The Fire is Raging Even Now

The Gospel today about Jesus bringing division on the earth and fire separating families and causing destruction is nothing short of frightening. This larger-than-life Jesus wielding a sword and bringing division and chaos is out of sync with the loving, welcoming, compassionate Jesus I know and love.

As I prayed with the passage, I realized the absolute truth in its words. The people of Jesus’ time were waiting for a Messiah. They had placed hope in the Messiah that would save them from the tyranny of the Romans. And they got Jesus.

I have no doubt that Jesus did set fire on the earth and caused divisions between friends and families. He simply wasn’t what they expected. He got the Pharisees in an uproar. I can easily picture what it might have been like between friends, in families, and in the whole Jewish community. Chaos reigned. Some believed and wanted to follow this strange but wonderful Messiah. Others saw Him as a charlatan mocking their faith and conning the people. Families were no doubt divided. Members of the faith community were in turmoil. All was unsettled.

Jesus said to his disciples: “I have come to set the earth on fire,…Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division.“

That is precisely what happened. As a result, when I read this passage, I have often shied away from it because it isn’t how I want to see Jesus. But that does an absolute disservice to the strength of Jesus and the power of God.

The Hebrew people were being oppressed by their own religious leaders. The Pharisees thought they were following their scriptures’ many laws and prescriptions. They were doing what the law required and demanding the same of the people. On top of that, the Romans were persecuting them. The yoke on the people was heavy and life burdensome.

Some longed for a strong military Messiah, others to One who would heal their hearts, and yet others for someone who would make the people see how vital following the laws of the Scriptures was for salvation. 

Division surrounded Jesus. He came and turned their lives and their expectations upside down. He demanded with His very lifeblood that they look again at what they believed and why they believed it. Was their faith built only on history and tradition, or did they know the tremendous power of God’s love? Were they willing to see the new direction God was calling them to? Were they able to live their faith in a new way? Could they allow themselves to take off the yoke that weighed them down and trust in a God of love? 

Jesus set fire to their beliefs and traditions. He purified their faith, and called them to look deeper for what God wanted from them. He would show them in human form what the Love of God looked like.

So what of us today? Is this story no more than a remembrance, or is there a truth here for us in our present day Catholic Church? Are we being called to look again at the rules, restrictions, limits, procedures, and weights we place like a yoke on people’s shoulders.  

Pope Francis has started the fire, and it too divides. The blaze it creates has the potential to make us look at the Gospel. It will undoubtedly make us question what we do, what we say and what we believe. 

The purifying fire is already burning. Just look and listen. We do not see peace in our Church but division. We must ask ourselves, the same questions the Jewish people did long ago.  Are the rules, history, tradition, and procedures more important than the people? What do we hold on to and what do we let go of? How do we remain faithful to the Gospel as a Church today?

We as a church must honestly look ourselves in the eye and ask the hard questions.  Who do we let in, and who do we keep out? Who do we judge as unworthy or too sinful to be welcomed to the table of the Lord? What makes one unfit to stand before or behind the altar of God today? What makes one unwelcome to stand side by side and hand in hand with us before God? If we listen we will hear the echo of God from heaven – Nothing makes one unworthy! All are welcome.

It is time to remove the obstacles, and judgements that our people carry.  It is time for us as a church to welcome the purifying fire of the Holy Spirit. It is time for all God’s people to come home to his Church and to His table. 

In God’s Unending Love,

Gwen