Today’s scripture: Luke 12:49-59 (NRSV) (The Message) (KJV) What might God be saying to me?
My thoughts (John Seksay):
Fire. Even without an exclamation point, the word grabs my attention. I think of forest fires and natural gas explosions, fire engines and chaos. At first reading, this seems to fit the chaos Jesus speaks of in today’s reading.
But the chaos he describes isn’t a family or community coming together in the face of natural disaster, but a society being rended apart at its most fundamental level by the events at hand. When I put “fire” and “sacrifice” together on Wikipedia, I get a very eye-opening result. I am directed to the related terms olah and korban olah. These terms appear in the place where fire was central to the life of the Jewish community — at the high altar where the daily ritual sacrifices were made according to the laws set forth in the Torah. Literally translated, it means “that which ascends in smoke” and refers to the parts of the animals sacrificed that were burnt upon the altar as the offering to God.
But not all sacrifices were the same. The mundane sacrifice would place the fat upon the altar and leave the meat to be consumed by the Levites as a portion for their service to God. But the highest sacrifice required the entire animal, stripped of its hide, to be placed on the altar and utterly consumed entirely for the pleasure of God. It was reserved for the most drastic and serious needs for atonement. We have commonly read this phrase translated as “burnt offering.” In the Septuagint the Greek term is holocauston, and the most accurate and direct translation is the English term holocaust.
This leaves me no doubt as to the baptism Jesus alluded to in the next sentence. He was facing his own personal holocaust for the sake of Israel. Why? Because Israel couldn’t see the error of its ways and the ultimate Judge was demanding payment in full. It was critical to grasp that the greatest risk to a person’s spiritual well-being wasn’t from external forces, but internal ones. Complacency, empty ritual, hair-splitting legalisms that alienated the spirit — these were the deadly forces at work.
Jesus would make the sacrifice for all, but the benefit would only accrue to those who understood and honored the sacrifice being made. Since each individual would choose according to his/her understanding, this sacrifice would cut deep into the fabric of God’s chosen people on the most fundamental level. Who among them would be willing to put everything upon the altar?
Thought for the day: What do I have that I do not consider to be God’s for the asking? What could I put on the altar today?
We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to get started, consider the suggestions on the How to Pray page.