August 14, 2016

20th Sunday in Ordinary Time C
Jeremiah 38: 4-6, 8-10; Hebrews 12: 1-4; Luke 12: 49-53
Interesting headlines:
- Priest throat slashed while celebrating morning mass.
- Priest assassinated while celebrating mass in a hospital chapel.
Do you remember these…I do. The first took place in a Normandy Church in France on July 26,
2016. Two assailants took 5 hostages, an 85 year old priest, two nuns and an elderly couple. The second
account describes the assassination of Archbishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador while he was celebrating
Mass in a hospital chapel on March 24, 1980. I received an e-mail after the first incident saying that I was
being prayed for and to please be careful. I was told by my students to be careful while I celebrated mass
at Rome Catholic High School. I have thought down through the years would this ever happen to me…I
don’t know…what an honor it would be to go to the Lord while celebrating His Paschal Meal.
What is Jesus saying to all of us today? To be an authentic Christian means that I will be called to suffer…
definitely persecution…definitely ‘dying’ to my own wishes and my carefree attitude and then to take on
the mantle of love. We like to live in a world of love and peace…kindness and forgiveness…compassion
and caring…but we do not. So what are we to do…what are we to be? Connections, the newsletter of ideas
sources and information for homilists and preachers says of today’s readings: “Love does not always make us
feel loved.’ Care is not always appreciated. Seeking what is best for someone we love can become a point of tension
and even resentment. Jesus’ striking words in today’s Gospel are painfully clear: The Gospel is not easy, it is not
comfortable; it is challenging and demanding and it can be divisive and confrontational, putting us and those we love on
opposing sides. But the ultimate hope of the Gospel is the never-wavering love of God.”
What does the Gospel tell us? Jesus is challenging each person who claims Christianity…He says that He
has come to set the earth on fire. He is speaking metaphorically. Now when we see a fire, some cower
away from it…some try to stop it’s advances, putting it out. Some just stay in its warmth. A controlled fire
can cook our meals, be great when we are camping. It can be a cause of fear when uncontrolled. Jesus is
asking each of us today:
• ‘Are you on fire with My message?
• Do you realize that the Gospel is about authenticity in being Holy which means being a person who
Loves?
• Do you realize that the Gospel is not a fuzzy, nice feeling but a radical challenge to authentic discipleship?
• Do you realize that I did not employ violence but that my way of life provoked a violent response?
• Do you realize when I speak of fire, I mean the fire of God’s love and that brings about hatred against Me
and My disciples?’
Jeremiah preached for a long time. He constantly invited the king and his court to depend totally on God for
His protection, security and care. But these people were surrounded by the ‘comforts of the palace and the
court’ so they basked in ‘power, money, armies and alliances with the surrounding countries.’ With this in
mind, why would they need God? They didn’t listen to Jeremiah and threw him into a cistern because he
had been predicting the impending destruction of Jerusalem because of their unfaithfulness to God. Sunday
Homily Helps says, “This image of an empty cistern represents the empty faith of the people. They have turned away
from God, who alone can provide the water the people so desperately need.”
Paul reminds the Hebrews and each one of us that Jesus had to suffer, because life is not about creature
comforts but about being disciples of love. They had been witnessing every temptation to apostasy, giving
up on the faith. Paul urges them to persevere in the midst of temptation and persecution. Look to Jesus, He
realized that the cross would lead to heaven. What is my cross? Do I want my cross to be non-existent…
easy…a real test of my dedication, or one that shows God my way to His peace?
Jesus’ words today are meant to make each of us uncomfortable. So often we feel that in going to Church
on weekends, saying our prayers and devotions and reading the Scriptures we know all there is to know
about Jesus. Am I reflecting on that road outside of Jerusalem with Jesus’ hanging there, bleeding, tortured,
mangled, dying for you and me…and saying, Why? Was this really necessary? God said, “Yes”…am I
disagreeing?
Jesus’ words today are definitely said to ‘shake me up’, “Jesus said to His disciples: ‘I have come to set the earth
on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing!…Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I
tell you, but rather division.” His words challenge any notion that each of us could have that His life is meant
to be comfortable, easy and predictable. Jesus had to suffer, Paul tells us…so do each one of us have to
suffer. Jesus suffered persecution from those who opposed His teaching, so do each one of us. The people
in Jeremiah’s, Paul’s and Jesus’ world urged people that the world exists for them. God reminds us that
Jesus is the center and calls each one of us to center our lives on Him.
Luke, A Devotional Commentary gives us a powerful conclusion, “Fire and division—two powerful images
packed into one brief passage of scripture. Sometimes, it can be difficult not to question God’s compassion when He
speaks to us through such dark images! Our Father clearly has an abundance of peace and unity to bring into our lives,
but even as we stand firm in our faith, there are times when we may encounter strife and disagreement—even within
our own families.
Jesus told His disciples to seek first the kingdom of God , and that ‘the rest would follow (Matthew 6:33). But ‘the
rest’ is not always a life without difficulty. Given the state of our world, it is unrealistic to expect a totally carefree
existence. What is it, then, that will surely follow? It is the promises made in Hebrews 12— a life of discipline and
grace in Christ. No matter what our situation, we can trust that Jesus is always with us, helping us to work through the
difficulties we face in this world.
When He spoke of the fire that He wished were already kindled, Jesus was talking of the Holy Spirit who was to come
after Him to fill every heart. The divisions He spoke of referred to people or ideologies opposing God, and how that
which opposes God will be separated from His kingdom. This message of faith challenges people and their
relationships, even the strongest bonds of love found in our families.
In the face of these challenges, how should we respond to those who may not agree with the word of God? We
should never be reluctant to speak of the gospel’s truths. God will protect us as fifing fire. Let us eager embrace His
word as well as the dividing sword of the Holy Spirit as it moves swiftly to separate ‘wheat from chaff’. (Luke 3:17)
Sacred Space 2016 states, “Jesus is anxious to see the fire of God’s love blaze across the globe. John the Baptist
had promised that Jesus would baptize His disciples with the Holy Spirit and fire. The fire of God’s love was in fact
visibly cast upon the earth at Pentecost, and we thank God for it Lord, that we might experience the fire of Your love in
our hearts today. St. Ignatius of Loyola was ‘ablaze with God,’ and we wish that for ourselves, too Only so will we be
Your true disciples.”