ࡱ> KMJq` 4bjbjqPqP .D::,%4444444H,,,8dHH"$4hn444'''d44'''O44 P\a,;g0Ho,   4,v@T'DXHHHH,HHH,HHH444444 19th August 2007 The Great Instructor Luke 12:49-59 Its 40 years ago now; but I remember so well the problems I had passing my driving test. In fact I failed it twice. Im sure my first instructor was very good but somehow I couldnt get the hang of operating the clutch, the gear stick, the steering wheel, the brake and giving hand signals seemingly all at the same time. In my mind the two failed tests have now merged into one continuous nightmare. I recollect going round a roundabout twice; then I made a 3 point turn into a 7 point turn and I couldnt even recall the correct order of colours for traffic lights. Then, in desperation, my parents found me a new instructor. He was retired; a gentle, kind man; a man who had an average pass rate of 98% for his pupils. In my usual positive frame of mind I thought Id soon bring that down to 97! But, he made me relax and take my time. Somehow he taught me to think clearly so that I could confidently perform all the necessary operations. At the same time he warned me of the pitfalls I would come across in the test and advised me how to avoid them. By the time the test came along I was almost over confident and managed to pass it easily. The instructor had taught me all I needed to pass the test. Here, in Lukes gospel, we see the Greatest Instructor of all time in full flow. We assume well hear wonderful news. But what do we find? talk of fire, broken families, warnings about the future and about being taken to court. I took one look at this passage and almost picked up the phone to Robin to say, I cant speak on this. Can I possibly choose another text? Then I looked deeper and thought, My old driving instructor was honest enough to tell me about the pitfalls in the driving test. Why shouldnt Jesus tell us about the pitfalls in life? Why shouldnt he warn us? To put it simply, when were sold a product, we want to hear all about it. We dont want to be spun a line and just told the good news. Then I looked deeper again and saw that among all these warnings there was indeed wonderful news better than we could ever expect or deserve. So here we are. Jesus is talking to thousands of people - disciples, local inhabitants and passers by. First he says that hes going to bring fire on the Earth. Now when fire is mentioned in the Bible it always refers to judgement. So, if you like, Jesus says theres going to be a test in the future (much more important than a driving test) for all of us, and he himself is going to be the examiner. He also mentions that hes going to go through a baptism which hes not looking forward to. Not surprising, as that baptism refers to his crucifixion, death and resurrection. Just as in baptism by immersion a man or woman will be plunged under the water, so Jesus said he would go under the water, meaning he would die and then rise again. Next he quizzes this great crowd with three questions three difficult questions. First question. Do you think I came to bring peace on the Earth? The obvious answer from the crowd is Yes, absolutely. If you are who you say you are, the promised Saviour, then youll subdue these Romans and afterwards therell be everlasting peace. But theyd misread the Scriptures. He answers his own question and his answer is No. Because of me families will be divided. But we might challenge him, When you were born surely the angels sang, Peace on Earth, good will to all men. But there are two types of peace. Theres vertical peace the peace with God which we receive when we believe in Jesus. Thats what the angels were singing about. And theres horizontal peace peace with our fellow man. Becoming a Christian doesnt necessarily bring horizontal peace. It can cause strife in families. If someone in a Muslim family becomes a Christian it can bring that new convert ostracism or even death. I had a relative who I was very close to. But I realised that he was trying to persuade one of my sons to act immorally, to go against Christs teaching. I asked him to stop and then I found hed being doing it again. It caused a rift between us which never fully healed before his death. Happily though, sometimes one person in a family becomes a Christian and all the rest follow suit. In Acts Luke himself mentions Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth. Her heart was opened and she brought all her family to be baptised. And youll remember that when Paul and Silas were sprung from prison by an earthquake, the trembling jailer and all his family became followers of Christ. Its wonderful when that happens but Jesus warns us that being a Christian in a non-Christian family is tough. With these three questions hes showing us what its like to walk with him. In effect hes saying, If youre thinking of following me, be prepared an appropriate motto in the Boy Scouts centenary year. Second question. A very provocative question. You know how to predict the weather. How is it that you dont know how to predict this present time? Forecasting the weather in that part of the world is much simpler than it is here. As we all know, because we live on an island, the weather can totally change in hours. The Jews needed to be good at forecasting because Israel was very much an agricultural community. When the wind came from the West, from the Mediterranean, it brought moisture and coolness. Soft rain dropped on to the limestone hills. They soon turned green and grass came up. The West wind was good news. But the wind from the South was called the Hanseen. It came from the desert. It was hot, dusty and sticky. When it blew the people knew that the grass would wither and die in hours. Yes, they were experts in predicting the weather but they were blind when looking at the signs of the times. In their generation they had the privilege of knowing at first hand both the greatest prophet of all time, John the Baptist, and Jesus the Son of God. And yet most of them couldnt grasp the implications. Jesus clearly spoke about the Fall of Jerusalem and 30 years after his death it fell. Before it fell there was a small window of a few days when people were allowed to get out. The vast majority who took this opportunity were Christians. They remembered what Jesus had said. Many others stayed, thinking Jerusalem could never fall. Over 1 million people died. They failed to listen to the Instructor and to read the signs of the times. At the moment, where I work, many people are scrutinising wind maps of the Atlantic to see whether theres a hurricane heading towards the East Coast of America. This is very much the hurricane season. As I speak Hurricane Dean is heading that way! Wheres it going to hit? How strong will it be? Is it going to cost 50 billion dollars like Hurricane Katrina? Brilliant minds are putting together amazing theories about Dean and what the next 2 months will bring. But one wonders how much time are these great minds giving to more important questions like What am I here for? or What happens when I die? Have they studied the warnings given by Jesus, the Great Instructor? Last week I read that MPs had been asked what book they will be reading on their summer holidays. Most of the Conservatives said that they would be reading anything that would help them combat the Brown bounce, the new Prime Ministers sudden increased popularity in the polls. The favourite book among Government MPs was found to be The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins, the most outspoken and influential atheist in the country. What does that tell us about the signs of the times in our own, so called, Christian land? Third question. Jesus tells a frightening story and then asks, Why dont you judge for yourselves what is right? The story is this. An enemy accuses you of harming him. He wants to take you to court. You realise to your horror that theres every chance the judge will find you guilty. Youll be thrown into prison for a long sentence. Jesus says that, in this instance, youd certainly do your utmost to make it up with this accuser so that he would drop his case. You wouldnt just give in and accept all thats coming to you. In effect he says, Think. Youd do that in life. Why wouldnt you do the same in preparation for judgement after death? In this story God is both the accuser and the judge. When we stand before him we wont stand a chance. We cant measure up to his standards. Were guilty. How can we appease him? How can we make up for the things weve done wrong? If we cant the guards will come for us. The prison doors will be slammed shut. The key will be thrown away. Is there any hope? As I mentioned before, this passage is all about being prepared. That phrase always reminds me of a memorable episode in my school life. Our French master was a Mr. Hawke. He was a strict disciplinarian and mad keen on cricket. In the Summer Term he would set us some work and immediately leave to watch the Test Match in the Common Room. We knew he wouldnt be back until the end of the lesson. Most of us decided, in his absence, to have a cricket match of our own; so we moved desks out of the way, turned the waste paper basket upside down to form a wicket and got out a bat and a tennis ball. Others in the class who werent playing with us were reading unhealthy magazines or some might even have been doing some work! But I remember one boy who always used this time as an excuse to have a smoke. One day it was my turn to bowl when suddenly there was a cry from a boy whod just opened the door. Old Hawkes coming back! Rain must have stopped the Test Match. In the time it took him to walk 10 yards the desks were all back in place, the waste paper basket was the right way up, the bat and ball were hidden, the dodgy magazines were back in the desks and the cigarette was stubbed out. Mr. Hawke entered the room, a thin smile on his face. Everything was quiet. We all had our heads in our French books. Thankfully he never saw the only incriminating evidence a small smoke-ring slowly curling its way up to the ceiling. We were ready, we were prepared - just. My driving instructors job was to prepare me for the driving test. (Thankfully it didnt involve as much of a panic as we had in the classroom that day!) Jesus job on Earth was to prepare us for Heaven. As we see here, he first instructs us about what life will be like if we follow him. It wont all be a bed of roses. He secondly instructs us about the future - what to do when trouble comes. But what do we do when we stand before the accuser and the judge and we have no defence for our actions? We deserve to be thrown into prison for the wrongs we have done but this amazing Instructor has been through a baptism as he calls it. In that courtroom where we should be punished hes paid the awful price of an excruciating death and bought our freedom. His offer of the perfect defence on our day of judgement is there for all of us. And yet the foolish dont take it up. They still insist on trying to defend themselves when that test, that judgement, eventually comes. Without counting on the promise of the Great Instructor they are doomed to long-term imprisonment. Im eternally grateful to my driving instructor for getting me through that test. But thats nothing compared to what the Greatest Instructor of all time has done and offers to all of us. Its more than we could ever expect or deserve.     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