TWENTIETH SUNDAY YEAR C

First Reading Jeremiah 38:4-6, 8-10

Second Reading Heb 12:1-4

Gospel Luke 12:49-57



“As regards the will of God, even if some take scandal, we must not let this hamper our freedom of action”. – St. Basil



What is the “fire” that Jesus has come to bring on earth (49)? What “baptism” is he to receive (50)? Why does he say that he has not come to bring peace (51)? What are the “signs of the time” that the hypocrites are unable to interpret (56)? What has all this to do with the parable explaining the need to avoid going to the magistrate (58-59)? We shall divide our gospel this Sunday into four parts, so that we may better understand these images and similes that appear rather harsh.



1. First Part (vv 49-50)



God’s faithfulness is always there “ab initio” (Gen 9:11). This Sunday we would like to pose for a moment and ask ourselves, what fire is Jesus talking about? Is it this fire of hell imaginary fire which our small minds have grown to think about, where the wicked of this world will be burnt to ashes? Relax and now change your attitude, if Jesus had come to bring the fire of condemnation for sinners, then I can’t see how to his message could be called a message of salvation, “gospel”, “good news”. It’s a high time we re-thought and re-read our catechism.



The world is full of injustice, violence, tyranny, people living at the time of Jesus though that it was necessary to have one such purifying “fire” to clear the world of all evil. Today we expect a kind of “flood of fire” to clear away the old world and prepare the birth of new one. The problem is that instead of working on the ideals we are so much focused on persons that we just feel fire should come down on our enemies. No! That is not a Christian thought but a wicked thought.



What exactly the mission of our homes, families and communities? It’s the mission of carrying on the task of the “bushfire” of Christ, so that it can penetrate in every person, family and situation, well aware that all this also for us, as for our Master, will take place through suffering. But that suffering should not come out as a result or consequences of our stupidity in the way we practice our Christianity of “photocopy” type but suffering with Christ and walking with him.



2. Second part (vv 51-53)



We are all longing for that peace but we are all divided into two and our inner peace is absent and we have completely violated our boundaries in that search. How can you search for peace if your family, wife, husband, neighbours are living in fear or you have simply become a terrorist in your own home?



The messiah is supposed to be a prince of peace… and this peace has no end (Isaiah 9:5-6; 1:6-9). He is a peace between us. Never cause fire in your life if you have no water to quench it, don’t raise dust where there is no dust, simple learn to involve people in dialogue. Don’t be a mister or miss fix it all the time, live and learn. At times it takes years for a student to be known as a student to be known as Christian at university (unless he goes around with a rosary beads around his/her neck and with the scent of innocence!) why so?



3. Third part (vv 54-57)



When you are a farmer you realize that weather plays a big role in whatever you what to plant and that will determine the type of yield you want to get, lest you risk to your seeds burnt up by the sun. Most of us have lost truck of even reading the sign of times we completely store nil. We have entered into the world of “everybody says YES why can’t I say YES?” we have become too cheap that today to get someone who can be engaged for five minutes serious discuss is by luck. People have become so emotional that reason remained in their academic transcripts.



4. Fourth (vv 58-59)



The gospel completes with a parable. Many of us have wronged our neighbours to the bone marrow that we have even deleted them from our life. People are moving and we see them walk but they have been killed long ago. Today to get a genuine laughter, smile, and a hand shake is rare, why? Too much worry in the heart. Why should I give you a smile, laughter do you clothe me, pay my rent pay my bus fare? People walk-talk, the mind is running faster than even a computer. Soon people will be knocked down by cars due to colour blindness (traffic lights reversed due to lack of peace of mind-stress, depression, and anxiety).



But there is hope (Matt 11:5), and yet there are people who couldn’t care less. They will be caught unprepared.



Are our communities alert to the sign of times or are they “hypocrites?” what are the signs of a new world that we notice today?





“If God willed it, brooms would shoot” – Jewish proverb