A Long Walk Toward Peace
The Rev. Dr. Karin Ekholm’s Sermon on Luke 12:49-56 on August 17, 2025
In today’s Gospel reading, we are confronted with some hard sayings of Jesus. He has been just teaching his disciples in parables and reassured them tenderly, “Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” He has exhorted them to sell their possessions and give alms, and told them not to worry about food or clothing, for “your Father knows that you need them.” To those who seek his kingdom, these things will be provided as well.
And then, abruptly his tone shifts as he warns his followers that to those “whom much has been given, much will be required,” and exclaims,
“I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!”
And he answers his own question, “Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth?” with a definitive “no!”—he has come to bring division, and he proceeds to enumerate the many ways households will divide over him.
These proclamations come as a surprise, especially in the third gospel, which mentions peace more than any other. Luke’s narrative begins with Zechariah’s prophecy of a Messiah who will “guide our feet into the way of peace,” and angels heralding peace on earth at the Incarnation (1:79; 2:14). Throughout his ministry, Jesus gives blessings of peace to people of all kinds; when he sends out disciples, he instructs them to begin by offering peace; and in his last days, weeping for Jerusalem, he laments the people’s failure to recognize the things that make for peace (e.g. 8:48; 10:5; 19:42). And finally, when Jesus appears to the eleven following the Resurrection, his first words are “Peace be with you” (24:36). Those of us who would have answered his rhetorical question in the affirmative can hardly be faulted for thinking Jesus came to bring peace to earth.
Today’s reading offers a seemingly harsh perspective that appears to contradict what he says elsewhere. What are we to make this Jesus who comes to bring fire and division? What has become of his peace that otherwise features so prominently?
Reflecting on what is meant by “peace” might help us address these questions. The Greek word for peace is εἰρήνη—it’s where we get the women’s name “Irene”, and it comes from the verb "to join together into a whole". Peace is a wholeness formed from essential parts, not simply the absence of conflict. In fact, at times, peace emerges only through conflict. This may follow when justice is denied, when people deprive others of social or economic worth, or when one party refuses to repent.
The film “The Long Walk Home” dramatizes the impact of the Civil Rights Movement on individuals and relationships during the Montgomery Bus Boycott of 1955-56. The boycott, which aimed to challenge the city’s segregation laws, was sparked by the arrest of Rosa Parks. Fifty thousand persons participated at a real cost, and finally, after thirteen long months, the boycott resulted in the integration of Montgomery's buses. The movie focuses especially on the relationship of two women: Odessa Cotter (played by Whoopi Goldberg), a Black nanny and housekeeper, and her white employer, Miriam Thompson, an affluent housewife.
Odessa, in solidarity with the boycott, chooses to walk to and from work, a long and exhausting nine-mile journey. She regularly attends evening worship services with her family, even as her feet and her body ache from the long walks, and those assembled pray for protection in the face of mounting tension, including the historic attack on Martin Luther King’s home.
Initially, Miriam does not question societal norms in interactions with Odessa, visits with friends at the club, and in her relationship to her husband, Norm. At Christmas dinner, as her extended family discusses the boycott Norm, is at first dismissive of concerns social unrest could grow. When he remarks that he doesn’t think Odessa will cause problems, his brother, Tunker, a hardliner, responds,
“You’ve got a good family…good community. When was the last time you locked your door at night? Never! If you give in what do you think is going to happen to this city? What do you think will happen to this family? If she'd rather walk, let the soles of her feet bleed 'til she begs to ride that bus."
Tunker’s fearmongering succeeds on Norm, who soon joins the White Citizens' Councils, a historic network of supremacists, and demands that his wife defer to his views. Miriam, in contrast, through her relationship with Odessa, gradually begins to recognize the prevailing injustice. As Miriam awakens, she slowly comes to sympathize with the boycott and defy the demands of her husband, family, and society.
The film focuses equally on Odessa’s home life. At home, her family prays nightly at dinner, “Watch over our souls tonight, and help us to live your word tomorrow.” One evening, her husband and children, who are pained by how she is exploited, are taken aback when she adds, “And, Lord, please watch over Miriam Thompson, too.” In the days ahead, both women, together with Miriam’s young daughter, participate in taking a stand, in the face of escalating threats, against oppression in the form of Norm, Tunker, and the men of the Citizen’s Council.
As daughter stands against father
And father against daughter
Wife against husband
And husband against wife
Brother-in-law against sister-in-law
And sister-in-law against brother-in-law
we recognize the division Jesus prophesied.
Jesus’ catalog of conflict among families echoes lines from the prophet Micah. Micah is especially known for condemning oppression and social injustices, especially the exploitation of the poor by the powerful, and for exhorting his people to do justice, love mercy, and to walk humbly with God (Micah 6:8, 7:6).
In the time of the Hebrew prophets and of Jesus, people expected the coming Messiah to bring peace. But peace that fails to do justice to all involved is not true peace. Jesus knew that as he confronted established religious and social patterns, conflict would develop. Family members and communities would clash.
In 1950s Montgomery as in the DMV in our time, true peace can’t exist when people are marginalized and disenfranchised from society. We have a responsibility to examine the positions that gives us privilege and authority. We are called to step outside of what’s comfortable and into the way of Jesus, who spent his life serving marginalized people around him, welcoming people who were different, and empowering those who didn’t fit.
As we awaken to the injustices of the systems that have sustained us, we are likely to face significant pushback AND to find ourselves in need of grace and transformation. The good news is that the fire Jesus brings refines and transforms all it touches into light and God’s likeness, and the Spirit intercedes to gradually bring about healing, wholeness, and true peace.