Advent 1 Midweek
We are in the season of Advent. Advent means “coming”. In this Advent season, we focus on Jesus’ coming to us. First, we use it to prepare ourselves by quiet reflection and repentance to prepare our hearts to celebrate at Christmas His first coming. Next, we remember Jesus’ coming to us today in word and Sacrament. This instills in us a great love and treasuring of these gifts as we recognize Jesus coming to us in them with His gifts and blessings. And then, finally, we remember Jesus’ coming on the Last Day—this time in glory as Judge. We use the season of Advent to remind of this coming so that we are always prepared and watching for Him to come on the Last Day, lest we be found unworthy and unprepared—that is, without faith in Him.
When we reflect on Jesus’ coming, we ask: why did Jesus come? And of course we remember what Jesus said in the Gospel [Mt. 20.28]: that He came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many. In other words, He came, as we confess in the creed, for us men and our salvation. But Jesus expresses this same thought in other and surprising ways that flesh out this thought of Him coming for us and our salvation. That’s what we’ll be looking at this Advent. Tonight we’ll look at His words: I came to cast fire on the earth, and would that it were already kindled! Jesus said this in the context of a discussion He was having with His disciples about the end times and being ready for the end times. At first glance it seems to be a theme very much of Judgment, and certainly fitting for Advent’s turning our focus to prepare us for Jesus’ coming. But these surprising words of Jesus about why He came are very rich and we will try to unpack them this evening.
What is that fire that Jesus came to cast on the earth? If we look at some examples from Scripture, we will see that very often fire is associated with God’s presence. One of the clearest examples is Moses as the burning bush. He records [Ex. 3.2]: And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.” When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” Did you catch that? –The Lord made His presence known by fire; fire was a sign that God was there. Then, also with Moses, we read about the time of the giving of the holy Ten Commandments on Mt. Sinai [Ex. 19.18]: Now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the Lord had descended on it in fire. Again, the Lord made His presence known in fire.
And then, we have that very familiar image of fire at the first day of Pentecost [Ac 2.3-4]: And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages as the Spirit gave them utterance. There the Holy Spirit made His divine presence known by the sound like a mighty wind and these tongues as of fire, marking the disciples as the ones who should be listened to, making His presence in and with them known by those tongues of fire. Again, fire is associated with God’s being and His presence.
Notice Jesus’ words—He came to cast fire on the earth. He didn’t come to set a fire, but to cast fire on the earth. To cast a fire—or to throw a fire on the earth—means that Jesus would be above and the earth beneath. If Jesus were to set a fire, that would mean that He would be on the earth; there would be no motion downward. To cast/ throw something onto something would mean the thrower is above. That is significant! It gives us the image/ teaches us that Jesus is above when He casts this fire on the earth. What does that mean? –Remember when Jesus spoke these words, He spoke them while here on earth; but for Him to cast fire down on the earth, would mean that He would be in heaven. So Jesus casting fire on the earth would be after His ascension, that is, after His life, suffering, death and resurrection. In other words, Jesus casting fire on the earth is the result of His saving work. He came to this earth to reconcile us sinners to the holy God; He came to fulfill for us/ in our place God’s holy Law; He came to take our sins on Himself and go to the cross to suffer there God’s wrath for us. Because He did so perfectly, He rose from the dead and ascended into heaven. And now He casts fire upon the earth, a divine fire—that is, like we see on Pentecost, He sends the Holy Spirit, true God, 3rd Person of the Holy Trinity. The Holy Spirit works faith in Jesus in the hearts of people; He gathers us into the Church that we might receive the fruit and blessing of Jesus’ work—the forgiveness of sin and eternal life. The Holy Spirit works to keep us in that faith, preserving us in it until death. I came to cast fire on the earth, and would that it were already kindled! Here Jesus is looking ahead to His suffering and agony, how He wishes it were already past and He could cast fire on the earth, that is, send the Holy Spirit to bring into all the world the blessed fruit of His saving work. Jesus longs to reveal His grace and the salvation it brings. The purpose of Jesus’ coming was not just to suffer and die for the sins of us all but to rise again as Victor over sin, death, devil and hell, and to ascend into heaven and to send the Holy Spirit, to cast fire on the earth, to give us its benefits by gathering us into the Church. Since Jesus sends us the Holy Spirit from above, that means that the word and sacrament through which He works are heavenly, divine things. How vital for us to treasure that word and sacrament because through these, the Lord is coming to us. They are filled with the Holy Spirit. Jesus came that first Christmas to cast fire on the earth: the Holy Spirit and His work. Take heart, the fire that Jesus cast on the earth will never subside; it will burn to the end of time.
I came to cast fire on the earth, and would that it were already kindled! Because this fire is a divine fire, the fire of the Holy Spirit, He not only brings us the gifts and blessings Jesus won for us on the cross, He not only brings us to faith in Jesus and keeps us in that faith, but where there is the Holy Spirit, there He is also working mightily to purify our hearts and lives, to make us more and more holy/ without sin in our thoughts, words and deeds. This too, is an Advent theme. We prepare ourselves for Jesus’ coming—be it for the celebration of His first coming as the Baby born of the virgin, be it as He comes now into our lives, or be it for His coming on the Last Day—by examining heart and life in the mirror of God’s holy Law to recognize our sin, to repent of them, and in the joy of forgiveness and strengthened by the Holy Spirit to strive to root them out of our heart and life.
This, too, then is the purifying fire of the Holy Spirit Whom Jesus sent from heaven as a result of His saving work: I came to cast fire on the earth. Notice the strong, active word—casting/ throwing down. Jesus, if you will, flings the Holy Spirit down upon earth and the work that He does is not some weak, insipid, bland work. It is a mighty and powerful work by which He creates in us faith and a new self, by which turns us sinners into saints. Christianity is not a philosophy; it’s not a change in us that we decide to make; it’s not a bottom up thing. Instead, it is a “top down” working of God on us. And it’s a mighty, purifying transformation because it’s a fire from above, the Holy Spirit, who Christ has cast/ sent.
And if we get caught in that fire, we ourselves will flash and blaze because it is also a purifying fire. With the Holy Spirit in us, leading and empowering us, we will fight against sin. Our lives will be lives that reflect the holy will of God more and more brightly. Our delight will be the Lord’s will. We will fight against our old sinful nature and its desires. And this fight against sin will not be drudgery. It will be something that we delight in and want to do. We will from the bottom of our heart want to do the Lord’s will. We will care about whether or not we sin. And here we dare never get discouraged, dear Christian. Our lives will never be as holy and perfect as we as Christians like. We will still find great sin. But running to and clinging to Jesus and His work, we, in faith—created by the Holy Spirit—grab ahold of the forgiveness He won for us and gives us. And strengthened in that forgiveness, we strive all the more against that sin and to live a holy life. That desire and the strength to do it, is the work of the Holy Spirit, that divine fire Jesus cast upon the earth; that fire which now purifies us more and more from our sin. That fire as a purifying fire, then, is an enlivening fire. It makes us alive with the love of God and the desire to please Him.
I came to cast fire on the earth, and would that it were already kindled! Because this fire enlivens the faithful, those who reject or turn away from the fire/ those who reject the working of the Holy Spirit, who reject the work of Jesus, for them it is a fire of judgment. From some there is a burning, fervent enthusiasm—love for Jesus; but among others there is a fierce antagonism toward Jesus and His word. Here we see that Jesus is divisive—a person is either for Him or against Him. There is no middle ground when it comes to Jesus—no neutrality or apathy. Apathy is rejection, because how could a person be apathetic/ not care whether or not sins are forgiven or whether heaven and a glorious eternity awaits or not? How could a person not care/ be apathetic toward the One who brought about these gifts and now gives them? If there is apathy, there is rejection: I don’t need, want Jesus and His work and blessings. The cross of Jesus is a stumbling block. The fire that He came to cast on the earth—that is the proclamation of the Gospel and the working of the Holy Spirit—can be rejected. Jesus is that great divide, so the fire that He came to cast on the earth is a fire of separation and division.
Really, it can’t be any other way. Once Jesus finished His saving work and sent His Holy Spirit to bring its blessings to the world; once the fire has been kindled, upheavals immediately arise. The god of this world—the devil—is provoked. His kingdom is being plundered. His lies are being seen as what they are. The Holy Spirit works faith in the hearts of many. Lives of faith and good works are being lived. The Holy Spirit is keeping people in the faith. And to add insult to injury, the god of this world is attacked and his kingdom emptied by the weak, simple, humble word that preaches Jesus and His saving work. And so the devil rises up to fight against the Holy Spirit and His work; he rises up to quench the fire that Jesus cast. And so the fire Jesus cast on the earth ends up being a separating fire.
Now as a result of Jesus’ work and His sending the Holy Spirit, a new people, the people of God are formed—that’s you and me. We are a people who are tested and purified. The Church—our Lord’s dear Christians—are always under the cross of suffering in this world. But the glorious thing is that when the devil tries to attack us and destroy our faith, the fire that Jesus cast is still on the earth! His Holy Spirit is still working mightily on us through the word and sacrament, giving us the blessing and benefit of Jesus’ work, strengthening us in the faith. We long for Jesus’ coming to us now in word and Sacrament. And precisely when the devil attacks us and we are tested, the Holy Spirit is with us to strengthen and preserve us and so in the end, our faith is purified and stronger. And we look all the more for Jesus return on the Last Day, knowing He will keep us safe until the end.
So why did Jesus tell us He came? I came to cast fire on the earth, a divine fire of the Holy Spirit, who purifies us and safely gathers us into the Church. INJ Amen.