Homily, Luke 12:49-53: Akeena Obaze
The following is a homily shared at our Eucharist Service on August 14, 2022:
“I have come to cast fire upon the earth, and how I wish it were already ablaze! I have a baptism with which to be baptized, and what constraint I am under until it is completed! Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division! From now on five in one household will be 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.”
-Luke 12: 49-53, NRSV
This upcoming year is my senior year and everyone is always asking me, “What are you going to do after you graduate?” And recently, like many people in my generation, I’ve developed a fear of the future. Or the idea that I have none. Not in the, “I suck in life kinda way” but in the “world is crumbling beside me” kind of way. If you keep up with the news, you will have seen natural disasters all around the world (flooding, tropical storms, droughts, earthquakes), how some people use their hatred as an excuse to hurt others, how greed and money is held at a higher regard than people’s welfare, and how to many people the American Dream is dead. This leads me to feel helpless and confused. That the world I’m maturing in is completely different and less prosperous than that of my parents and grandparents.
Some nights I would ask, “Why, Lord? Why did I have to be born now? Why can’t I just exist without worry? Why is living becoming harder and harder?”
I don’t have a solid answer but here’s my guess. In Lk 12:49, Jesus talks about how he came into the world to cause discourse and division. This discourse was meant to dismantle Satan’s work, organizations who began to put worldly possessions before God. This discourse isn’t pretty to watch, it's terrifying.
During this time of dismantling, everyone is suffering. As a Christian, you must look past this bad time and trust that the Lord will lead you through. In times of chaos the only place where solace is found is in prayer. Praying for faith in Him, praying for peace of mind, and praying for safety. Being completely and utterly vulnerable to the Lord and trusting that He will come to our aid. Because as stated in Ps 18:2:
“The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in Whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.”
So, yes, that fear is very present still in my life, but on days where it overwhelms me I find peace in giving my worry over to Him. So even though the world is burning around you and a lot of things are happening outside of your control and the future is unknown, trust the process, because the Lord has got your back.
Amen.
Akeena is a Senior chemistry major here at Tech and she plans on going to pharmacy school once she graduates! Having only started coming around this past year, Akeena has quickly become a foundational piece of the community, with her genuine attitude and caring nature making fast friends of anyone she comes in contact with.