, keep in mind that in all aspects of our life and living we are warned to do things JUSTLY, we are demanded to decide and act according to the dictates of our hearts and conscience, and we are tasked to at all times respect the dignity of every human being. By all of these comes an experience of genuine and lasting PEACE. 

3] Third WARNING: When Jesus asked, “You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and sky, but WHY do you not know to interpret the present time? What exactly did Jesus mean by this? Jesus was saying that we know how and can easily  talk about the predictables, the nice, the beautiful and usual things but we find it difficult or even try to avoid to talk about and deal with issues and concerns that are unusual, unfamiliar, challenging and even death-defying.  We love talking about the superficial and artificial and temporary but we find it hard to talk about the heavy, the tough but actually doables if we will. We are experts about the what, the where, the who, the how and the when but we seem having hard time dealing with or even silent about the WHY. To know the WHY brings us into the truth. This is what Jesus is trying to say- for us to not only speak of persons, events, and ideas but more importantly grapple to seek and find answers as to WHY such thing happened, WHY such ideas come up, and WHY such persons talk, act and behave like this and that. The key to asking the WHY is having a strong faith. Remember: The more we ask the WHY the more we will know the truth and the truth will surely set us all free and give us hope. 

Before I end this sermon which we all wanted to happen soon, let us ask: What do these Gospel lessons got to do with SMSchool and its Foundation, and other church schools not only within the Episcopal Church but also others like SIHS – a Roman Catholic school where I went. And what does it got to do to us as individual Christians? 

This conference’s theme goes: “Serving Our People: Teaching beneath God’s wings” with its corresponding goals - To Raise funds to: 1] Help the school continue to dispense quality education under the Tenets of Christianity, AND [2] to help defray the salaries of its faculty members”. 

This is such a noble and extraordinary cause. Inspired by Jesus, the Bible, and at least my faith experience, I would like at this point to add by way of suggesting the following: 

1] Serving our People: Teaching beneath God’s wings by raising  funds is a mission in itself towards SMS in particular and the building up of the KOG in general where people are provided quality education under the tenets of Christianity. And the Christian Tenets/doctrine that we learned today are Justice, Love, and Respect that should indeed produce PEACE not DIVISION. I trust this is what we want to see happen. We want see people produced by schools and of churches who are genuine peacemakers not unjust, not hateful, and not disrespectful. We don’t want to see persons who claim to be products of Christian     schools or Christians in good standing but are corrupt, criminals, or terrorists.

2] Serving our people by way of raising funds to help defray the salaries of faculty members is such a wonderful mission as well but that should go beyond – deep and wide,  if you may. Jesus and the Gospel today suggests that besides raising funds to add to salaries, besides knowing how to interpret the surface, besides “bandaging the wound” let us go further and struggle to attack the root cause of the problem.  To serve our people is also to ask and answer WHY is there lack of salary in the midst of  the abundance of  God’s creation? 

3] Let us interpret the present time with courage faith and hope. Let us be challenged to seek the unknown, hear the unheard and tell the untold truth. This is what being just is all about, this is what loving God and others is all about, this is what Respecting the rights of others to be given what is due them is all about. This is what peace is all about. And, this is WHY we are called Christians. This is WHY we are called alumni of a Christian Church school.   

I hope this message was of help.  I congratulate you all for keeping the faith, for supporting the school and the church and for consistently doing the mission of God in your own particular time and place.  May you have more reunions and conferences to come. Amen.