Homily

Jesus said to his disciples:
“I have come to set the earth on fire,
and how I wish it were already blazing!
There is a baptism with which I must be baptized,
and how great is my anguish until it is accomplished!
Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth?
No, I tell you, but rather division.
From now on a household of five will be divided,
three against two and two against three;
a father will be divided against his son
and a son against his father,
a mother against her daughter
and a daughter against her mother,
a mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law
and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.”


“I have come to set the earth on fire and how I wish it were already blazing!”

What a thing to say! Especially from Jesus, the one who we think of as loving and peace filled. He not only wants to set us on FIRE but to create division.

What are we to think?

How are we to react?

The division Jesus is talking about isn’t our everyday quibbles and fights between family members and friends, no, it is the division between truth and untruth, between that which leads us to life and that which leads us to death. Jesus is that which is truth, that which leads us to life, so how can he cause division?

He causes division by leading us away from untruth and that which leads us to death, he causes division when we follow HIM giving up and leaving behind those things and unfortunately sometimes people who drive us from him, the division comes when we choose him above all things.

Recently, a very good and treasured friend of mine experienced this, she grew to trust and to care for someone who believed her capable of something horrible. This division, wasn’t created by Christ but the division came when she wouldn’t tell this person an untruth in order to preserve her relationship. Eventually, because my friend cared so much for this person and was so devastated emotionally because of several layers of events, she lied to him and told him what he wanted to hear. The situation only became worse, she forgot Christ as her focus and fell into the evil of untruth, with this the division only grew worse.

Now, because most of you don’t know me, let me tell you that I went to college and got my undergrad degree in counseling, one of them anyway. Division comes in many forms, abuse, anger, and various hurts real and imagined. My friend was subject to this division, and it wounded her deeply. This incident happened in layers over several months and several of her friends, I included, have been picking up the pieces.

Division need not be permanent, we can always chose Christ. We always have the opportunity to heal that which is broken if we acknowledge our sinfulness and reject that which divides us. How do we do this? We admit to ourselves our sinfulness, we attempt to heal our divisions and always remain open, most of all we seek the sacraments that bring us the most healing: Confession and Eucharist. We do not create more division by seeking to separate ourselves from persons who have harmed us. Our fathers are still our fathers, our mothers still our mothers despite divisions. Christ seeks to set us on fire, fire with the truth and fire with love.

Go forth and be set on fire.

*Note: Kat asked me to edit the posting of this Homily out of deference to some who read this blog who may be upset by some of the content.