The Gospel for November 1, 2004 (All Saints’ Day)
Luke 12:49-59
‘I have come to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were blazing already! There is a baptism I must still receive, and what constraint I am under until it is completed! ‘Do you suppose that I am here to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. For from now on, a household of five will be divided: three against two and two against three; father opposed to son, son to father, mother to daughter, daughter to mother, mother–in–law to daughter–in–law, daughter–in–law to mother–in–law.’ He said again to the crowds, ‘When you see a cloud looming up in the west you say at once that rain is coming, and so it does. And when the wind is from the south you say it’s going to be hot, and it is. Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the face of the earth and the sky. How is it you do not know how to interpret these times? ‘Why not judge for yourselves what is upright? For example: when you are going to court with your opponent, make an effort to settle with him on the way, or he may drag you before the judge and the judge hand you over to the officer and the officer have you thrown into prison. I tell you, you will not get out till you have paid the very last penny.’ -- The New Jerusalem Bible. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1995, c1985
A Study
We have to wonder whether Luke's writers are taking some liberties here. Written some 30 years or so after the Crucifixion, this text calls to mind end-times that imply strongly that Jesus intends to be untransformed from his then-present state when the end occurs. Luke's writers know that this did not happen, and seem to be re-casting the sayings (or making some up) to underscore their opinion that the end-times were then near.
The signs Jesus cites seem to refer immediately to Jesus as he spoke; since they don't, historically, this is one of those Gordian knots of a difficult saying that requires prayer to untie.
A Reflection
This passage comes immediately after Jesus rebukes the brother asking for help to obtain his share of an inheritance from an apparently recalcitrant older brother. The tie, if there is one, between that situation, and this one, is that an immediate ending is foretold ("Fool, tonight your soul..." and "interpret these times").
The reason I bring up a question of literary license is that Jesus was far more often preaching about a home in the bosom of the kingdom. He seldom brought up hell, for example, as more than an oratory device, describing a chaotic situation that the listener would do well to avoid. Even in the parable of the Rich Fool, immediately preceding, Jesus concludes with "There is no need to be afraid, little flock, for it has pleased your Father to give you the kingdom."
A verse from Psalm 56, in today's lectionary readings, says, "This I know, that God is on my side. In God whose word I praise, in Yahweh whose word I praise, in God I put my trust and have no fear; what can mortal man do to me?"
I am singularly impressed that Jesus takes the positive side when His preaching is most effective, and that when some first century or later writer/redactor has Jesus say something for negative effect, it has a hollow sound to it.
The saints and martyrs weren't reacting to hellfire and brimstone when they joyfully gave up their livings and their lives to follow Jesus; they were following the Light, not avoiding the fear.
The Collect
O Almighty God, who have knit together your elect in one communion and fellowship, in the mystical body of your Son Christ our Lord: Give us grace so to follow your blessed saints in all virtuous and godly living, that we may come to those indescribable joys which you have prepared for those who truly love you: through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting.
2:38:43 PM 
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