20TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME, YR C
Jer 38:4-6.8-10 ; Ps 40
Heb. 12:1-4 ; Lk 12:49-53
PASSIONATE FOR CHRIST
Our gospel today begins with Jesus telling us about his purpose. His purpose is to “cast Fire on the Earth” (Luke 12:49). The means by which this fire is cast is his “Baptism” he had to undergo. This baptism is his death on the cross. His willingness to embrace this mission, to die for sinners is what causes the fire on the Earth.
The result or consequence of this is division. This is because anyone who comes to encounter and experience the saving action of Jesus cannot remain the same. It is like having an experience with fire. The thing about fire is that we always react. You cannot be passive towards it. It is either helpful to keep you warm or burns you. In the same way, the message of the cross should cause you to react, to make a decision. We can no longer remain passive. You accept him and have life or reject him and call judgement upon yourself.
Anyone who desires then, to follow the Lord must be passionate and committed. “ You must love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might” (Deut. 6:5). God has already given each one of us the ability to respond to his call in our lives. We must be willing to stand up for Christ against all else in our world. This is what the church calls sufficient grace. We must be passionate enough to stand up for Jesus. Catch the fire.
There are certain traits that are evident in the life of those who are passionate for Christ. Those who have caught the fire that Jesus brings.
Fight For Truth
The disciple who has caught the fire of the Lord speaks the truth regardless of who is affected. In our country, when it is becoming more expedient to be politically correct in pointing out the truth, we need to be able to speak the truth always especially to our leaders. Jeremiah, in the first reading, is presented as the model of a fighter of truth. He does not fight with arms but not wavering in his resolve to be truthful. We must remember that anytime we stand up for truth we are proclaiming Jesus (Jn 14:6) and anytime we run away from speaking the truth we deny him and his fire is not in us anymore. We must make Christ known by speaking the truth in and to our world.
Opposition
The passionate Christian should be ready to face some opposition even from people as close as family members. The thing about truth is that everybody knows it and talks about it until they are those who must be forced to hear it or receive it. For this reason, the passionate Christian will begin to win some enemies for himself or herself. This is because the essence of Christianity is loyalty to Christ. It takes precedence over all the dearest relationships on Earth. We must be ready to be torn away from our friends and family members who are opposed to the message of the cross. Being passionate for Christ must necessarily cause us to break away from some relationships. Dietriech Bonhoeffer asks, “…and if we answer the call to discipleship, where will it lead us? What decisions and partings will it demand?”
Suffering
Passion comes from the Latin word which means to suffer. The one who is passionate for the Lord must be ready to suffer like Jesus did. It means that those who do not like you may try to make life difficult for you. They may threaten your very existence like we have seen in the first reading about Jeremiah. He was cast into a well to die. We must remember that Jesus remains our only and sure motivator. We draw strength from Jesus who also suffered for us. But the truth is that even when we are persecuted and even denounced, God never abandons us. Like Jeremiah, God provides a certain Ebed-melech to come to our help. He puts people in our path to help us. When we embrace our suffering, the Lord is there for us. He will send others to help us, even angels.
Prayer
A couple of Sundays ago Jesus taught his disciples how to pray. It was because he was a man of prayer. Prayer is a common trait of those who are passionate for God. It is the way of communicating with God. Sometimes prayer can become difficult but we must remember that it is only in prayer that we learn to love the Lord more. The one with passion for Jesus cannot afford to give up on prayer. Prayer generates holiness in us also. In Matthew 4:11 we read that angels came to minister unto Jesus at his temptations. When the going gets tough for us we reach out for divine power and help through prayer. Without prayer we will fail. Our Fire will be quenched.
Are you catching the fire of Christ? Are you bold enough?
May the Lord strengthen us always.
By Fr. Delight Arnold Carbonu
