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Set Your World on Fire!
Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time Mass Readings
First Reading: Jeremiah 38:4-6, 8-10
Psalm: Psalm 40:2, 3, 4, 18
Second Reading: Hebrews 12:1-4
Gospel: Luke 12:49-53
“I have come to set the earth on fire,” (Luke 12:49).
Okay…what does this mean?
Jesus came to set fire to the earth. This is very often interpreted to mean the fire of the Holy Spirit which will be set upon the earth after Jesus endures the baptism of his passion and death.<1> But Jesus goes on in this same verse to say, “…how I wish it were already blazing!” And then he goes on to say that his message will divide people and divide families. Why? What’s going on here?
Well, I think it’s too easy to get caught up in the mechanics of life. It’s too easy to be caught up in all the things this world tells us are important or necessary – contradictory messages that you can have it all, so apply for that new credit card, against the message of saving and investing. It can be so confusing, and at the same time so tempting. We’re drawn into the realities of this world, often out of necessity, and find that we work and work and hardly get ahead in life. I often wonder if the enemy hasn’t rigged the system to keep so many of us distracted from what’s really important – to keep our eyes off Jesus. And so, we get caught in the rat race – a proverbial hamster wheel from which many will never escape. The rat race traps us in into mediocre and unfulfilled lives.
But Jesus came to set the world on fire! He came to smash the hamster wheel, if we’ll let him. He came to lift us out of the rat race, if we accept him. He came to offer us the chance to be the people we are called to be.
So, where do we start? The answer to that question is an invitation to discipleship, which is the overall theme of our readings today.
First, as we heard in the Letter to Hebrews, we need to confess our sins, (Heb 12:1). Why? Look, happiness and fulfillment aren’t out there somewhere. You can’t go out and try to find your happiness and you will never find it in a cherry-red convertible. Happiness isn’t something that will magically come tomorrow. Happiness is available to us right here and right now. We need to confront the sin and the pain and hurt in our lives so that we can let it go and move on and experience the joy that Jesus offers us right now – today!
Second, we need to accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. That means we need to keep our eyes on Jesus, as we find in today’s second reading from the Letter to the Hebrews. For many of us, this means reigniting the fire of our baptism. Allowing the Holy Spirit to set fire to our lives means that we surrender our attachment to this world – to everything which distracts us, like money, possessions, control, social media. By detaching ourselves, we then can take our rightful place as stewards using wealth and resources as tools rather than allowing ourselves to become slaves to the tools.
Next, we need to deepen our relationship with Jesus. We do this in several different ways. We can try to learn more about Jesus intellectually, like participating in Bible study programs or like going to talks offered by your church or in your area. We build on the intellectual by spending time with Jesus in prayer and in the mass. In our Catholic tradition, there are even opportunities to sit with Jesus during adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. But here’s the catch: we mustn’t try this exclusively alone. Yes, there are some aspects of this we do as individuals, but Jesus didn’t just come to save you and to save me. He came to us in the context of the community. That’s what the Kingdom of God is – a community. So, we need to reach out to those who are on the same journey we are on and discover the gift of seeing Jesus in their eyes. That’s beautiful! That’s a gift!
Finally, we need to share the gift of faith, the gift of salvation, the gift to rise above the rat race with other people. We need to witness to the one savior, Jesus Christ, to his church, to the community of believers. We need to witness to the fullness of salvation available through Jesus Christ. <2> This is what it means to be a missionary disciple.
Setting the hamster wheel a blaze, spending more time with Jesus and sharing the saving message of Jesus Christ and the gift of his church on earth are not popular messages. Walking this path could strain friendships and divide families. This path is not easy. In our first reading, they threw Jeremiah in a cistern for speaking out against an unjust war. Think about St. Teresa of Calcutta. Yes, she dedicated her life to serving those on the margins, but she fought years of doubt and depression in order to carry out God’s will. Or St. Agatha, the twelve-year-old girl who endured all kinds of torture, including disfigurement and sexual assault, but she would not deny her faith in Jesus Christ. Bishop St. John Fisher and St. Thomas More refused to go along with a man who wanted to make himself head of the Church in England and paid for it with their lives. And of course, they crucified Jesus for his radical message. <3>
But Jesus endured cross so that you and I might not, “grow weary and lose heart,” (Heb 12:2-3). We are challenged as disciples to keep running the race, (Heb 12:1). We are emboldened by the virtue of fortitude, which is both a gift of the Holy Spirit and a quality inherent in the human person. By allowing the fires of discipleship to consume the yoke that enslaves us to this world, we can help others rise above the distractions which keep our eyes off Jesus, and we can introduce others to Jesus Christ. Our salvation cannot be found in our bank ledger or our in our possessions. Those things are fleeting and can easily be lost or taken away from us. Our salvation comes from the undeserved, unmerited grace of God. Our salvation comes from the scandal of the cross. Our salvation comes from the blood of Jesus Christ. Our salvation comes through the fire of the Holy Spirit. Are you ready to set your world fire?
Homework! After being nourished by the Word of God proclaimed and by the Eucharist, I encourage you to reflect on these questions this week.
- We didn’t get a chance to discuss it, but who do you think the “cloud of witnesses” in the second reading from the Letter to the Hebrews refers to? What do you think everyone in the cloud of witnesses has in common?
- Does the radical unconditional love that God has for you cause resistance or division in your heart? If yes, why?
I think by doing our homework, we will be able to become more authentic witnesses as the disciples Jesus calls us to be. Do you got it? Do you get it? Are you going to do it? Good! May Almighty God bless you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. +Amen!
Notes:
<1> The Gospel of Luke by Pablo T. Gadenz, Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture, Baker Academic (2018).
<2> A History of The Christian Tradition by Thomas D. McGonigle and James F. Quigley, Paulist Press (1996).
<3> St. Teresa of Calcutta
St. Agatha
St. John Fisher
St. Thomas More
St. Catherine of Sienna