From Caroline - [email protected], 01285 712467

Readings for Sunday: Jeremiah 23.23-29; Hebrews 11.29-12.2; Luke 12.49-56

It feels as if we’re living in a very strange time. Or perhaps ‘strange’ is the wrong word. It feels as if we’re living in a hateful, divided time, when everything seems to be mixed up and confused. We see the news coming in, of events in our own country, and from overseas, and we wonder what on earth is going on. Have people changed so much? When did people stop valuing peace? When did they stop caring about human lives? When did empathy become a negative attribute? It can make us feel lost. It can even make us feel despairing – because what is the right path in the midst of so much awful strangeness?

The words of our scriptures this Sunday, especially in Jeremiah, and Jesus in Luke’s gospel, may initially feel discomforting. They speak of conflict and division and hardship, and that feels at odds of what we so often want to hear from Jesus – words of peace and salvation. Not today. “Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth?” Jesus demands. “No, I tell you, but rather division!”

But as we reflect upon God’s words, I find that there is a message for us there that might not promise smoothness and ease, but which instead leads us to something far better. Jeremiah’s time, Jesus’ time, and the time of all those heroes of the faith named in Hebrews, are times of conflict and decision, and their call is a call to faith. Yes there is division. Yes there is hate. Yes, there are people who claim to be speaking truth who we know in our hearts cannot be doing so. God never calls us to hate, only to love, and holding on to that requires courage. It requires faith, and a willingness to face the challenge of division firmly anchored to our rock and cornerstone, Jesus Christ.

Are we told that to empathise is to be weak? We know better. We know, because Christ shows that to us. Are we told that to love every human being is foolishness? We know better, because Jesus tells us to love as he loved us – with sacrifice, with strength, and with a willingness not to count the cost. We are led to courage and steadfastness, measuring our steps alongside that ‘great cloud of witnesses’ that have gone before us.

We look around and we can interpret the present time. We know that it is a time to turn to Christ, and hold fast, in his strength.

Rev’d Caroline

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