When I began preparing for today, I was reminded of a poster that the Churches Advertising Network produced for their Easter campaign back in 1999. You might recall it.

It was certainly an attention-grabber designed to shock, and it worked, because it depicted Jesus looking remarkably like the Marxist revolutionary, Che Guevara. The bearded face and star-topped beret was cleverly adapted to represent Jesus, with the beret replaced by a crown of thorns. Underneath, it read:

“Meek. Mild. As If. Discover the real Jesus …...”

(A little potted history may help to refresh our memories. Che Guevara was born Ernesto Guevara de la Serna in Argentina in 1928. As a young man studying medicine, he travelled through South America, which brought him into direct contact with the impoverished conditions in which many people lived. His experiences and observations during his travels led him to the conclusion that the region’s socio-economic inequalities could only be remedied by revolution, which prompted him to study Marxism. At the age of 28 he travelled to Mexico and joined Fidel Castro’s revolutionary 26th of July Movement, which seized power from the regime of the dictator General Batista in Cuba in 1959. The revolution followed and Guevara was then assigned the role of “supreme prosecutor” overseeing the trials and executions of hundreds of suspected war criminals from the previous regime. He also wrote a number of articles and books on the theory and practice of guerrilla warfare. Then in 1967 at the age of 39, he was eventually tracked down and captured by the CIA and the US Army Special Forces in Bolivia, where he was executed by the Bolivian Army.)

The idea of the Church’s poster, then, was to bring out the revolutionary nature of Jesus’ ministry. And the comparison with Che Guevera certainly did provoke strong reactions! Some people were delighted with its message, whilst others found it sacrilegious and offensive.

Of course (the designers assured protesters) the intention wasn’t to suggest that Jesus would have endorsed Che Guevara’s methods or his actions. Nevertheless, there is no escaping the fact that Jesus was a revolutionary figure. At first glance, today’s Gospel reading reflects something of this, and perhaps we should be shocked. Perhaps we are too comfortable with our popular image of Jesus as the Good Shepherd. In this morning’s reading, we’ve heard him telling his disciples that he’s come to bring fire and division (Luke 12.49-53). So how does this correlate with his usual message of love and peace and hope?

To understand it, we have to be prepared to be challenged and to appreciate the context in which it was written. This part of Luke’s Gospel tracks Jesus’ final journey towards Jerusalem, so he’s travelling under a cloud of persecution and death. Today’s reading comes towards the end of a section where Jesus teaches his disciples, and any others who care to listen, about the kind of choices they will have to make if they choose to follow him. Luke has taken special care to ensure that the words of Jesus are relevant not only to Jesus’ disciples, but also to the Christians of his own time. His words tell us that the Church at the time was experiencing division in its own ranks, and persecution from the authorities (the very ones whom Jesus stood up to) – remember it wasn’t easy to stand out as a Christian in those days.

So, Jesus’ is concerned here for his disciples to secure the right kind of future, and to make the right choices. He says, ‘Don’t worry so much about money, clothes and material security; neither should you worry about those who would like to do you harm. There are much more important things at stake – that is, your relationship with God.’

When Jesus talks of bringing fire to the earth, he calls on Old Testament ideas of fire bringing testing, judgement and purification. Remember it was fire that Moses saw in a bush and fire which led the people by night through the wilderness. It was fire that touched the lips of the prophet Isaiah as he was called to proclaim God to Israel. And fire fell upon and consumed the Altar of Baal when Elijah prayed.

When Jesus talks of ‘a baptism he must undergo’, he’s referring to his own death and resurrection.

When Jesus talks of causing division, he’s referring to difficult choices and hard consequences. He knew that his mission would cause division, that is, acceptance by some and rejection by others.

Luke in his Gospel is keen to bring out Jesus’ message of love to those most deprived of it. But he is also unafraid of pulling punches when it comes to accountability to God for the choices and decisions that a Christian has to make. He reminds us that we’re called to reflect Jesus’ radical nature in our own choices and behaviour, in a way that is right for our own lives and times.

One of the prayers which we say every day at Morning Prayer is this:

As we rejoice in the gift of this new day,
So may the light of your presence, O God,
Set our hearts on fire with love for you;
Now and for ever.

When our hearts are on fire with love for God, I believe he gives us a passion for his people. I think this is part of what Jesus means when he talks about fire. When our hearts are on fire with love for God, he gives us a passion for his people which naturally leads to a desire to challenge any social injustice which harms them.

How might we do this? Well, becoming a Fairtrade Church is one example. Supporting Fairtrade means we’re actively engaged in trade justice by choosing to buy fairly-traded products, and we’re actively seeking to learn more about how our freedom of choice can free the people in producing countries from the bondage of unfair trade rules.

Another example of a social justice issue is our young people’s engagement this year in the ‘Stop the Traffik campaign’, which coincided with the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade in the UK and highlighted the modern-day slavery that still goes on, particularly in India where young girls are sold as domestic servants and end up being used for criminal activities. (At the Fairtrade Indian Curry evening which the World Mission Group held on Thursday, we elected to support Oasis India, which works for the transformation and empowerment of individuals and communities in Indian cities through various projects, providing education, rehabilitation, training and resourcing.)

Of course, whatever social injustice issue we get excited about, we’re called to use peaceful, non-violent means. From the beginning, Jesus promises peace (Luke 1.79; 2.14; 8.48; 19.38) and peace is the message the Seventy are commissioned to preach (Luke 10.5-6). Jesus’ words about fire and division are jolting because they make it clear there is no peace without conflict, no salvation without rejection. Jesus himself faces that in Jerusalem, and he tries to tell the disciples that they need expect nothing different. Except, rather than being signs of defeat, rejection and conflict are incorporated into God’s divine plan. Because in the end, love overcomes hatred, life conquers death and sorrow turns to joy. By the grace and mercy of God, we are united forever in his love.

Just as the Che Guevara poster was designed to arrest attention, Jesus’ concluding words in today’s Gospel reading are a wake-up call. He says if they (that is, people somewhere on their way from Galilee to Jerusalem) are smart enough to know that a heavy cloud in the west (from the Mediterranean) means rain is on the way and that a strong south wind (from the desert in the Negev) precedes a heat wave, then why aren’t they able to discern the present as a time of crisis? Why do they remain blind to what is happening in the present time? Common sense says it’s decision time.

Picture Jesus’ reference to ‘bringing fire on the earth’ as when a farmer lights a controlled fire to a field, to burn off the stubble of a previous crop, and enrich the ground for new growth. In our daily walk with God, repeatedly we seek to make amends. For we know that repentance is a necessary part of discipleship, which opens the door to forgiveness and clears the ground for new life. Calls to change are reminders that judgement needn’t be the last word; destruction is not inevitable. God’s message of love still holds.

In our daily walk with God, we are called to persevere, in faith. Today’s reading from the Epistle to the Hebrews refers us back to the faith of Israel’s past generations of heroes and heroines and points us forward to “something better” (as the text puts it), that is, Jesus himself.

The athletic imagery which the author of Hebrews uses is reminiscent of the language which St Paul uses in his letters to the churches in Corinth, Galatia and Philippi. All the necessary elements of a race are there: the spectators, the potential obstacles, the trials involved in running a marathon, the lead runner, and the finish line. All these features figure in our own lives of faith, for which we are in constant training.

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12.1-2).

I love the picture that this conjures up! Imagine the “cloud of witnesses” as spectators of the race lining the route to encourage the runners – that’s you and me. These “witnesses” are the forerunners of the Christian faith – the saints who have gone before, including those we have known and loved, who by the grace of God have lived faithful lives and are commended by Him. They are already with God, lining the roadway to encourage all who follow.

We know it’s a long race which requires perseverance, but we’re following the lead runner: Jesus himself. Jesus is the revolutionary “pioneer and perfecter” of our faith, who became such through his sufferings. His own race consisted of enduring the cross, which to a 1st century audience was shameful. But: Jesus crossed the finish line, took his seat at the right hand of the throne of God and conquered death by rising to new life! And although it’s not named in today’s reading, the finish line that awaits us is the new city that is to come (Hebrews 13.14).

So when we feel strongly about the injustices of our day; when we feel called to challenge the authorities on behalf of others, and when we face difficulties of our own, let’s keep our eyes fixed on the lead runner, Jesus Christ himself, who holds the key to the joy that is set before all who believe. Amen.