TWENTIETH
SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
(Jeremiah 38:4-6.8-10;
Hebrews 12:1-4; Luke 12:49-53)
To just
about everyone with the possible exceptions of some terrorists Jesus is “the
prince of peace.” This term is found in
the Book of the Prophet Isaiah to describe the future king who will conquer all
enemies of Israel. It fits Jesus well
not because he is a military chief but because he has overcome sin. For this reason, we are dumbfounded to hear
him say in today’s gospel that he has not come to establish peace but division.
Jesus says
that he not come not only to bring division but also fire. He is speaking metaphorically here. He does not intend to start fires but to
institute love which often is associated with fire. More precisely, he is speaking of the love of
the Holy Spirit. This love does not seek
in the first place one’s own good but the good of the other. Equally important, the Spirit’s love does not
try a satisfy every desire of the loved one but to facilitate his or her true
good. Wouldn’t we say that the love of a
mother for her child is defective if she gives her only chocolate to eat? Love should always be directed to union of
the loved with God, the greatest good.
Jesus also
says that he anticipates receiving a baptism.
Because he was baptized before beginning his ministry, this baptism must
be of another kind. Originally baptism
meant an immersion or drowning. It could
be said that the person overwhelmed with pain has received a baptism of
suffering. This is what is intended
here. Jesus will receive a baptism of
suffering when he dies on the cross and a baptism of life when he rises from
the dead. We are baptized in these immersions
of suffering and of life when we were brought to the baptismal fount. Jesus awaits with great anticipation this baptism
of both death and of life in order to share its benefits with us. He does not mind the pain that accompanies it
because he loves us so much.
How Jesus is
going to bring division should now be apparent.
He has become the most significant person in history. Every human being must decide either for or against
him. It is true that for the majority of
the earth’s inhabitants like the Chinese, the Indians, and Muslims, this choice
is not so much a vote for a single individual but for the love which he
represents. This love – the love of the
Holy Spirit -- is more than tender feelings.
It has ramifications in the ways we live. When we are with other kinds of people, do we
respect them as images of God? When we
are alone, do we refrain from sexual desires and vengeful thoughts? When we go to vote, do we consider the
position of the candidate on crucial issues like abortion and euthanasia?
In the
first reading Jeremiah can be seen as a type of Jesus. Like Jesus, he preaches God’s love for His people. But, again like Jesus, he speaks of a love
that wants true goodness, not just euphoria.
He knows that God is correcting Israel for its infidelity. For this reason, he does not go along with
the princes who want him to encourage the people to resist Babylon. His time in the well prefigures Jerusalem’s
exile in Babylon. The people must suffer
now to experience a renewal of faith.
The reading
from the Letter to the Hebrews emphasizes faith. It exhorts the people to maintain their faith
in Jesus Christ as their savior. The
author does not want them to return to the synagogues of their family
members. Rather he reminds them that siding
with Jesus will result in an eternal reward.
In John’s
gospel Jesus says that the peace he gives is not the peace of this world. He means that his peace is not the euphoria
of the ceasing of hostilities. No, his
peace reaches deeper. His peace creates
a permanent division between us and sin.
It is life united with God, the supreme good.
