This past week, we concluded our Old Testament readings taken from the Book of Joshua. Today, on Sunday, we return to the readings from the prophet Jeremiah (Jeremiah 38:4-6, 8-10). There is a war going on and Jerusalem is surrounded by the army of Babylon.
Jeremiah is experiencing the consequences of the burning word that God has placed within him. He has been telling everybody to surrender and all will go well. This sounds unbelievable to the soldiers and officials, who complain to King Zedekiah who decides to turn Jeremiah over to them. They put him out of commission as a prophet, temporarily, by dropping him into a dried-up well. Upon hearing this, an official of the court rushes to tell the king that the Prophet will surely die therein. The king relents and has Jeremiah raised and brought to him for a little chat. We do not hear this conversation in today’s reading, but I can tell you that Jeremiah tells the king exactly what he has been saying in the city: surrendering to the enemy will result, not in death, but life for the king, for his family, and for the city of Jerusalem. The king … well, you can read the rest of the story yourselves.
The Gospel (Luke 12:49-53) is the conclusion to the chapter from which we have been listening these past few weekends. We have heard about the dangers of greed and about the followers of Jesus who must stay awake, attentive, and responsive as servants of the Lord. These verses have been dramatic and hard to hear. Well, get set for the dramatic climax!
This past week we have witnessed the divisiveness present in our societies. It seems like the last thing we need is a Gospel text that seemingly encourages more division. On the face of it, Jesus calls for and predicts that very thing. Yet, as we dive into this text, there are certainly other interpretations available. Situated inside the entire reading, there is ample evidence to suggest that Jesus is setting the stage for the eventual outcome of his ministry and what that means for those who follow Him.
Today’s Gospel can be looked upon as having two parts. The first is a quick summary of his ministry and its eventual end: a fire of cleansing judgment (destruction) that leads to the spreading of the good news (building the Kingdom); and the baptism by His death in order to conquer death. Following this is a discussion of the effects the gospel might have on anyone who follows Him.
In the first part, verses 49-50, we hear the language of fire and think judgement, and that may be what Christ wants us to think, at least for now. But, the fire of judgement is perhaps about our own inability to save ourselves. The cleansing fire reveals that we need God.
Fire was meant to destroy the reigning religion and religiosity that people used as a way, they thought, of “buying” their salvation. Ironically, that type of religion actually distances people from God. Could the same be said for our own religion today? For Jesus, fire will burn down our human need for security and, by extension, those institutions that provide human security instead of security in God.
The fire is followed by talk of baptism, which has a promise inherent within it. Baptism is not meant to be simply an easy, joyous occasion. Baptism is a promise from God to us; on the other hand, it is our promise to God. With these in mind, we see baptism is a covenant. Baptism also leads to death on the cross so that we might have life. It is this death, ironically, that turns our baptism into joy and celebration. For many, baptism is the entry into the life of the Church. Part of life as God’s chosen is vocation, God’s calling to us. This means that Christ’s baptism, and His ministry and death on the cross, prefigures our own baptism and provides a bridge to the next section about division. Our callings, varied and numerous, do not end the day we are baptized. What ends in baptism is the consequence for our failure to live out those vocations. So, while joy is a fundamental emotion for baptism, it is joy because of the grace that we have been given, not because we will never experience pain again.
In the second part, verses 51-53, Jesus lets those gathered know that following Him will not be easy, particularly because the gospel will not always bring peace. Families sometimes are torn apart when the gospel is spread because it changes everything. Given our personal contexts, this may not always happen, but there certainly could be some disagreement or strife in families as the nature of the call is worked out and understood. Whether it be to attend church, go to seminary, engage in social justice issues, etc., the Gospel’s effects can create division. There is no doubt that the Church has experienced division during our history. The problem may not lie in the division itself, but in how we respond to the divisions that happen in our lives.
One way to handle divisions is to see that God is at work in all our realities, and that division is not really the problem. Perhaps it is in our own naive expectation that we have more truth than do others. There have been calls within the Christian church to become one church so that all might believe the same thing. We even pray for this during Mass. Jesus’ talk about division may point to a broken reality for Christianity that no matter how hard we work toward unity we may never achieve it. Perhaps this is Jesus’ point: that human togetherness is not what the Gospel is about. Rather, the Gospel, preached into the life of an individual person, will do its work in that person, and we are left to trust that it is God who is at work. Perhaps Jesus’ point is to teach us that do God’s work, we must resist our attempts to control the outcome.
May God Bless You and Grant You His Peace!