Jesus speaks to us today with powerful, burning words: “I have come to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already blazing!” (Lk 12:49). These are not the words of someone who seeks comfort or ease. They are the words of someone consumed with a deep, divine passion—a longing to set the world ablaze with the fire of God’s love, justice, and mercy.
Fire is a mysterious thing. It fascinates, it warms, it illuminates—but it also purifies. Throughout Scripture, fire is used as a sign of God’s presence. Moses encountered the Lord in the burning bush that was not consumed. The Israelites were guided by a pillar of fire through the wilderness. God made a covenant with Abraham, passing through the darkness as a flame. Fire is holy—it speaks of God’s desire to dwell with his people.
But this fire Jesus speaks of is not just in sacred stories. It is a fire meant to burn in each of our hearts. It is the fire of the Holy Spirit—the same fire that came upon the apostles at Pentecost, setting them ablaze with courage, joy, and mission. This is the fire that changes everything.
And yet, this fire is not welcomed by all. Jesus says his coming will bring not peace, but division. How can this be? Doesn’t the Gospel promise peace? Yes—but not a false peace. Not the peace that avoids truth or hides injustice. The Gospel brings a peace born of conversion, of transformation. And that always causes tension, even within families, communities, and nations.
The fire of Christ reveals what is true and exposes what is false. It burns away selfishness, pride, and hypocrisy. It disturbs our comfort, challenges our habits, and invites us to a new way of living. Some will resist it. Others will be afraid. But some—blessed are they—will allow themselves to be set on fire.
Jesus speaks also of a “baptism” he must undergo. He refers to his Passion and death—his total immersion into our brokenness and sin. This is the price of love. To light the fire of the Spirit, he must pass through the waters of death. But from those waters, he rises, and with him rises a new humanity.
My dear brothers and sisters, let us not fear the fire. Let us not fear the division that comes when we truly live the Gospel. The world may not understand. Even those closest to us may not understand. But the Gospel is clear: Jesus does not come to destroy sinners but to destroy sin; not to condemn, but to purify; not to burn people, but to set them free.
Today, let us ask the Lord to kindle in us this holy fire. May it consume the weeds in our lives—the lies, resentments, fears—and make space for the wheat of grace to grow. Let us welcome his fire, not as destruction, but as new life. The world needs this fire. The Church needs this fire. How Jesus longs for it to blaze in you.
Father Josekutty Mathew CMF
