Ninth Sunday after Trinity 2025 St Andrew’s Milngavie
Today we celebrated the 9th Sunday after Trinity accompanied by Abigail.
This Week
Tuesday 10am – Prayer Group in the Garden Room
Wednesday 2.30pm – Book Group – mine
Thursday 10am – Said Holy Communion followed by coffee in Friendship House.
Upcoming
Saturday 6th September – All Saints Cake Walk – details to follow.
Readings for next Sunday – 10th Sunday after Trinity – Isaiah 58:9-14 Hebrews 12:18-29 Luke 13:10-17
Today’s readings – Jeremiah 23:23-29, Hebrews 11:29-12:2, Luke 12:49-56.
The combination of dry weather, poor land management and a careless population has meant that there have been many reports of heath fires throughout the country, I know areas of Dorset have been affected. Last weekend it was Arthur’s Seat which was in the news. The devastation of such events is horrifying.
But fire isn’t always to be feared, there is another kind of fire which is heartwarming and welcomed. A log fire on a cold wet day, a barbecue when you are hungry and a candle in a power cut.
In Scripture, fire also has two meanings. There is fire that is good, for example, the burning bush that appeared to Moses in the wilderness Exodus 3:3. The chariot of fire that led the great prophet Elijah to heaven at the end of his ministry 2 Kings 2:11. And at Pentecost, divided tongues as of fire appeared among the apostles, filling them with the promised Holy Spirit. Acts 2
But fire in Scripture is not always positive. John the Baptist also warns people that every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire Matthew 3:10. Jesus himself says that on the day of judgment some will be told to depart from him into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. Matthew 25:41 The Letter of Jude encourages us as Christians to snatch out of the fire those who are wavering in their faith. V.23
So, all of this begs the question, what kind of fire did Jesus come to bring to the earth? There is something that all fire has in common, and that is that it changes things. Whether it is lighting up a room, or burning down a building, fire is changing things around it. And I think it safe to say that Jesus came to earth to change things.
When Jesus began his ministry, the first thing he did was invite Peter, James, John and the other apostles to completely change their lives by following him. When he began preaching, the first thing he said was, “Repent and believe in the good news.” And “repent” quite literally means to change. Jesus came not just to die for the world, but to change the world. To help us see things in a different perspective and point us to salvation.
Jesus, in today’s gospel reading, says: “I have a baptism with which to be baptized, and what stress I am under until it is, completed!” Luke 12:50 Here when his uses the word baptism he is referring to the crucifixion.
Jesus then goes on to say “Do you think that I have come to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division!”
These words must have brought Jesus’ followers up short. It’s not exactly what we are used to. We are more used to a warm friendly person, the person who reaches out his hands to welcome children or to heal the blind, telling parables or performing miracles. Before going to the cross, Jesus promises his disciples that he will give them peace: “Peace I leave with you,” he said, “my peace I give to you.” John 14:27 After he is raised from the dead, when he appeared to the apostles in the upper room, the first thing he said to them was, “peace be with you.” John 21:19
Jesus clearly came to bring peace to the earth. So, what does he mean when he says that he has come not to bring peace, but rather division? And that even families will be divided by him? What he means is that the peace that he has come to bring is not peace at all costs. The kind of peace that demands that we all agree with each other; the kind of peace that can be used to intimidate people and force them into silence; the kind of peace that makes any kind of change impossible. This is the kind of peace, I think, that Jesus warns us about, it’s a sort of phoney peace which I’m sure we can all think of examples of.
“I come to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled” Jesus says Luke 12:49
Metaphorically Jesus is speaking with a passion here, perhaps because he knows his time on earth is limited and he wants his message to be clear.
Jesus came to set our hearts on fire for the love of God. He came to start a fire within each of us. A fire that we must not let the world put out. For it is a fire that leads to a deeper love, a stronger faith, and a more magnificent peace than we can find anywhere else.
May the fire that Jesus came to bring always burn within the hearts of us all. Amen.