Jesus said to his disciples: "I have come to set the earth
on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing! There is a baptism with which
I must be baptized, and how great is my anguish until it is accomplished! Do
you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but
rather division. From now on a household of five will be divided, three against
two and two against three; a father will be divided against his son and a son
against his father, a mother against her daughter and a daughter against her
mother, a mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and a daughter-in-law
against her mother-in-law."
Introductory Prayer: Father, I place myself in your presence. I firmly believe in you
and love you with all my heart. I entrust myself completely to your merciful
but demanding ways, knowing that you only seek to lead me home to heaven.
Petition: Lord, help me to ignite awareness of your love all around me.
1. The Spark That Must Become a Blaze: Jesus’ intensity and passion break out in radical expression in
today’s Gospel. He yearns for a divine conflagration in the hearts of his
disciples. Jesus endured a true baptism of immersion, steeped in the pain of
Golgotha, precisely so that our own baptism would not be a mere ceremony.
Rather he wanted our baptism to be a holy spark of divine life that, with care
and formation, would become a growing flame of authentic Christian holiness.
Indeed, let us fan that flame and never allow external pressures, or our own
mediocrity, to extinguish it.
2. Peace, at Any Price? Jesus
corrects a misperception in some of his listeners. Some no doubt expected him
to usher in the messianic peace, when the lion would lie down with the lamb
(see Isaiah 11:6-9). No, the time for that peace will be at history’s end, when
God’s Kingdom is established in all its fullness. Till then, Christianity will
often find itself in conflict with the powers of the world. We want to be
considered nice people, yet our convictions will at times bring us conflict.
May the spark of our soul be a strong-enough flame to accept those moments and
avoid the cheap peace of acquiescing with the world.
3. Put Up Your Dukes? Should
Catholics be people spoiling for a fight? Not if they want to be good
Catholics!Those who love fighting and arguing may very well find
themselves in divided households, but not for the reasons Jesus really means.
Courtesy, gentleness, and the finer details of charity should characterize the
person who wants to be like Christ. These kinds of people seek to unite, not
divide. When they are dividers, it is because they have to be. They know when
the point arrives that if they bend any further, they’ll break — where
flexibility would degenerate into infidelity. There are tough, sad moments when
being faithful to Christ means a head-on collision in a very important
relationship, such as the ones Jesus mentions. But when it’s a question of
where our first loyalty lies, there is no debate. Christ must come first.
Conversation with Christ: Lord,
you are the center of my life. I thank you for my family and pray that I will
never be a stumbling block for their faith. Give me the wisdom to know when to
speak and when to remain silent. Help me, so that I will never compromise the
Gospel, nor needlessly alienate those whom you have sent me to serve.
Resolution: I will strive to set a good spiritual example for my family and will
invite someone who has strayed to consider coming back.
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