John 12:1-8

This passage is the Revised Common Lectionary Passage year C, Lent V, most recently April 6, 2025.

Summary:  The Greek does not give one permission to avoid the obvious implication of the text:  The world will always have sin and poverty, so focus on Jesus' death and resurrection.  If anything, the Greek simply amplifies the language to support this conclusion!  In the 20th century, the Lutheran church made an error by so focusing on Jesus' death and resurrection that we avoided all together the nasty business of calling the world to action (see 1930s in Germany for the ultimate example of this.)  I wonder if in this century we have strayed too far in the other direction and once again, need to hear this passage.  Yes, young adults and seekers want to see the church involved and leading the way in social service.  But ultimately our gift to the world and our passion must be Christ crucified and resurrected. (Okay, okay, now that you've read that, I confess I have a bit of good stuff about serving others in the Greek blog)

2023 note:  This year I am reflecting on this as it relates to the Palm Sunday narrative, which it immediately precedes.  I lament how American Christianity has gone so astray.  We've succumbed to Judas' temptation regarding money and to the crowd's temptation regarding an earthly kingdom.

Key words:

εξ ("six", 12.1)  The whole verse that includes the word "six" is foreshadowing.  Six is the penultimate number in the bible; on the sixth day Jesus died (Friday).  This is a penultimate story, one that points toward a bigger story, namely, the events that follow.  If you don't buy the "six" thing, John spells it out:  Before the Passover...after Lazarus had been raised from the dead.  Big events are ahead!

δειπνον ("feast", 12:2)  This word can mean "main meal", but also "feast." (See NIV translation:
Here a dinner was given in Jesus' honor.)  Jesus only has two δειπνον / "feasts" in John's Gospel; once in this case with Lazarus and then soon afterwards during the last supper.  The juxtaposition of these feasts suggests numerous preaching directions, including parsing out various aspects of Holy Communion.  I would suggest in depicting this meal, John invites us into praise and pondering of Jesus' death during Holy Communion.  

2023 addition:  A Wall Street Journal poll recently revealed that Americans are less interested in community service, children, church and country than before.  Only money increased in importance.  Moreover, this was true across the parties, although republican voters were more likely to express the importance of country, church and family.  Given how politics and faith are intertwined in this country, we can draw some conclusions:  Conservative religious expression in America, which has focused on God, country and family...has not led into works of mercy.  And secular humanism, which has wanted to focus on acts of mercy, has run out of gas.  There are two meals during Holy Week.  One of intimate worship.  One of humble servanthood.  We cannot skip either one. 

διηκονει ("serve", 12.2)  The word here for "serve" (as in Martha "served") is where we get our word "diaconal" and "deacon." In this version of the story, Martha is not criticized for helping out.  So before we get too much into a battle of liturgy vs diakonia, we need to take a deep breath.  In fact, you could preach/argue that either a) Martha's work makes Mary's worship possible or b) that Mary's work is worship in itself. 

μυρον ("oil", 12:3).  The word can simply mean oil, but in our case, the important thing to note is that it is oil from "myhrr", which is used for people's burial.  Again, foreshadowing of death!

John's Gospel has an odd array of words here: "roman pound (λιτρα) perfume (μυρον) plant (ναρδος) genuine (πιστικος) expensive (πολυτιμος)" This is not typical, as far as I have read, of John's style to stack so many words.  It is almost exactly what Mark has. He really wants to draw attention to what is going on here; ie, he is writing like Mark!  "Polytimos" (πολυτιμος) is an unusual word -- the pearl of great value (Matt 13:46) uses the same word. 

επραθη ("sell", from πιπρασκω, 12:5)  The word for sell is very interesting here. It is "piprask-oo." It has the connotation of selling for a bribe; or even sell into slavery (Romans 7:14). It will be used in contexts that probably mean simply sell, but again, will be used in contexts of sell for a bribe, sell for slavery.  In short, Judas here is predicting exactly what he will do.

ηρεμα ("day", 12:7)  Just one more reminder that the word "day" in Scripture is often conceived of less in terms of 24 hour time spans; rather it is a time frame in which something is happening.  In this case, the time in Jerusalem that will lead to his death is all part of one "day."  To put it more simply, for Jesus, the events of Palm Sunday are intimately connected with the events of Good Friday.

πτωχους ("poor",12:8) John's Gospel never uses the word poor outside of its connection with this story.  It is worth pointing out though, that is was Jesus overturning of the money tables in the temple that began his conflict with the authorities.  The Jesus of John's Gospel is not unconcerned with "earthly" matters!  (Jesus also helped a blind beggar in chapter 9!)

Curious note: 
πασχα ("Passover", 12:1) This word "Pascha" (hence "paschal" mystery) is rather interesting. It comes from the Hebrew P-S-K (pasach) which means "passover" as in the angel "passed over" the houses. However, πασχω as a verb in Greek means "to suffer" and comes into English as "passion." An odd coincidence where a number of words in different languages seem like cousins.

2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10

This passage occurs on Ash Wednesday (Year A) and also Year C, Lent 4.

Summary:  There is so much going on in this passage!  This is my first time preaching on these words and so my comments below are my first observations!

Things I am observing

1)  The power of verse 21 should not be lost in translation.  This is a radical transformation of Christ to become sin.  This verse is crucial (get it, crucial) in understanding Luther's thought.  Paul makes a claim about how Jesus fully embraces our humanity here to the point of becoming sin.  (Not simply a sinner, but αμαρτια, sin itself).  It would take centuries for people to realize just how amazing Paul's claim here is.

2)  For Paul, the "therefore" of ministry is never far away from the "what God has done for you in Christ."  6:1 is a really harsh call to action -- "Don't let the grace of God become empty (κενος)."  Paul knows this word, for in Philippians he claims that Christ first emptied himself for us.  

So, it is worth asking ourselves then -- what does it mean not to take the grace of God in vain?

Paul calls forth a life of servanthood -- διακονια.  While the modern conception of "deacon" is sometimes solely focused on acts of mercy and hands on service, Paul here links the idea of διακονια with two things

a)  the ministry of sharing the good news of Jesus

b)  suffering.

3)  A big debate within theology for the last 500 years at least as been whether we are to start with the law and conclude with the Gospel or start with the Gospel and conclude with the law.  However, what I want to point out is that while Paul does here move from Gospel (he became sin for you) to Law (don't let the grace of God be in vain), he does not end up with a legal schema.  The life of the Christian is not simply obedience to the commandments, but discovery of God's resurrection power amid life's suffering.  The fruit of the Spirit is not that we all fit the mold, but that we discover the cruciform life is actual life, life that cannot be contained or controlled.

4)  5:20 presents a translation challenge.  Paul writes, "We are ambassadors for Christ, "ως του θεου παρακαλουντος δι' ημων"

What is tricky is the word "ως" which can mean "like" or "how" or "as."  Some people want to make this "as" in a "as if" kind of way:

as though God were making his plea through us. (NET)

Other wants to make this "as" to say "as by means of":  God making his appeal through us (NRSV, ESV)

I think that both of these translations, while faithful, do not fully capture what I see as Paul's point -- God is the one doing this work. Furthermore, I think the word "appeal" is a really watered down translation of παρακαλεω, which also means to comfort, encourage and console.  Appeal might seem like we have to argue Christ's case rather than be ministers for Christ's sake.  So I propose:  

"We are ambassadors for Christ as God comforts through us"

Matthew 5:21-37

This passage occurs in the Epiphany season of the Revised Common Lectionary (Year A).  Most recently it occurred in February 2023.
 
Summary:
This passage is brutal, even in the Greek. 

Typically English translations water down the Greek.  For example, in 5:25, most translations have Jesus saying, "Settle the matter."   He is more likely saying, "Get on good and friendly terms." 

However, the Greek makes the passage on divorce and adultery more complex, not necessarily more intense.  The word for a divorced woman in 5:32 is "the freed one."  The grounds for adultery, furthermore, probably mean more than simply lustful looking.  I am not sure if these subtleties change the preaching approach (which is "Lord have mercy"), but they might be helpful in studies with people to talk about lust, marriage, freedom and reconciliation.

Key Words for Preaching and Teaching:
ευνοων ("make friends" (participate of ευνεοω), 5:25).  This word occurs only once in the New Testament. 

The NRSV and NIV translate this along the lines of "come to terms quickly."  The original Greek here is sharper, meaning "make friends with."  Jesus wants more than simply a truce, he wants friendship!

επιθυμησαι ("desire" (aorist infinitive of επιθυμεω), 5:28).  This word does not necessarily imply sexual desire.  It simply means desire (literally:  upon-soul).  The NT uses this verb to refer to good desire, such as a desire for the coming of Jesus (Matthew 13:17).  So the verb is itself not sexual or "dirty."  Furthermore, given the use of this verb (within a "προς" infinitive construct), Jesus here means more than simply "looking at a woman" but means something more like, "looking with the purpose of desiring her" or "looking with the result that your heart is upon her."  Jesus is not saying that all looking at a woman is lustful, but lustful looking is already adultery. 

λογου πορνειας ("matter of unchastity", 5:32).  Jesus offers this a potentially acceptable reason for divorce.  But what does it mean?  Both of these words have easy English cognates:  "logos" comes into English in the many words that end in -logy; "porneias" comes into English in the word pornography.  The combination is a bit strange, though.  "A word of porn" might be one literal translation.  A better translation is probably to treat λογου (here in genitive) as "matter." 

But what about πορνειας?  This can mean having sex out of wedlock and includes prostitution.  It covers the spectrum of "non permitted sexual intercourse."  It is odd that Jesus, while discussing adultery as a sin before God, expands the definition of adultery; when discussing grounds for divorce he seems to narrow the scope of adultery.  Maybe he wants to make sure that people don't think that lustful looking constitutes divorce?  If anything, he seems to offer narrow grounds for divorce:  sexual misconduct, which includes but is not limited to prostitution.  The NRSV (unlike the NET here, yuck), hits the nail on the head.  The Message also offers a helpful translation:  "If you divorce your wife, you're responsible for making her an adulteress (unless she has already made herself that by sexual promiscuity)."

απολελυμενην ("divorced" (passive feminine participle of απολοω), 5:32).  This participle does not naturally mean divorced, but actually, "freed" or "released."  It is interesting that Jesus used this word here -- if you marry one who is freed, you commit adultery.  It is also interesting that the woman is not seen here as the one committing adultery.  The Message bible translation connects these two by suggesting that the one "freed" is the one who committed the sins earlier in the passage.  Not necessarily!  I find it powerful that the word for divorced is "freed."  Many divorced people might find a glimmer of comfort in this!

αρχαιοις ("ancient" from αρχαιος (dative plural); found in 5:21; 33). This word, from which we get "archeology," simply means old or ancient. It is used in the form here "the ancients." The question is, what is Jesus speaking about: the ancient days, the ancient times, the ancient generations? Not much worth investigating here, but wanted to point it out why translations differ.  Jesus implicitly critiques but affirms the tradition.   

Translation and Grammar Review:
Matthew 5:27, You have heard:  "Do not commit adultery."  Let's unpack what should be an easy sentence!  (And get around the road blocks it throws up!).
ηκουσατε οτι ερρεθη ου μοιχευσεις

ηκουσατε:  Remember here that Jesus is speaking not to individuals, but to everyone.  Hence the plural ending.  Also, this verb is really a familiar one, but the aorist changes the first letter.  If you run across words beginning with η switch it to an α and see if you recognize it.  ακου...should be a familiar root!

οτι:  Can mean because or that.  When used with a sense verb (hear, say) it is almost always "that"

ερρεθη:  This is an odd form (aorist passive) of a very common verb:  λεγω.  Unless you read Greek a fair amount, the odd forms of words in the aorist or aorist passive are probably not going to be remembered.  No big deal.  This is what Bible works is for.  "To speak" in the aorist passive is simply, "was said"

ου:  When Jesus retells the OT commands, he presents them in an unusual way. The 10 commandments, when given to Moses in Hebrew, are not really commandments in terms of their linguistic form. They read, literally, "You are not murdering" instead of "Do not murder."  (If they were "Do not murder" they would be in the form with μη+aorist verb).  The odd use of language here is meant to emphasize the strict nature of these commandments.  Hence why Jesus (and everyone else in the New Testament) uses "ου" instead of "μη."  As a way to express this in English, most translators have used "shall" instead of "do" (natural English command form) or "will" (most linguistically faithful word to original Greek and Hebrew).

μοιχευσεις:  Adultery.  Now what that means is tough.  Does this include premarital sex?  Ten years ago I would have said no, but now I think it does.  (In Biblical times, one does not conceive of sex outside of wedlock - it is either prostitution or you are going to get married).

Alas, sometimes easy words make for hard sentences to translate!

Matthew 3:1-17, Jesus Baptism, (and Mark 1:4-11)

I have done a number of blog posts in the past on the Baptism of Jesus:

http://lectionarygreek.blogspot.com/2010/12/matthew-31-12.html

http://lectionarygreek.blogspot.com/2012/02/mark-19-15.html

http://lectionarygreek.blogspot.com/2011/11/mark-11-8.html

A further comment for this year, especially for those preaching on the Gospel of Matthew.

A key word in Matthew's portrayal of the Baptism is:

μετανοια (metanoia, meaning "repentance", 3:8)  It might be tempting to dismiss these harsh words: "bear fruit worthy of repentance" or "the axe is ready..." We might want to view them simply as words of John the Baptist.  This would neglect the subsequent call of Jesus to repentance (Matthew 4:17) or his praise of repentance (Matthew 11:21).  Furthermore, it would dismiss the repeated passages where Jesus promises to burn away that which does not yield fruit (καρπος): 

• Matthew 7:19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
• Matthew 13:5-6  Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil.  But when the sun rose, they were scorched; and since they had no root, they withered away.
• Matthew 13:30 Let both of them grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.' (In Greek the wheat "grain" is actually the word for fruit).

One could argue that in Matthew's Gospel, the Gospel in a nutshell is, "For God so loved the world, that he sent his son burn all that was not good."  In short, Matthew's Gospel and the words of John the Baptist provide the antidote to Baptismal theology robbed of its roots in repentance and destruction of the old Adam.  For Lutherans we have the language of this in our catechisms - what does Baptism mean for daily living?  "It means that our sinful self, with all its evil deeds and desires, should be drowned through daily repentance; and that day after day a new self should arise to live with God in righteousness and purity forever."

How do we preach this?  One could finesse; one could beat people down.  It is okay to start a fire this Sunday.  Just make sure you use the waters of Baptism to put out the fire and bring forth the new life. 

Luke 19:1-10 (Zacchaeus)

 This passage occurs in the Revised Common Lectionary, Year C.  Most recently on October 30, 2021.

Summary:  As I write this post in 2022, this passage occurs on Reformation Sunday.  Some may therefore preach on John 8.  However, I think it is a great narrative to explain the propositions of John 8.  What does freedom look like?  It looks like giving up one's prestige and rank to serve the Lord!  What does it mean to be a child of Abraham -- to belong to the household of God, in which...we serve the Lord!  How does this happen?  When Jesus comes into our house.  It might take too much effort to have this story neatly fit into the proper grace-faith-salvation ordo salutis, but it definitely addresses some classical Reformation themes of vocation, salvation, faith and freedom.

Key Words:

αρχιτελωνης ("arch-tax-collector", 19.2)  I saw this poetic quote about tax-collectors:

"The Tax Collectors in Israel at the time of Christ were the leaches that sucked the financial blood out of the hard working laborers of Israeli society and transferred it in to the coffer of the occupying Roman Empire, taking as much as they could for themselves."  Ancient Tax Collector, Bible History, accessed 10/26/2022.

NT Wright offers a more complex, and perhaps more helpful take, arguing that they were socially isolated, not loved by the Romans and hated by the Jews.  The point of this is to say that the tax collector looked free, but was very bound.

I also think it is interesting that one tax collector, Matthew, follows Jesus.  Zacchaeus chooses to maintain his profession and continue to follow Jesus.  This harkens back to Luke 3:13 and the words of John the Baptist to tax collectors.  It turns out that what we do is less important that how we do it.  Even "dirty" professions can be done with integrity and in service to the Lord.  (That is a sermon for Reformation Sunday about vocation!!)

μικρος (small, 19.3)  I found a really interesting article that focused on Zacchaeus' short stature as a reminder that God can love all physical types of people.  It linked Zacchaeus' short stature to treatment of people who have disabilities.  I discovered this article while trying to find evidence for something a professor told me once, that the Cappadocian fathers claimed that Luke meant that Jesus was short, not Zacchaeus!

καταβηθι (command form of καταβαινω, meaning "descend", 19.5)  It turns out, we are not called to ascend to Jesus, but to come down, and live real life.  Zacchaeus will meet Jesus on the road, in the home and in works of charity (and justice!)

μειναι (infinitive of "abide", 19.5)  This is a key concept in John's Gospel, namely, Jesus dwelling with us.  Jesus wants to abide with him; but what is worth pondering...when Zacchaeus serves his new Lord, Jesus, is Jesus still abiding with him?  I would want to say yes.

ιδοντες/ιδου:  I don't know what to make of it, but the word "to see" is found five times in these passages in various forms.

καταλυσαι (infinitive of καταλυω, meaning is complex, 19.7)  This word means one thing in a transitive sense and a very different thing when used as an intransitive verb.  Freiburg Dictionary puts it:

As a transitive verb it means to  (1) transitively; 

• (a) literally, of buildings with their stones destroy, demolish, dismantle 
• (b) metaphorically, of the death of the body as a house or temple tear down, destroy (2C 5.1); 
• (c) figuratively, of completely ruining someone's efforts destroy (RO 14.20); 
• (d) figuratively, as invalidating an institution, such as law or sacrifice do away with, annul, abolish (MT 5.17); 

Yet intransitively, it means:  "strictly unharness beasts of burden; hence put up for the night, find lodging, rest (LU 9.12)"

Okay, so here is the deal.  The word might mean simply to lodge somewhere.  But it is a really cool notion that somehow Zacchaeus having Jesus over "unburdens" Jesus; Jesus will actually do the unburdening.  This is akin to the use of ζητησαι in 19.1 and 19.10.  It seems like Zacchaeus is seeking Jesus, but Jesus is the one seeking Zacchaeus.

σωτερια (salvation, 19.9)  Brings up the granddaddy of them all question -- what is salvation?  There is little that connects the works of Zacchaeus today with the afterlife.  Rather, it is the true life, the free life of serving Jesus (that ultimately transcends death).  

This is a crucial part of the interpretation of the story:  What changes has Jesus made in his life?  In what ways does Zacchaeus demonstrate faith?  What does the grace look like?  What does grace accomplish?

The two waves of secularization: A proposed response

Like all pastors, I have observed an increasing secularization of American culture over the past generation.  This process picked up pace during the past six years and then seemed to go into overdrive during COVID.  This has created challenges (and opportunities) for us as churches.

More than simply speed up over time, I offer that the contours of secularization have changed in the past six years.  Earlier we were going through (what we might call) secularization phase 1:  "People got busy."  Now people are going through (what we might call) secularization phase 2:  "People got disgusted."  I will describe them as a waves, because they kind of roll and crash into each other.  Furthermore, each presents churches with a different set of opportunities - ways to ride the wave - and challenges - crashing and undertow.  My sense is that both have been at work for some time, but I sense that for most churches, they will discover that the second wave is much harder to navigate than the first.

Secularization Wave #1:  People got Busy

In the first phase of secularization, people began to find meaning in other places besides church.  Andrew Root has masterfully examined this through the lens of youth ministry (and his series on the church in the secular age).  People filled their schedule and found ultimately their identity in all sorts of activities: travel soccer, marching band, social media, politics, etc.  While some of these had a more 'Christian' flavor to them, they generally meant that people spent far less time in religious activities than a generation ago.

The Aftermath of Wave #1

• What did this mean for churches?  Attendance declined.  The biggest victim was the pastoral size church.  A church that consistently had 125 in worship found itself struggling to worship 100 only a decade or two later.  While this was enough to pay the bills (barely), its attendance of young families was so lean that it could no longer offer a meaningful 'Youth group' and 'Sunday school'.  This meant that the remaining families wanting programming for their children, youth and family did two things:  one, they complained about the lack of programming (even as they chose to have their kids attend other events) and two, many of them migrated in the direction of larger churches.  This left many congregations with a fair amount of nostalgia  that impeded new ideas; in addition there was a lot of residual anger in the system that burned out their clergy.
• More positively, it often forced smaller (pastoral and family size) churches to be creative, explore inter-generational learning opportunities and consider partnerships with other congregations.  The happiest among these have accepted a smaller size and are finding their particular niche within their community. 
• Within larger churches (program to mega), this first wave of secularization put a huge premium on excellence and programming.  As young families with time on their hands for churchy activities became a scarcer commodity, larger churches had the opportunity and need to attract them (as well as the older folks (with money!) who wanted churches that still had kids).  While someone with more experience could point out how I am truly wrong about this, my sense is that the net effect of the first wave of secularization was to encourage big churches to work "faster, bigger and harder", doing what they had been doing in the 1980s and 1990s, albeit with far thinner results.  I also offer that this influx of people curbed the incentive of large churches to do real evangelism; they spent more of their resources on welcoming existing Christians into their midst (if not their sub-culture).  In short, their energy vector began pointing in and perhaps out, but was not going out in the same way. 
  

Secularization Wave #2:  People got Disgusted

The second wave of secularization, the one that I think is picking up speed, is different.  In this wave of secularization, people go further than saying that church is less important.  They move toward skepticism, if not fear and rejection of the church.  This is not entirely new; Gen-X is famous for rejecting institutions; also, the priesthood scandal in the Catholic church added a great deal of kindling to this fire!  

However, there is an acute wholesale rejection of the church by increasing numbers of people.  There is a sense that the church has wed itself, not simply to conservative policy aims, but to partisan political warfare and even flirts (if not cheats with) Christian nationalism.

An interesting article from Christianity Today offers that the rise of Christian nationalism is itself a manifestation of secularization.  The thesis is that as people become less engaged in actual church, they tend to gravitate toward pseudo-church.  I find the argument compelling.  Many of our churches have also been hit by this form of secularism, as we have seen people in our church ghost us over COVID-mask requirements, not to attend elsewhere, but simply to walk away from church.

But even if I cool down my rhetoric, the point is simple:  You have a significant number of people who are one or two generations removed from active participation in the life of a congregation.  (Consider this -- the last family on Television that went to church is the Simpsons!!)  When such people have religious or spiritual questions, the Christianity they observe, especially through the lens of typical media or social media presentations, is likely going to be a very socially conservative, if not even schismatic and heretical presentation of the Gospel. Such people are incredibly unlikely to show up at worship because they heard we have good music or good preaching.  There are far too many barriers. 

Trying to Ride Wave #2

My sense is that trying to ride Secularization Wave #2 is going to be really hard for most people.  It will require a different set of tools than Wave #1.  For many mainline pastor size churches, this officially ends their ability to continue business as usual.  The loss of an additional 10% of people post-COVID is going to mean they can no longer afford their staff, forcing cut backs.  It will be difficult for these congregations to find a way to celebrate who they are and discover where God is calling them without succumbing to bitterness.  Ironically, the family size churches may do better because they have accepted a smaller size; whereas the former pastoral size churches likely are reeling from loss.

For the bigger and healthier churches, I sense that they will need to rediscover evangelism.  By and large, 'evangelism' in such contexts meant attractional ministry, welcoming church people into our congregation.  The dynamics of wave #1 and the early phases of COVID-musical-church-chairs seduced many congregations into a comfortable sense that "bigger, faster, harder and ONLINE" will work.  But I sense moving forward, we will need to think beyond 'welcoming visitors' or even 'inviting people to worship.' 

My candid sense is that dealing with a society after two waves of secularization will force us to become missionary churches...Churches that meet people where they are.  Churches that find a variety of ways for people to form relationships, share stories and serve others.  As Bonhoeffer wrote:

The Church is the Church only when it exists for others . . . not dominating, but helping and serving. It must tell men of every calling what it means to live for Christ, to exist for others

Luke 12:49-56

This passage occurs in the Revised Common Lectionary, Year C.  Typically this passage occurs late in the summer, when pastors are on vacation or in the midst of a summer preaching series.  In short, no one likes to preach on this passage.  Most recently it occurred: August 17, 2025

Summary:  This is my 5th time (?) seeing this passage as an upcoming passage.  Each time I cringe, especially in our current political environment.  I've included some thoughts about how we might understand Jesus difficult words about division.

2025 offering:  Jesus is the one who does the division - not us!

Key words:
πυρ ("fire", 12:49)  Throughout the Bible, fire is associated with God's judgment.  Here are few verses that put them together, but you can find this over and over.

• Isaiah 66:16 For by fire will the LORD execute judgment, and by his sword, on all flesh; and those slain by the LORD shall be many.
• Amos 7:4 This is what the Sovereign LORD showed me: The Sovereign LORD was calling for judgment by fire; it dried up the great deep and devoured the land.
• Revelation 18:8 therefore her plagues will come in a single day-- pestilence and mourning and famine-- and she will be burned with fire; for mighty is the Lord God who judges her.
• Hebrews 10:27 but a fearful prospect of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.

The dominant and most natural interpretation here is the reminder that Jesus has come to bring judgment.

While this may seem strange in our society, which seems on the verge of civil war, I wonder if we too quickly throw out the baby with the bathwater.  Judgement is necessary, even for the ultimate goal of unity.  For until all realize that they have fallen short of God's glory, that the only line in the sand is those who have sinned and those who have not, we will always find ways to create other divisions in our culture.  As a family and marriage therapist I recently met offered:  "I need to create disorder to disrupt the current stasis to help bring about a new and healthier one."

διεμεμερισμενοι  (from διαμεριζω, meaning "divide", 12:52, 53).  Divide can mean divide like Rome: Divide and conquer.  But maybe divide has a different Biblical sense.  Especially when connected with fire.

Fire is not only used for judgement, but also commissioning, specifically the call of Moses (burning bush, Exodus 3:2), Isaiah (burning coals, chapter 6) and the call of Ezekiel (firey chariots, chapter 1).  In each of these cases, the fire produces a division, but this division is more of a setting aside.  The fire indicated a holiness that transforms the one who experiences it.  

This really comes full circle in the book of Acts, where the tongues of fire, divided (same word) rest on the apostles.  In this case, the early followers of Jesus have been divided from everyone else, but for a purpose, to share the good news.

Could we read this verse here as Jesus is saying he has come, not simply to judge, but to divide us from the rest, to call us into a new way of being?  This initial division will produce further division, but ultimately it serves a broader and unifying goal.

Lastly, I find it noteworthy that this whole section of Luke begins with a question about division, namely two brothers fighting over how to divide an inheritance (12:13).  Perhaps Jesus is reminding us that the real division isn't over money, but over loyalty to him.  Just like all other allegiances, this will cause division.

βαπτισμα ("baptism", 12:50)  It is interesting that the two times Jesus twice refers to his baptism, it refers to his suffering, both here and Mark 10

• "You don't know what you are asking," Jesus said. "Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?" (Mark 10:38)
• Or even in Paul's letter to the Romans:  We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. (6:1)

Any real talk of Baptism that doesn't deal with suffering and the cross doesn't seem New Testament, frankly!