The readings for Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year C may be found at:
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/081725.cfm
In today’s Gospel from the evangelist Saint Luke,
we hear a message we may not expect
and that seems out of character with the “loving”,
“just be nice to everyone”,
“keep the peace”,
“safe version” of Jesus the world has created.
Today, we hear Jesus say,
"I have come to set the earth on fire…
Do you think that I have come to bring peace?
No, but rather division."
He talks about dividing households.
Pitting family member against family member.
Isn’t Jesus, the Good Shepherd?
The Prince of Peace?
The one who tells us to “love our neighbor”
and that “everyone is our neighbor”?
Yes, but not today.
Today, He tells us that
He has come to bring division, not peace.
Let’s be honest, this is not what we expect from Him.
Today, Jesus is warning us
that following Him, really following Him,
comes at a cost.
Jesus tells us that He has "come to set the earth on fire”
and that fire He is talking about is the fire of God’s love -
the Holy Spirit - the fire that purifies,
transforms and gives light.
A fire that changes us.
And change isn’t always comfortable.
Today, when we choose Christ over the world,
when we speak truth, defend the weak,
forgive enemies, sacrifice ourselves,
will the good of another,
or uphold the dignity of human life,
more often than not,
we will be at odds with the world.
Even more, living our Catholic faith in this way,
can make other people uncomfortable -
especially, those closest to us.
But, Jesus knew this would happen.
And so He didn’t sugarcoat what it means to be His disciple.
That’s why he warned us that division is inevitable,
not because He wants us to seek conflict,
but because the world and Christ do not always agree.
The world values success, convenience and individuality.
While Christ calls us to surrender, sacrifice, communion and love.
When we allow Christ’s love to take root in us,
His love, will slowly burn away our sin,
selfishness, and anything else that holds us back from God.
Separating us even more from a world and sometimes even
family and friends who might not understand
and, instead, experience us as judgy, “holier than now”,
or taking sides against them.
There is a common misconception,
that being a Christian means being “nice” all the time,
avoiding disagreement and keeping the peace.
But Jesus never watered down the truth to avoid confrontation.
His mission was not to win popularity, but to save souls -
even if it meant being misunderstood, hated, or rejected.
That doesn’t mean because we follow Jesus
we are entitled to be judgemental or harsh.
But instead, it means our witness should be marked by
gentleness, patience, compassion, truth and love.
Not always easy to do.
Because when we stand firm in God's truth,
that truth is not always appreciated by people and
things can get uncomfortable quick.
But if we stay strong,
we gain something far greater than comfort.
We gain intimacy with Christ,
the One who stood firm for us
all the way to the Cross.
This coming week, let us take some time in prayer
to think about this difficult Gospel message
of division and fire
and think on some challenging questions:
Do we ever stay silent about our faith to avoid conflict or discomfort?
How can we stand for truth while still showing love and mercy?
Are we willing to choose Him, even if it costs us comfort,
convenience, or human respect?
Where in our hearts do we need the fire of Christ’s love to purify us?
Let us all pray that God give us hearts that love the truth and the courage to live it.
To help us witness to Him with compassion, able to stand firm in faith, especially when it is hard to do so.
And for the strength to never trade His approval for the fleeting praise of the world.
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