Fire

I am come to send fire on the earth… (Luke 12:49)

I cited this verse responding to a question on the Nerdchurch Discord server: If you build yourself as an rpg character, what is your class and alignment?

My choice is: human cleric–with the fire domain (Pathfinder) or light domain (5e). Because: Fireball!

In-game, casters aren’t always responsible with fireballs. We may overlook flammable objects (including party members) in the area of effect. [Or, if you’re a video gamer, ask yourself if you’ve always been responsible with a grenade launcher. I thought so.]

Is there a legit Bible angle here? Of course. Jesus, being Jesus, has access to the fire and light domains. But he’s not careless about any aspect of his power. 

Back in Luke 9:51-56, James and John had asked Jesus about commanding fire from heaven to consume a Samaritan village. (Jesus vetoed this.) But the crowd in Luke chapter 12 wouldn’t know about that incident, and Jesus doesn’t bring it up. 

We can understand the “fire” that Jesus came to send on the earth as the intense presence and power of God, spreading from Jesus and confronting and transforming everything it touches.

The fire of God hits hard. God’s grace can make it possible to catch his fire, without being consumed–like the burning bush Moses sees in Exodus 3.

But by the numbers, in 22 out of 26 sayings about God’s fire in the gospels, the fire does damage. Surviving the fire of God, being transformed and reforged by it, is exceptional. It’s a miracle.

A lot of people misunderstood Jesus. They did, and they still do. Jesus did not come to condemn or destroy anyone. But he did come to change the world. The authorities weren’t wrong to see Jesus as a threat to their power. And Jesus is a divisive figure. As much as he would like to bring peace, realistically he is both accepted and rejected.

Jesus brings out all kinds of reactions in people. I’m not as perceptive as Jesus, but when I wear my Nerdchurch shirt with the message, JESUS LOVES NERDS, I can pick up on the mixed reactions people have to Jesus, his infinite love for nerds, and maybe the quirky guy who’s wearing the shirt.

I look forward to what it will be like when a party of us show up where our fellow nerds gather, in Nerdchurch gear, curious characters who are overtly nerd-positive and Jesus-positive. I imagine that feeling awesome! Yet, realistically, reactions will be mixed and we need to be prepared for that. 

I am come to send fire on the earth; and what will I, if it be already kindled? (Luke 12:49)

How does Jesus feel about bringing fire, by being who he is? That’s what he’s asking himself, out loud, surrounded by his disciples and a crowd so dense people are stepping on each other. Maybe he’s thinking:

I came, I let people hear me and see me and touch me and experience who I am. I lit the fire, and it’s spreading. Now what? 

Jesus is not glib about sending fire on the earth. Jesus knows that he is seriously disrupting the world. It needs disrupting. He personally understands the pain of being misunderstood, stigmatized, plotted against. He knows that if he keeps going, he will face betrayal, abandonment, and death. And he keeps going.

Now the question comes to you and me. What will I?  

Do you still want to send fire on the earth?