Sermon for Proper 15 Yr. C: Refined for Redemption

Proper 15 Yr. C: Refined for Redemption

Jeremiah 23:23-29; Hebrews 11:29-12:2; Luke 12:49-56

The Reverend Paul D. Allick, The Church of the Advent, August 17, 2025

Let us hear again the uplifting message from this Sunday’s

Gospel:

Jesus said to his disciples, “I came to bring fire on the earth

and how I wish our baptism in this fire were already

accomplished. You assume that I came to bring peace, but I

came to cause division.”

It is startling to hear Jesus speak this way. Isn’t he that nice

boy born on Christmas Day who came to comfort us and

give us what we need?

When Jesus Christ comes into our life, we should not expect

peace and comfort to be the only things to emerge. Before

we can experience resurrection, we must first follow him to

the Cross.

Jesus is a burning flame who comes into our lives to purge

away our sin.

The language he uses here is meant to wake us up. And it is

Biblical. As the Prophet Malachi preached, “For (God) he is

like a refiner’s fire and...he will purify the descendants of

Levi and refine them like gold and silver, until they present

offerings to the Lord in righteousness.” (Malachi 3:2-3)

A noncanonical saying of Jesus from the Gospel of Thomas

is, “Whoever is near me is the near the fire; whoever is

distant from me is distant from the kingdom.” (Schwiezer pp.215-216)

2

And perhaps another image Jesus is employing which would

have been understood by his original disciples is that the

“earth” he speaks of could refer to the earthen outdoor ovens

almost everyone had at their homes. So, in other words,

Jesus has come to get things cooking. He’s brought the fire

for the oven! (Malina & Rohrbaugh p.279)

He is on his way to Jerusalem to accomplish his own

baptism by fire, his crucifixion. He will have to completely let

go of his ego and trust only in God’s will. This is why he

weeps tears of blood in the Garden of Gethsemane the night

before his arrest.

Jesus saying that he came to baptize us with fire is actually

akin to when he says: “Come to me, all who labor and are

heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you

and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and

you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my

burden is light.” (Matt. 11:28-30, RSV)

At times, to hand over all of our labor and heaviness to the

Lord can be a struggle. It means we have to let go of control.

It is a baptism with fire; it is a purification. It is like pouring

antiseptic on a wound and waiting for it to heal. But once we

pour on that healing fire and let Jesus take over our lives, we

are free.

His yoke and burden bring light to our lives. This is the Cross

and the Resurrection, and we are asked to live through it

with him regularly.

We live through it daily as we struggle to live out the Lord’s

command to love God with our whole being and to love our

neighbor as ourselves.

All throughout the scriptural story of redemption there have

been easy answers; wide gates offered to people of faith as

they follow the Lord. Just say and do the right things and all

will be well. But this has never been the road God has called

us on.

This is what we hear from Jeremiah today. There are many

prophets selling easy answers. But the real prophets, like

Jeremiah, preach the hard news, “Is not my word like fire,

says the Lord, and like a hammer that breaks a rock in

pieces?”

We are called through the narrow gate. This is where we find

true life. We face our fears, resentments, and pride head on.

We confess and repent, and it hurts, and then we live again.

We cannot be lulled into thinking that following Jesus is only

going to be about being rewarded and kept safe. That is not

scriptural.

We are reminded of this in the Letter to the Hebrews.

Through faith our ancestors suffered mocking, torture and

imprisonment. And through that same faith they conquered

kingdoms, administered justice, obtained promises and shut

the mouths of lions. They were on a great adventure, not an

easy road.

And we can’t ignore that there are still Christians throughout

the world living under horrible religious persecution. It keeps

our crosses in a stark perspective.

Since we have such a great cloud of witnesses, then and

now, we lay aside every weight and sin that clings so closely

to us.

Jesus came to give us an example of a godly life. A life

wherein we completely trust God no matter how many lions

are encircling us; no matter how many promises from God

we are still waiting on; no matter how many crosses we are

asked to pick up and carry.

But always remember, if we are following Jesus to the Cross,

we are also following him to that heavenly Jerusalem where

all is completed. For the sake of the joy that is set before us

we willingly endure the shame and pain of our crosses so

that we can one day fully behold the glory of Jesus Christ

seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

References:

The Good News According to Luke

by Eduard Schweizer (Translated by David E. Green)

John Knox Press, Atlanta 1984

A Social Science Commentary on the Synoptic Gospels

by Bruce J. Malina and Richard L. Rohrbaugh

Fortress Press Minneapolis 2003