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Tenth Sunday after Pentecost

August 17, 2025 - 9:00 a.m.

The word of God is a refining fire. Jesus is the great divide in human history. He invites our undivided attention and devotion. Today in worship, we are surrounded by a great “cloud of witnesses.” In the word and holy communion, we are invited yet again to look to Jesus, “the pioneer and perfecter of our faith.”

Readings

Jeremiah 23:23-29
God’s word is like fire, like a hammer that breaks rocks

Psalm 82
Arise, O God, and rule the earth. (Psalm 82:8)

Hebrews 11:29—12:2
The faith of the Hebrew people, a great cloud of witnesses

Luke 12:49-56
Jesus brings fire on earth and has a baptism with which to be baptized

Music

Prelude: Improvisation on “Called to Follow”
Gathering Song: Let the Whole Creation Cry (Salzburg)
Kyrie/Canticle of Praise: Setting 4
Hymn of the Day: When Pain of the World Surrounds Us (Called to Follow)
Voluntary: Benedictus - Brian Lewis
Carolyn Alm, mezzo-soprano
Melissa Drumm, soprano
Offertory Song: Let the Vineyards Be Fruitful (Nelson)
Communion: Setting 4
Sending Song: God, When Human Hearts Are Broken (Merton)
Postlude: Rigaudon - André Campra
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The Reality of Division

Throughout the Gospel of Luke, Jesus calls on his hearers to turn their hearts away from greed and instead to generosity, to turn away from anxious self-preservation and instead to faithful self-giving. But such practice rubs against humanity’s deepest-seated sin, so conflict is born out of Jesus’ peace-filled activity. Jesus’ words and actions had already pitted him against the religious leaders and will lead him to the cross. Now, in today’s gospel, Jesus speaks to the reality of that division.

His words unsettle us, yet they are spoken for a reason. In the reading from Jeremiah, God challenges the prophets who dole out lies and deceit and asks, how long until they turn their hearts back to me? This is a question of compassion and yearning for a restored relationship. Likewise, although Jesus’ words are incendiary and speak of broken relationships, they are meant to prompt the people’s faithful response: to lay aside anxiety and greed and to turn their hearts to the treasures of God’s promised kingdom, where Christ takes division upon himself on the cross.

While fully aware of the realities of conflict and division, we are to live as hopeful people, praying fervently for God’s compassion and for the restoration of right relationships.
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