Peace on Earth
Luke 12:49-56 [NIV]
49 “I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! 50 But I have a baptism to undergo, and what constraint I am under until it is completed! 51 Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. 52 From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three. 53 They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”
54 He said to the crowd: “When you see a cloud rising in the west, immediately you say, ‘It’s going to rain,’ and it does. 55 And when the south wind blows, you say, ‘It’s going to be hot,’ and it is. 56 Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky. How is it that you don’t know how to interpret this present time?
GATHERING FOR SUNDAY
CAN BE FOUND AT:
https://www.facebook.com/NewDayCovenantChurch/
Following the worship gathering, worship services will be uploaded to our website and will be available at www.newdaycov.org/listen.
NewDay Online Giving: https://newday.churchcenter.com/giving
Greetings everyone,
I remember learning about the “drama triangle.” To be brief, it suggested that we can see various participants in a conflict as either the victim, the rescuer, or the villain/persecutor. Now, this is a problem-based way of looking at a conflict with very little respect for others or responsibility for one’s actions during a conflict. But if we are looking for a solution and empowerment mindset, each of the three roles inverts to become something better. The villain, for example, is no longer seen as one who criticizes or overpowers another. Rather, the villain becomes a challenger who holds others accountable for the benefit of their growth and learning.
We are rounding off our time in Luke 12 this Sunday with a set of verses that come with a real temptation to quietly skip and focus on other lectionary verses for the day. Hebrews 11:29-12:2 is so much easier for me to read. People enduring all by faith, we have a great cloud of witnesses. Everyone likes that verse. But no, Luke 12:49-56, where Jesus says he is bringing division, not peace. So, this Sunday we are going to dive in.
Jesus has spent all of Luke 12 subverting comfort and calling the disciples to resist greed, fight the trappings of too much wealth, and to release their anxiety. That is a clear challenge to the common sense of their culture. So join me on Sunday. We’ll let Jesus challenge us and, to subvert the drama triangle, we’ll not become victims to a persecutor, but creators who rise to the call of the challenger with integrity. We’ll take responsibility for our actions, as Jesus would have it. And when we respond, we’ll seek our calling as a church for our community.
I’ll see you this Sunday,
Zach