OT 20 C
- “I don’t like this Gospel!”
These words of Christ describe the very real experience of the first Christians, where conversion to Christ tore families apart. Back then, becoming a Christian was a dramatic step. In those days there was no “safety net” as we call it today. The family was the safety net. So, to become Christian meant embracing a way of life that separated you from your family and giving up, in effect, the equivalent of a pension, health insurance, social security, everything. Yet this experience is not from “long ago and far away".
This Gospel shows us another side of Jesus, not the peaceful shepherd but the Christ of fire and flame. When Jesus says that He came to light a fire on the earth, He didn’t mean, of course, that He came to start forest fires or wild fires. This fire is the fire of conviction, of commitment. Do we have conviction about the Lord like Jeremiah, in today’s first reading, who opposed the sins of a whole nation and suffered persecution, or like our predecessors in faith that the Letter to the Hebrews describes who lived by conviction, all the Old Testament saints whose pictures are in churches and prayer books, the cloud of New Testament witnesses whose loyalty to Jesus Christ shaped their life?
How deep is our conviction? Some people are more committed to a football or basketball team than to Christ. The fire Jesus wants is the fire of loyalty and commitment because Jesus did not come to bring an easy peace by sweeping problems under the rug and having us look the other way. He came to bring a spiritual fire, a holy fire, to undo the power of evil in our world and in our selves and to remake the face of the earth in every generation. By Baptism, we are called to join in that campaign.
...... the spiritual firestorm of moral truth Jesus came to let loose to undo the effects of evil to renew the face of the earth. It is a campaign that every generation of Christians needs to fight. It is a struggle for the future and the soul of our society.
The fire of faith and conviction gives our life energy, direction and definition. Because society’s values are confused, ours do not have to be. Because our culture is morally adrift, we do not have to be. Because people are unsure about right and wrong, about what makes for deep human fulfillment, we do not have to be. Because people are indifferent to the dignity of human life, we do not have to be. Because people are casual about commitments and loyalties, we do not have to be. The fire of faith gives our life direction but that fire must be fueled and fed. So many times we are struck by temporary enthusiasms that sputter out like a match. How do we fuel the fire of our faith and our convictions? It is important to develop a habit of contact with Christ through prayer when we open ourselves to the power of His Holy Spirit. It’s important to strengthen communion with His Church and the fire of Truth she has been given. It’s important to come to Mass to sustain and strengthen our Christian commitment.
Jesus came "to set the earth on fire," to show us a new way to live, a way that would bring all of us and all creation to the destiny for which God created all people and all things. It started well, but then there was opposition and conflict, and Jesus, as a human being began to realize that, like his cousin John the Baptist, he could be killed. In this passage he speaks of that conflict, and of his death – referring to it as a "baptism with which I must be baptized." Jesus begins to talk about how his teachings will cause division among people, even among close friends, even families.
I don’t enjoy hearing these words. I like the other parts of the Gospel where Jesus heals a leper, a blind man, raises up a widow’s only son. I like the parts where he feeds the hungry multitude, where people thank him and praise him.
But we can’t have just those parts. We are a "full Gospel Church." We don’t simply pick and choose the ones we like. We have set readings and work our way through all the Gospels including the "hard sayings" of Jesus.
And, though most people don’t enjoy conflict, conflict will inevitably come – unless we keep our way of life secret. But Christianity can never be private. It is public.
Archbishop Dom Helder is another example. He was in Recife, Brazil. He once said, "When I fed the poor they called me a saint. When I started asking why so many people were poor, they called me a communist."
It is no surprise that Jesus speaks words that stretch us to new places of discomfort. He has to shake complacent people out of their self-concern.
Set the world ablaze with your kindness. It may temporarily create the division about which Jesus speaks, but it will do more to repair and restore broken relationships in the kingdom. Remember, it is Christ’s battle, which he has already won. Simply live in contentment that we do our best to bring Christ’s kind heart to others. Bother yourselves to love even a little more. Christ’s love through you will change the day.
Pope Francis:
- "We have no desire to conquer hatred with more hatred, violence with more violence, terror with more terror," the pope said. "We are here today because the Lord has called us together. Our response to a world at war has a name: its name is fraternity, its name is brotherhood, its name is communion, its name is family."
- "Jesus is not the Lord of comfort, security and ease," the pontiff continued. "Following Jesus demands a good dose of courage, a readiness to trade in the sofa for a pair of walking shoes and to set out on new and uncharted paths."
- "In this Holy Year of Mercy, it becomes ever clearer that the path of forgiveness can truly renew the Church and the world. To offer today’s world the witness of mercy is a task from which none of us can feel exempted. The world needs forgiveness; too many people are caught up in resentment and harbour hatred, because they are incapable of forgiving. They ruin their own lives and the lives of those around them rather than finding the joy of serenity and peace. Let us ask Saint Francis to intercede for us, so that we may always be humble signs of forgiveness and channels of mercy."
We are asked to use two tools I n giving witness to the Gospel –
- The fire of God’s word
- The power of mercy and love to overcome evil!
Truth and mercy – with these we can light the new fire on the earth!