Trouble Maker 8-17-25
Trouble-Maker
Is 5:1-7; Luke 12:49-56
Is 5:1-7
Let me sing for my beloved my love-song concerning his vineyard: My beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile hill. He dug it and cleared it of stones, and planted it with choice vines; he built a watchtower in the midst of it, and hewed out a wine vat in it; he expected it to yield grapes, but it yielded wild grapes. And now, inhabitants of Jerusalem and people of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard. What more was there to do for my vineyard that I have not done in it? When I expected it to yield grapes, why did it yield wild grapes? And now I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard. I will remove its hedge, and it shall be devoured; I will break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down. I will make it a waste; it shall not be pruned or hoed, and it shall be overgrown with briers and thorns; I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it. For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the people of Judah are his pleasant planting; he expected justice, but saw bloodshed; righteousness, but heard a cry!
Luke 12:49-56
“I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! I have a baptism with which to be baptized, and what stress I am under until it is completed! Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division! From now on five in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three; they will be divided: father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.” He also said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, you immediately say, ‘It is going to rain’; and so it happens. And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, ‘There will be scorching heat’; and it happens. You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?
Prayer
There’s a lot that we don’t know about Jesus. One thing we know for sure is that his ministry ended with death on a cross, tortured to death by a consortium of religious and political leaders. Why was Jesus dealt with in this way? Not because he said, “let the little children come to me.” He was crucified because he caused trouble.
Everywhere Jesus went, his preaching was rarely greeted with acceptance and affirmation. Crisis, controversy, and quarreling accompanied Jesus every step of the way. Jesus was rejected by his home town of Nazareth. His family tried to apprehend him as insane. His brothers didn't believe in him. The people of Capernaum ran him out of town. A Samaritan village wouldn't even let him enter their town. His detractors said he was demon-possessed and "raving mad." The religious elite "opposed him fiercely." Many of his disciples quit following him. Rome executed him because people said that he told them not to pay their taxes.
So much for our safe-n-soft version of Jesus. This harsh opposition to a divisive Jesus reverberates throughout the New Testament. Peter describes Jesus as "the stone of stumbling and the rock of offense." Paul called him "a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles." In John, Jesus prays for his followers: "I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world." The epistle of Hebrews confirms that prayer. The cry of the psalmist this week summarizes the message of the epistle: "You have made us an object of derision to our neighbors, and our enemies mock us." Perhaps Jesus was a trouble-maker.
In this Sunday’s gospel, Jesus is not talking to the quarrelsome crowds. He is talking to his own followers, his disciples. And the words he has to say to them are troubling. Jesus not only says to them that there may be trouble, but he also asserts (almost brags) that he is the cause of trouble.
It’s a hard truth I had to learn as a pastor. Church can be a place of trouble. Sadly, I learned that in my first call when several people who came to see me that first week in Culpeper, VA, were there to complain about the senior minister – playing too much golf, not growing the church the way he should. Trouble in the church occurs not only because church people can be difficult (which they often are) and not because pastors are sinners too (of course we are) but because of Jesus Christ, the Troublemaker he is.
As I said, it’s a challenge to establish irrefutable historical evidence for most details of the earthly ministry of Jesus. One thing on which historians enjoy consensus is that Jesus was crucified. Though the Romans crucified many Jews, why would Romans torture somebody to death for quietly keeping Sabbath or placidly helping folks adjust to imperial rule? Something about Jesus made government and religious authorities collude to shut him up. From the first, when King Herod heard of Jesus’ birth, “he was troubled, and everyone in Jerusalem was troubled with him”.
Early in his gospel, Luke makes a similar political point by reporting that the angelic messengers bypassed the palace and went straight to poor shepherds working the nightshift, arousing them with, “Glory to God in heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors”. I’m told that’s a paraphrase of the greeting that preceded Caesar Augustus’ royal proclamations to the inhabitants of Rome’s occupied territories. The angels announce that there’s a new emperor in town and he is going to b a trouble-maker. There’s a new baby born in a stable in Bethlehem. Expect trouble.
Once God publicly declared, “I’ll be their God and they will be my people”, casting God’s lot with the likes of us, there was bound to be strife, considering who God is and who we are. I suppose for some folks having God play favorites can set up a pretty antagonistic context for life and living.
I expect that there are some, even within this placid summertime Sunday gathering, who know firsthand what Jesus is talking about when he brashly announces that he hasn’t come to bring peace but rather fire, division, and conflict. Because of your discipleship, you have found yourself cast into conflicted situations. Jesus has led you down paths that caused others to separate from you. Jesus, the trouble-maker.
Someone has said that the true conflict, in our attempts to follow Jesus, is not conflict between what we love and what we ought to hate, but rather the conflict between one good and another. We love our families, love them so much we would die for them. And then comes Jesus also demanding love from us. Then comes Jesus, and the trouble begins.
There does seem to be this relentless tendency among us to cut the message of Jesus down to our size, to remake Jesus into own image, to tame and to domesticate his peculiar, good news into something that sounds good to us. We make an easy transition between our North American values and the values of Jesus, Jesus’ way and the American way.
Then comes Jesus. Let’s at least allow today’s gospel to remind us that there are yet folk among us and that there are places on this earth where religion brings fire, and division, and those whose lives confirm that there is a price to be paid for fidelity to Jesus. We often present the Christian faith as a solution to your problems, as a pleasant way to make nice folk even nicer, and as a way to make your life more fulfilling.
In 1963 eight Alabama clergy, white liberals all, casting themselves as peacemakers and reconcilers, wrote to Martin Luther King. While in favor of racial justice, they were troubled by the disruption that King’s followers were causing Birmingham. They implored King to be more patient and not endanger innocent lives. What you preach is true, it’s just that it’s not the right time for such disruption. The conflict caused by your demonstrations could lead to violence.
From his cell in Birmingham jail, King wrote in the spirit of the Jesus whom we hear speaking in Luke 12. King reminded his fellow clergy that their peace could be a cover for cowardice and sinful accommodation to the powers that be. King’s letter is a reminder that it’s impossible to follow Jesus without sometimes finding trouble.
I mentioned to you my first call in Culpeper, VA. It wasn’t too long after I had been there that I found myself in some trouble of my own making. I believe I mentioned to you previously that my first work as a chaplain was with HIV/AIDS patients at the MCV in Richmond, VA. Not only did I work the floor where most of the HIV patients were housed but I volunteered in the HIV clinic associated with the hospital. It was working with those dying patients that I found a call for chaplaincy.
Once I started at the church in Culpeper I also got involved with the local HIV support group in this rural town in north central VA. I worked with a local organizer to help support the few patients with HIV in our local area. That December was the first AIDS awareness Sunday for the PCUSA and I had our youth make red ribbons for our congregants for that first Sunday in December. Needless to say, there were a few adults who were not too happy with our youth advocating for as they said, ‘a bunch of queers with a disease.’ I got called on the Session carpet for what we did – wasn’t the last time I got called on the carpet as a minister.
While serving as Director of Chaplains at a hospital in NC we decided to update our chapel. There was a lady on our advocacy board who was a quilter and I asked her if she would be willing to create an ecumenical quilt for our chapel reflecting the most prominent faith traditions in our community. She readily agreed and spent several months making an amazing and beautiful faith quilt with emblems of Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Native American, Sikhism as well as others. We announced to the faith community our plan to dedicate the quilt and re-open the chapel after a short period of updating with paint and new chairs. A couple of local Christian pastors were offended thinking that our chapel was a Christian chapel only. A letter was written to the CEO and once again I ended up on the carpet, in trouble for following Jesus in reaching out to all faiths. After that meeting, the CEO wrote a letter to the local newspaper supporting our work to be an inclusive chapel in an inclusive hospital.
Following Jesus can lead to trouble. There have been some of you have been offended by sermons or comments I have made just as other churches I have served, as well as others have served who have been deemed a trouble-maker. Rob Bell, a prominent Methodist minister in Minnesota wrote a book entitled Love Wins where he proclaimed a disbelief in hell and that God’s love would win in the end. He was later kicked out by the Methodist church for his stance. Following Jesus can lead to trouble.
I suspect there have been times or things that you too have done that have led to trouble as a follower of Jesus. That isn’t too surprising if you want to know the truth. Jesus’ message was contrary to the rule of faith at that time. His message today is just as troublesome for many folks. And still, that is part of Jesus’ work and part of his message – love as beautiful as it is can be divisive. And at the end of the day love is worth the trouble, just ask Jesus – thanks be to God – amen.