The Gospel for this Sunday is part of Jesus’ teachings to the disciples during his journey to Jerusalem, where death on the cross awaits him. Jesus explains the purpose of his mission through three images: fire, baptism and division. What is the fire that he came to bring on earth? What is the baptism that he must receive? Why does he say of not coming to bring peace but division?
After the flood in the book of Genesis, God makes a promise: “Never again will all life be cut off by the waters of a flood, and never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth” (Genesis 9:11). Therefore, the Israelites came to the conviction that, to cleanse the world of iniquity, God would no longer use water, but fire: “For by fire will the Lord execute judgment … against all mortals” (Isaiah 66:16). The Baptist spoke about the fire: “He will baptise you in the Holy Spirit and fire. The chaff he will burn in the everlasting fire” (Matthew 3:11-12).
The fire of God is not intended to destroy or torture those who made mistakes. It is the instrument with which he wants to destroy evil and purify us from sin. This fire lit by Jesus is his Word that saves, cleanses, and heals. It is his Spirit, on the day of Pentecost, descended like tongues of fire on the disciples (Acts 2:3-11) and changed their lives forever.
“How I wish it were already kindled!” It expresses Jesus’ burning desire to see the world’s weeds burned in the fires of his Word and Spirit.
The images of baptism and fire are interrelated. To unleash the fire of the Spirit, Jesus says, he must first go through a baptism. This baptism refers to Jesus’ immersion in the waters of death (cf. Mark 10:38-39). He “looks with anguish” at the passion that awaits him. He will indeed be overwhelmed by the waves of humiliation, suffering, and death, but these will not extinguish the fire of his Word, love, and Spirit.
The books of the prophets have introduced the Messiah to be “the prince of peace”; during his reign, “peace will have no end” (Isaiah 9:5-6). At his birth, in Bethlehem, the angels sing about “Peace on earth!” (Luke 2:14). But now, Jesus says he has come to bring divisions. How do we understand this? Jesus was quoting a passage from the prophet Micah (Micah 7:6) to explain the misunderstandings between young and old generations and among the family members.
The Words of Jesus is the fire that wants to destroy all the unjust structures, inhuman situations, discrimination, greed for money and the frenzy of power. Many reject the words of Jesus because they feel threatened by this “fire.” They react violently because the Word of God disagrees with their projects of selfishness. At this point, divisions and conflicts arise, and finally, persecution and violence.
For your reflection:
Today the Lord confronts us with the question: How fiery is your love? How fervent is your faith? Can our faith accept contradiction and ridicule without reducing us to silence? If we love the Lord and people enough, we do not tolerate an easy peace that puts our conscience to sleep.
Father Fernando
Armellini SCJ
