--- Like a wild thunderstorm that comes in the midst of a mild day, these words of Jesus break in and stun us.  Have no fear little flock --- and then --- I have come to bring a fire to the earth, I don't come with peace, I come creating division.  I said last week that God is not waiting to pounce on us --- that God has decided to give us the kingdom.  So, what do we do with that information?  That is the question here.  Jesus is not looking for lukewarm spectators --- he is looking for wholehearted devotion and faithfulness.

          Let's get one thing straight --- God's love does not depend on our behavior, our choosing or deciding --- it is God's grace that saves us and redeems us and forgives us.  But when we think that is the end of the story, and when it becomes more of a lullaby than our call to discipleship, then Jesus is going to remind us, loud and strong, that it is the fire of passion that he brings, and that NOTHING else, not even our family relationships will get in the way of his work and God's will.  I don't think our problem is that we have not listened to the word of God, or that we doubt the existence of God.  I think our main problem is our lack of fire --- our apathy!  Can you remember the first time you got a love note from someone you were crazy about?  Did you toss it aside with a yawn?  Probably not.

          God loves us.  Our response is not SO WHAT?  But NOW WHAT! 

          It's hard to complain about being burned out if you have never been on fire!  Luther had some things to say about this fire --- "Just as there is no fire without heat and smoke, so there is no faith without love." --- "True faith will bear fruit, for faith without works is like fire without heat or light."  God's grace is not the gift to lull us to complacency;  it is the fire of passion for living.  As Lutherans we learn that we are justified by grace --- those words were just spoken in the absolution earlier, by grace you have been saved.  But knowing that does not mean that we spend the rest of our lives sitting on our lily pad or treating this life like a waiting room for heaven.  Knowing that is what ignites our faith and sends us out.  We do not do good in the world so that we are given God's grace --- we do good in the world because that is what our faith gives us the passion to do.  It is all gift, but Jesus makes it pretty clear that he came to light some fires, to be a force to be reckoned with, not in the imperial way that had been anticipated, but in the way of LOVE.  And God is the original author of Tough Love.  God will comfort us when we need comforting, but confront and challenge us when we need to get going.  Yes, God can be tender as a mother hen, but God will also move everything that gets in the way of his will to redeem and love this world, this WHOLE world.

          Israel was not getting the message, though prophets had been speaking for centuries, they still thought they knew what was best;  they still thought that they could run the show.  Jesus made it abundantly clear that his kingdom, his work, was going to turn all that upside down.  And about the time we think that Jesus is our own cozy mascot, we are in for a thunderous surprise.

          What is it that gets our attention and our time?  What is it that claims our allegiance and our money?  As one commentator asked, "Have we given as much attention to the maintenance of our spiritual disciplines as to the maintenance schedule for our car?"

          Jesus said these words recorded in Luke to his disciples while he was on his way to Jerusalem, and it was there that he would be completely immersed in his mission, to the point of death.  He was urging his disciples to pay attention, to see that the kingdom of God was near, was all around.

Once there was a woman who wanted peace in the world and peace in her heart and all sorts of good things, but she was very frustrated.  The world seemed to be falling apart.  She would read the papers and get depressed.  One day she decided to go shopping, and she went into a mall and picked a store at random.  She walked in and was surprised to see Jesus behind the counter.  She knew it was Jesus, because he looked just like the pictures she'd seen on holy cards and devotional pictures. She looked again and again at him, and finally she got up her nerve and asked, "Excuse me, are you Jesus?"  "I am."  "Do you work here?"  "No," Jesus said, "I own the store."  "Oh, what do you sell in here?"  "Oh, just about anything!" "Anything?"  "Yeah, anything you want.  What do you want?"  She said, "I don't know."  "Well," Jesus said, "Feel free, walk up and down the aisles, make a list, see what it is you want, and then come back and we'll see what we can do for you."

She did just that, walked up and down the aisles.  There was peace on earth, no more war, no hunger or poverty, peace in families, no more drugs, harmony, clean air, careful use of resources.  She wrote furiously.  By the time she got back to the counter, she had a long list.  Jesus took the list, skimmed through it, looked up at her and smiled.  "No problem."  And then he bent down behind the counter and picked out all sorts of things, stood up, and laid out the packets.  She asked, "What are these?"  Jesus replied, "Seed packets.  This is a catalog store." She said, "You mean you don't get the finished product?"  "No, this is a place of dreams.  You come and see what it looks like, and I give you the seeds.  You plant the seeds.  You go home and nurture them, and help them to grow and someone else reaps the benefits."  "Oh," she said.  And she left the store without buying anything.  (Megan McKenna, from Parables)

Jesus came to bring fire, our job is to keep fanning the flame, and carry it out into the world.  It will take passion, commitment, faith.  It will take all of us, motivated by such great love that we can only love in return.  And love like that changes us, love like that takes us way out of our comfort zones and into the places where God can use us.  Love like that is not just one big warm fuzzy feeling.  The French Jesuit and philosopher, Tielhard de Chardin put it this way, "Some day after we have mastered the winds, the waves and gravity, we will harness for God the energies of love;  and then for a second time in the history of the world, humans will have discovered fire."