“I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!” (Lk 12:49).
When Jesus tells us that he came to bring fire, it is because already in the previous chapter (11), and in part of this chapter 12, he has been telling the tremendous crowd that pressed upon him to listen, that following his message, choosing the Kingdom, and fulfilling the mission with which God sends us into the world, requires one to take a stand. The sequence of this language is already present from the beginning of chapter 11, where he teaches us to speak to God as to the Father of all, and to trust in Him who not only gives us good things but also his very Holy Spirit (11:13).
In these two chapters (11 and 12 of Luke), Jesus has as his interlocutors people who criticized him, a woman who praised him, the Pharisees, the teachers of the Law, a great crowd that jostled to hear him (12:1), and alternately, his disciples, to whom he spoke especially at certain moments. With all of them, his stance is radical, firm, and clear, giving an example of how, starting from faith in God, and having the Holy Spirit as witness, the Kingdom becomes present among us.
He who had earlier acknowledged (Lk 9:50) that the children of God go beyond the visible group of his disciples — calling also for trust in others: “Whoever is not against you is with you” — makes it clear, however, a little later, that whoever is not with him is against him, and whoever does not gather with him scatters (11:23). In other words, he speaks of those who do not want to define themselves in the face of his message and pretend to remain neutral, making the transparency of God’s Reign more difficult.
We now come to the text that today’s liturgy gives us, with a Jesus who speaks firmly and clearly, without mincing words, with courage and boldness. He knows and teaches us that our true treasure is in Heaven with the Good Father God, who generously cares for his children. He insists that there is a God who watches over us (11:24), and therefore, here there is nothing to lose, nothing to accumulate, no kind of wealth to seek. Jesus invites us to decide, to leave everything in God’s hands and to trust in Him, to stake everything on Him and on his message of love. He wants us firm and coherent with what being Children of the God of Love implies.
It is the courageous Jesus who says that they may do whatever they want to him, but that they must not touch the Holy Spirit (12:10), for God is above all things. Pope Francis said that fire comes to renew, that “the Gospel is like a fire, because it is a message which, when it bursts into history, burns away the old balances of life” (Pope Francis, St. Peter’s Square, Sunday, August 14, 2021). And it is so: once we open ourselves to the mentality of Jesus, we begin to see with his eyes, to decipher the signs of the times, to see differently. Once we live close to and together with Jesus, things can no longer be as they were before.
Fire demands something new, “because — Pope Francis said — it challenges us to step out of individualism, it challenges us to overcome selfishness, it challenges us to move from the slavery of sin and death to the new life of the Risen One, of the Risen Jesus. In other words, the Gospel does not leave things as they are; when the Gospel passes by, and is heard and received, things do not remain as they are” (ibid.).
Jesus speaks in strong and combative language, both to his closest followers and to the crowds. He spoke to all who wanted to listen, with words set ablaze by the fire of the Spirit and the love of his Father, whom he continually sought in prayer. At every moment he invites us to take a stand, and taking a stand, whether we like it or not, divides. One must stand on one side or the other; in that sense, the peace that Jesus brings is not that of cemeteries nor the naïveté of “everything is fine” or “let’s just live in peace.” To be Christian is to follow Jesus, to resemble him, to let his tone cling to us and also his way of thinking.
He speaks the language of Love and Mercy, and this is universal, for everyone, everyone, everyone… and here lies already the division, because there are those who assume that it is only for some, for those who fit into certain schemes, for those who comply with certain standards… But since this is not the case, it is impossible to relativize the Gospel and let everything pass, everything enter, and everyone make their own adaptation according to their chapel, their institution, their plot, or their sector.
We already know the consequences of the style and message of Jesus, we know how it ended on earth, but we also know very well how it continues today in glory and majesty in a space open to all, where we will reign with Him. What remains for us is to think whether we believe it or not, whether we believe that Jesus truly triumphed over that tremendous failure in which everything seemed to end here, whether we believe that he truly is in Heaven and from there, on earth with us, “sleepless for our sleeplessness,” present in our lives, at the distance of a prayer, a memory, a thought, in the Eucharistic Bread we receive, in the Church, and in the brothers and sisters who walk by our side.
Do we believe it? Then let us live accordingly, making the fire of God’s love burn for all, to the very last consequences. If we do not believe it, then let us ask the Holy Spirit to help us truly know his message, to look higher and accept that the triumph and peace this world gives do not have the final word.
“To live without faith, without a heritage to defend, without a constant struggle for the Truth, is not living.”
Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati
Sr. Rina Fernández Arévalo
Community of La Serena – Chile
Province of St. Rose of Lima
