I have come to set the earth on fire
This coming Sunday's Gospel reading is an intense one! Lately we have been hearing in Luke's Gospel about Jesus' preaching and teaching. He has shared teachings against possessions, teachings about needing to be prepared for the end times, teachings denouncing the scribes and the pharisees. And this week, Jesus reminds us of an important reality: being a Christian that truly and fully follows the Lord is hard.
In the Gospel Jesus says: "I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing!" The reality of the incarnation, that the God of the universe lived among us and ate with people and loved people... and then he told us to do likewise. That is a radical call! It has the power to change the world, as we have seen over and over in the history of the church through the witness of the saints, as the Letter to the Hebrews reminds us when it says we are "surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses." And it is something that is not always accepted by the world.
Jesus continues by saying: "Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division." This is VERY different from the message that many of us have heard and received throughout our lives. And yet, it is true: when we live like Jesus lived, love like Jesus loved, and when we proclaim the truth as Jesus did, it is hard because it does indeed cause division. Many people want a comfortable version of Christianity that talks a lot but does very little. And when the Church starts to do what Jesus says, people start to feel guilty, they start to debate what Jesus "really meant," they start to put limits on love... they start to divide.
Let our prayer this week be twofold. First, let us pray the our hearts may be lit aflame by the love of God! May our knowledge of who Jesus is and how he loved as well as our reception of Jesus in Holy Communion light a fire within us to love like he loved! And second, when the inevitable push back and division that comes from this arrive, let us pray that we may have the courage to stand up, like Jesus and the saints who came before us, and love radically! For that is how we continue the ministry of Jesus to "set the earth on fire."
Want to prepare your heart and mind for Mass this weekend? Click here to find the readings this Sunday's Mass.