TO BE A TRUE DISCIPLE OF JESUS IS TO GO THROUGH FIRE AND CONFLICT

Homily for the Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

Fr. Ugochukwu Ugwoke, ISch

Scriptural Texts: Jeremiah 38:4-6.8-10, Hebrews 12:1-4, Luke 12:49-53

In the gospel reading of this twentieth Sunday, Jesus makes some statements which seem frightening and disturbing especially when looked at from a human point of view. In our today’s gospel passage, Jesus begins by telling us that he has come to cast fire upon the earth; and would that it were already kindled (Luke 12:49). Going further, he tells us that he has not come to bring peace on earth but division; divisions in families and households (Luke 12:51).

When we look at the above statements from a human perspective, we will consider them unbecoming of someone we look up to as the Prince of Peace and peacemaker (Isaiah 9:6, John 14:27). In truth, Jesus is the Prince of Peace and the statements he makes in today’s gospel reading must not be taken literally. Jesus does not mean the actual burning up of the earth and neither does he intend to incite division. Jesus uses the terms fire and water (baptism) to describe his mission. Fire is a symbol of testing and judgment. Fire purifies, burns up all that is decayed; it also gives warmth and fosters life. It is for this purpose that Jesus wants to cast fire upon the earth. The fire which Jesus will cast upon the earth is the fire of the Holy Spirit and it will purify and burn up all that is not living up to the reforming actions of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus has come to make us anew (Revelation 21:5), and those who wish to be remade must be ready to go through the cleansing and purifying fire of the Holy Spirit. Jesus is not casting fire that will destroy us but he is calling down fire from heaven to cleanse our souls, to free us from the bonds and wages of our wrong doings. It is the fire that sets cold and lukewarm hearts on fire, and the fire of baptism that transforms those who experience it (Luke 1:17; 3:16). Each of us carries within us this spark of fire. Today, Jesus is urging us to fan into flames the fire that has been ignited in our hearts on the day of our baptism.

Being afire with the fire of the Holy Spirit may bring about divisions even among family members. The decision to follow Jesus Christ and to be faithful to the gospel message can meet harsh rejections and can even turn our own kith and kin against us. Taking a stand on the side of truth often invites opposition and division. This is the situation with Jeremiah in the first reading. He was rejected and cast out by his own people simply because he was on the side of God and the truth (Jeremiah 38:4-10). By saying that he has not come to bring peace on earth but division, Jesus was preparing his disciples for a fate similar to that of Jeremiah, the prophet.

 

Lastly, living the gospel and being wholehearted in our following of the Lord will never be easy, and will always be counter-cultural to some degree. We are living in a world that is opposed to the gospel message. But the good news is that we do not travel this path alone. We need and rely on the support of others, what the second reading refers to as ‘many witnesses… on every side of us’. We need the witness of each other if, in the words of that reading, we are to ‘keep running steadily in the race that we have started’ (Hebrews 12:1). The effort that any one of us makes to be true to the gospel is a support for everyone else. The failure of any one of us to live the gospel makes it more difficult for the rest of us to do so. May God help us in our communal journey of faith.