Gospel: Lk 12:49-53
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.”
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In areas where firewood is scarce, people collect animal dung for fire. Animal dung is dried and used as fuel. It is salted so that it would burn better. Salt, then, is a catalyst for fire.
Jesus suggests that he came to light the earthen oven, that is, to be a catalyst. As used by Luke, the image is that of the earth’s inhabitants set “on fire” by the message of the Gospel.
Fire is used in Scriptures to symbolize God’s judgment where the just are purified and the evil ones destroyed (cf Mal 3:2-5). As metal is refined of dross by fire, so people are tested as genuine by life’s ordeals. Here, Jesus states that the purpose of his coming is to test the hearts of men and women, to separate the good from the evil.
Christ becomes a “sign of contradiction,” that is, people are divided over him – whether they are for him or against him. He cannot be ignored; one cannot remain neutral; one must take a stand. Since the world has values contrary to Christ’s, division results between those who accept Christ and those who reject him. His good news is bad news for those who refuse him.
While Jesus is at times seen as “my sweet Lord,” his teaching and demand are far from saccharine. They are “salt” that sets hearts on fire. It is true that Jesus comforts those who are afflicted, but he also “afflicts” those who are comfortable to remove them from their comfort zones.
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SOURCE: “365 Days with the Lord 2018,” ST. PAULS Philippines, 7708 St. Paul Rd., SAV, Makati City (Phils.); Tel.: 895-9701; Fax 895-7328; E-mail: [email protected]; Website: http://www.stpauls.ph.
