Vulcanalia was the ancient Roman festival held annually on August 23, to honour Vulcan, who the Romans worshipped as the god of fire and metalwork.[1] The people believed Vulcan lived under Volcano, a small volcanic island belonging to Italy, about 20km north of Sicily. In 79 AD, the people of Pompei asked Vulcan to forge on Mt Vesuvius. When they saw the earth shaking, smoke rising from the volcano, and heard the loud rumbling, they rejoiced, believing Vulcan had gone to work, rather than realising these were signs that Vesuvius was about to erupt. The next day, the citizens of Pompei perished under clouds of volcanic ash.
During excavations in the 19th Century, the streets, buildings, and people of Pompei were found to be perfectly preserved by the volcanic ash. At the city gate was found a skeleton of a Roman guard in full armour—still in a dutiful stance at his post, hands clutched around his weapon, even while the very ground on which he stood had shaken. Artist Edward Poynter painted a night scene with this soldier standing in an entrance, concern etched on his face, illuminated by the glare of the eruption. Behind him others are desperately struggling to escape the reign of fiery coals. This became one of the most famous Victorian paintings; the theme of absolute devotion to duty and of total obedience to orders by a commanding officer had a special appeal at the time[2].
To be faithful even when one is shaken to the core, is also a theme of today’s section of the Passion narrative from Luke. Jesus says to Simon Peter: “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail.” The ‘you’ here is plural. Satan has asked to sift all of God’s people like wheat. The devil is never far away from Jesus and his followers. He wants to destroy the church. The image is one of the church in some kind of sieve and the devil violently shaking us to and fro, so that, all smashed up, we lose our faith and fall away from God.
The devil doesn’t care about unbelievers—they are already his, and they cannot free themselves from hell, or even see that they need freeing. So the devil is quite happy to let unbelievers go in their pursuit of the pleasures of this life. He is quite content to let people think that they are essentially good and everyone just goes to a blissful afterlife after they die. But he is not content to leave Christians alone. Jesus reveals today: “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you like wheat.”
Peter tells us “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8). We should be alert, but not alarmed as the saying goes. The comfort is that Satan asks permission to do this. All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Jesus (Matthew 28:18-20). Satan cannot just independently wreak havoc on Jesus’ church as a lone ranger. He must completely submit to Jesus’ authority. Like a schoolboy before the Principal, the devil must ask Jesus for permission.
Jesus did not say ‘no’ to the sifting. It will still happen. But he prayed his people would remain faithful in this time of testing: “I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail”. We might wonder why Jesus would allow this. In John’s Gospel he declared that the devil’s intention is only to “steal, kill, and destroy” (John 10:10). Yet sifting wheat doesn’t destroy the wheat. It removes the outer husk and chaff so what remains is the pure kernel, so that it can be used for its intended purpose.
Jesus will not let the devil destroy us, but he permits the devil to shake and sift us, using the devil’s work for God’s good purpose, so that we are shaped and refined as God’s people, strengthening our faith and faithfulness. For it is usually not when things are going well, but when we are shaken to the core, that we throw ourselves upon Jesus and are strengthened and helped by him.
This sifting of the disciples seems to have already begun. In today’s text, we hear that a dispute arose among them as to who among them should be regarded the greatest. Who had worked the longest hours, or performed the greatest miracle, or won the most converts, or achieved the greater depth of learning, or helped Jesus the most? But that would be to think like the world—it would make it all about them. When one thinks they deserve some kind of special acknowledgement or reward, it can cause upset and division: “That’s not fair!” “What about me!” “I’ve worked harder than all of you!” That’s the way of human nature, as it was with Jesus’ disciples. When upset comes, with the refusal to forgive, then the devil has us right where he wants us—hurting, angry, judging, bitter. That’s the way of the world—but it’s not to be the way for the disciples.
So Jesus says to them: “The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those in authority over them are called benefactors. But not so with you. Rather, let the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves.”
The disciples are not to exercise the authority that has been given to them for their own benefit at the expense of others. They have been placed in their position to serve, not for selfish gain. This focus with all its cares and concerns about gain comes from the same self-focus about being the greatest—and this self-focus must die. Jesus’ disciples must instead be servants; servants who are faithful—relying only on God.
Jesus then points to himself as the example and source of faithfulness for his followers: “For who is greater, the one who reclines at table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at table? But I am among you as the one who serves.” (verse 27). Jesus shows them what that serving means for him. His serving means laying down his own life to bring life to the world. He says to them: “It is written: ‘he was numbered with the transgressors’; and I tell you that this must be fulfilled in me. Yes, what is written about me is reaching its fulfillment.” (verse 37). When Jesus goes out to the Mount of Olives, he withdrew about a stone’s throw from them—an allusion to the crime of blasphemy Jesus was charged with—a crime punishable by stoning to death. Then, as Jesus prays, he is in anguish, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.
Right there, faithfulness is at the Crossroads. As Jesus prays, the gravity of the situation hits home and he asks for some other way of bringing salvation to the world other than his death on the Cross: “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me.” (verse 42).
What if that prayer had been answered? How would his church be preserved and protected? Would we be here, today? Jesus had said to his disciples: “Pray that you will not fall into temptation.” Would they be found to be faithful…or would they fall to the temptation to again be focused on who was the greatest? When he was gone, would they remember his words, or would they fall to the temptation to live in fear, and, like Peter, deny Jesus?
But Jesus remains faithful to his Father’s plan: “yet not my will, but yours be done.” And being in anguish, he prayed even more earnestly. Jesus remains faithful to his Father’s will even when Judas comes with soldiers to seize him. Jesus does not attempt to flee but willingly allows himself to be handed over into soldiers hands. There Jesus faithfully places himself in his Father’s hands.
It is here, on the road to the Cross, that God’s own faithfulness is shown. It was when we were not faithful, that Jesus was faithful to his Father’s will for us to shed his own blood as the new Passover Lamb who takes away the sin of the world. Jesus has complete faith that his Father will preserve him, and so even though his world is crashing down around him, he stands resolute, like the soldier at Pompei. He has total trust that the only thing he can depend on at this time is not mere humans, but his Father’s faithful care.
When the dispute arose among the disciples about who was greatest, and when Jesus warned them that Satan would sift them as wheat, they were reclining with Jesus at the Table—the Passover celebration which God commanded was to be commemorated throughout the generations. It was the celebration of God’s faithfulness to his people of old, freeing his people on the night he brought judgment on the Egyptians. He struck down the firstborn in Egypt to bring an end to Pharoah’s throne. But for all who were faithful to what God said, and sacrificed a lamb, and painted its blood over their doorway, God passed over them and let no harm come to them, before he freed them from their captors.
This was the meal that Jesus celebrated with his disciples. But on this occasion, Jesus does something new. While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” (Matthew 26:26-28).
God’s people are no longer to celebrate the Passover, for Jesus is the Passover Lamb, who would be crucified to take away the sin of the world—a celebration of faithfulness unto death. Unlike the faithful soldier at Pompei, Jesus triumphed over death. He is present with his church to minister to us as our faithful Shepherd. In Ephesians 5 Paul said that Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. And he feeds and cares for his church (Ephesians 5:25-27, 29). This is clearly a reference to Jesus’ ongoing invisible presence with his people, and ministry to us, through his preaching, his baptising, and serving at his table.
Jesus will again faithfully preside over this holy meal today. He is again our unseen host, and by his powerful word makes this bread and wine his body and blood. He invites you to come, and to taste and see that the Lord is good, and faithful, even to death, for you—so that the condemnation of the law, and the accusations of Satan, and the power of death shall not finally triumph over you.
As we come to the table of our King together, as brothers and sisters, to eat and drink in faith what Jesus promises to give, there can be no talk of special favours or distinctions. For all are invited by the risen, crucified Christ, as his honoured guests. All come, equally unworthy before God. All have sinned, all are spiritually poor, all need God’s grace and forgiveness. And all are equally forgiven through the Cross, and all are equally cleansed and fed by his holy body and blood in this meal, that you might be strengthened to stand strong in the power of God, no matter what is happening in your life, and no matter what shakes the world around us, and no matter how hard Satan is sifting the church. May you stand, resolute, like the soldier at Pompei, so that even though the world goes to pieces under our feet, you may still be found faithful in the time of testing, until Jesus—faithful to his own promises—returns to take you home. Amen.
[1] Schmitz, Leonhard ‘Vulcanalia’ p1222 of William Smith, A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, John Murray, London, 1875 cited at https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/secondary/SMIGRA*/Vulcanalia.html
[2] https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/faithful-unto-death-edward-john-poynter/UAEfV-4qLo6o7w?hl=en
