Sermon

Rev. Robert A Kem

Rector of St. Anne’s Ankeny

Proper 15

Luke 12: 49-56


“Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division; for thenceforth in one house there shall be five divided three against two and two against three; they will be divided father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother in law against her daughter in law and daughter in law against mother in law.”



I read this and I said, this is a contrast to the Gospel in Luke 12:22 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you shall eat, nor about your body what you shall put one. For life is more than food and the body more than clothing.”



Jesus was saying that life in the family will be different if I am the number one priority in your families. If you follow in my ways you will worship me. Your family values will become Kingdom values.



You will love differently. You will see my love not as a reward for tasks you have done but as grace because my love will conquer all. My love is available to all in my kingdom. Forgiveness will be different as well. In my kingdom you will forgive others as you have been forgiven.



You will be given the promise of healing in spirit, mind and body as I have healed others. When the Kingdom values are followed not only will your needs be taken care of but you will find the peace that passes all understanding in this world.



In my Kingdom you will encounter death without fear. Death is no longer the enemy but instead you will be given eternal life. I am the resurrection and life says the Lord. If you believe in me you will not die but have eternal life.”





These are the promises that I will give to you as my followers.



Everything in like breaks down if we choose to follow the false promises of this world. Relationships, values, our goals and purpose in life get skewed when we follow our own selfish ways.



But if you choose to follow your own ways you will be struck father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother and why? Because you will be following the other God’s of this world. You cannot serve two masters either you will love the one and hate the other or follow the one and not the other.



Jesus knew that material promises in this world would distract us from his Kingdom. Jesus knew that relationships in this world would be under attack if we followed our own desires to be first. If we focus all our energies on ourselves instead of Jesus and His Kingdom; we will be victims of our own devices and desires. That is the promise of chaos not peace. The worlds values are much different than the spiritual values of the Kingdom of God.



Next, I have thought about our families and want to ask the question; as parents what are your priorities for your family? What are your goals for your children? Do you want them to have a happy life? Do you want them to be wealthy? Do you want for them the latest computer for learning? IPOD for listening pleasure? Friends that like them? College education? Happily married? Of course you do.



You want what is best for your children any parent would want this. But spiritual values are not only taught at home when you pray together and read the bible together and worship together.



Spiritual values are taught not in the public schools. Spiritual values are taught in the education we provide for our youth at church. The only way you will receive help from other Christians is if you bring your children to church. Chances are you will not absorb spiritual values in the hair salon or at the grocery store or even in the sports that you enroll your child in.



Now, I don’t want you to think that I came from a perfect family even though dad was the priest in charge at St. Andrew’s in Des Moines. Let me be honest with you when I was growing up on Sunday morning. Things were tough for mom when she was the only parent pushing us to be ready on Sunday mornings.



There were three boys who would have much rather stayed home from church and Sunday school rather than dress up in white shirt and tie, shine our shoes put on our dress pants and then spend two hours at church.



We put mom through the ringer having had to wake us up, find us clean clothes, do breakfast cereal and toast for three boys and coerce us into going to church on Sunday mornings.



I have since thought to myself, mom will be going straight to heaven for all the hell she lived through here on earth on Sunday mornings.



Does this sound familiar? “How many of you as parents seem to have the same struggle on Sunday mornings only to find once the kids get here they find a family that loves them, feeds them and provides for them more love.”



Christianity is only one generation away from extinction. If you fail to bring your children to learn spiritual values on Sunday morning than you cannot expect them to follow spiritual values of the kingdom either now or when they get older and have their own families.

Do you see what Jesus was saying? Chaos begins in the family and in life when we are subject only to the world’s values and do not know that we have a Lord and Savior that loves us and wants us to come each week and worship him.



Paul said this about the Church in Ephesians 4;12-16 “We are to build up the Body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the statue of the fullness of Christ; so that we may no longer be children tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the cunning of men, by their craftiness in deceitful wiles. Rather speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ who makes the bodily growth and upbuilds itself in love.”



As parent’s we want to raise our children to grow up to be independent of us in their 20’s, to make good choices in life about marriage, family and career, and to be happy. Yet, we are presently challenged by the world in which we live.



There is a war that is going on inside of us. It is a spiritual battle we fight every week. Should we attend church or not? The world calls us to go its way and to follow in the diversions that present themselves each week. We have spiritual decisions to make each about our time spent as a family.



If we look at the amount of time in one week we see that we must make choices with our time. We know there are only 168 hours in a week, 60 hours on work, 50 hours on sleep, family time 21 hours, exercise 7 hours, and 14 hours to eat. This leaves about only 20 hours or less that is available to spend in our relationship with God, learning spiritual values of the Kingdom. Choices to be made.



There is Boys Scouts, dances lessons, soccer, school work, and many others things we would like our children to experience and then there is drive time to each of these events.



WOW I am tired just listing all of these choices. We need to go back to what we said earlier. Life is all about making Jesus a priority in our lives. For parents that means growing spiritually ourselves. Take time for yourself so you may grow. Teach a class. Take a Bible Study. Spend time in daily prayer with Jesus.



We need to get our children into a weekly routine coming to worship with people who want to teach them spiritual values of the love of Christ for them. They want to teach about the grace of God through Christ and his death on the cross for our sins.



Christ wants your children to know about love and forgiveness and all of the Kingdom values.. Christ wants them to know about their value to him. Christ wants them to know about the joy, and about true happiness in this world and not just seeking life’s pleasures for ourselves.



There are many values of the Kingdom that I learned from two families when I was growing up. I learned about prayer and answered prayer. I learned about God’s unconditional love. I was fortunate because I always had two families teaching me these lessons. My biological family and my church family in Des Moines. There were men who taught Sunday school, There were women who served as altar guild and VBS teachers. There were those who made me feel welcomed every time I entered the church.



The culture sends you and your children very mixed messages. It promises a false sense of happiness found in a material world. The lies that we are fed are that more things will make you happier. Your marriage and your relationship with your children will be great if you have more material possessions. This is a lie. Jesus said about being self centered



“Is not life more than what you shall eat or your body what you shall put one. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing.”



Jesus is sending a clear message to us today. He is asking that you make him and His Kingdom a priority in your life. To be your Lord and Savior means you are to place your trust in him. To give him priority means to invest time in your spiritual relationship with him.



As Christians parents we must take up our cross and follow Him. This means to make Jesus as much a priority as the sleep you receive, the food you eat, the work you do and the activities that your children participate in each day.



As parents, we wrestled many battles with our children when they were growing up over spiritual priorities in our family.. I remember one when Andrew wad about 12 years old. He was playing baseball at the Little League level and wanted to move into select baseball. This meant money to buy in a uniform and joining fee. It meant 70 games, instead of 20 25 games. Most of all it meant travel each weekend from about May 1st until the middle of August when school started.



This was a priority and a commitment for tie, money and a spiritual priority had to make.

This was not easy because he was very good in baseball but we sat down talked about it and saw how much our spiritual lives would change if we made this type of commitment to baseball. We let him try out. He made the team. He told the coach thank you but our family has decided not to take the spot. He could offer it to someone else.

Tough choice. But in the grand scheme of life, I believe that we helped Andrew in making this decision even though there was disappointment at the time.



This is the battle that Jesus is talking about. It is a battle of time and priorities and he is asking that you take up your cross and follow him. Make Jesus the number one priority so that your many develop the spiritual values in each of your children and grandchildren. Help them to reach their fullest spiritual potential since this decision will not only last in this life but in the life to come. God has a plan for their lives but the only place I know to uncover that plan is in the Christian community of faith.



It is a battle, but it is worth it. The victory will help your children know of Jesus love for them. As parent’s they too will have an opportunity to raise their children with spiritual values that will last not only for this lifetime but for the life to come.



May the lord continue to bless you in your journey of faith and may you encourage, uplift and assist your children in discovering all that Christ wants them to be in this world and the next.

Amen