Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time ©
18 August 2013
Luke 12, 49-53
“I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already
kindled! But I have a baptism to undergo,
and how distressed I am until it is completed! Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but
division. From now on there will be five in one family divided
against each other, three against two and two against three; the father divided
against the son, son against father, mother against daughter, daughter against
mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law, daughter-in=law against
mother-in-law.”
It’s not possible without fire
In a clearly prophetic style,
Jesus sums up his whole life with a few unusual words: “ I have come to cast
fire in the world, and how I wish it were already burning!” What is Jesus
talking about? The mysterious character of his language leads exegetes to find various
answers. In any case, his symbol of fire
invites us to approach the mystery of his being as to something more ardent and
passionate.
The fire that burns within him,
is the passion for God and compassion for those who suffer. The unfathomable
love that animates his entire life will never be uncovered. His mystery will never remain
enclosed in dogmatic formulas nor in books of learned men. No one will ever
write a definitive book on him. Jesus attracts and sets on fire, troubles and
purifies. No one can follow him with a
cold heart or dulled by piety.
His word sets hearts on fire.
He offers himself in friendship to the most excluded, raises hope in
prostitutes and trust in the most despised sinners, he fights against
everything that harms a human being. He fights formalism in religion, inhuman
religious practices, and strict
interpretations of the law. Nothing and no one can chain down his freedom to do
good. We will never be able to follow him while routinely following a religious path, We will never be able to
follow him by living a religious routine or the conventions of what’s right and
proper.
Jesus stirs up conflicts , he
does not stop them. He has not come to bring a false peace, but tensions,
confrontations and divisions. In fact, he brings conflict in our own hearts. It
is not possible to protect oneself against his call behind the shield of
religious rites and social practices. No religion will protect us from his
gaze. No agnosticism will free us from his challenge. Jesus calls us to live in
the truth and to love without egoism.
His fire has not been quenched
on his being submerged in the deep waters of death. Having been raised to a new
life, his spirit still burns through history. The first followers feel him burn
in their hearts when they hear his words while he journeyed with them.
Where is it possible today to feel that fire
of Jesus? Where can we experience the power of his creative freedom? When do
our hearts burn as we read his Gospel? Where do we passionately live following
his footsteps? Even though Christian faith seems to be dying out among us, the
fire Jesus brought in the world continues to burn under the embers. We must not
let it die out. Without hearts afire it is not possible to follow Jesus.Pagola/Vally D'Souza sj
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