The Fire of Love
The Fire of Love
In 2016, Fr. Jacques Hamel was murdered in France by ISIS terrorists. Recently, Christians in Nigeria were murdered. Seminarians, priests, and faithful were captured and found dead. This Sunday's readings encourage us to live our faith courageously. It raises the two questions: are we able to live our faith in our daily lives?
The first reading from the book of Jeremiah (38:4-6;8-10) takes us back 600 years before Christ, when the land we now know as Iraq was named Babylon. The Babylonians were powerful at that time. Jeremiah showed the courage of his prophetic conviction by telling King Zedekiah that the Lord God said he had to surrender to the mighty army of the Babylonian Empire to save Israel. Such talks were viewed as unpatriotic, and Jeremiah was considered a traitor. The prophet was cast into a cistern but was saved from death by the Ethiopian official Ebed-melech, whose name translates to “Servant of the king.” Since the king did not listen to God’s counsel given by his prophet, Babylon captured and destroyed Jerusalem. Jeremiah faced suffering and opposition for following God’s word. His life was not easy. In chapter 20, we see that Jeremiah was going through an internal crisis and cursed his own life. “Cursed be the day on which I was born! May the day my mother gave me birth never be blessed!” (20:14).
The conflict that Jeremiah provoked within his own household and his ministries illustrates Jesus’ teaching in the Gospel reading (Luke 12:49-53) that he came “to set the earth on fire,” not peace, “but rather division,” and that the household will be divided against each other. The fire is a symbol of God’s presence and love (Deuteronomy 4:24; Acts 2:3); God’s judgment on sinners (Leviticus 10:2, Matthew 22:7) and divine purification (Luke 3:16; 1 Peter 1:7).
God offers us his love, mercy, and salvation, and desires that we accept and respond to his gifts. God provides these gifts freely and generously, but not everyone is willing to accept them so that the division will occur even within families. Luke 14:26, Jesus says, “If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.” Peace is possible only if we embrace him in faith (John 14:27).
The second reading from the Hebrews, which Paul wrote to the Judeo-Christians who had been rejected by their fellow Jews, expelled from their synagogues, and cut off from family and old friends. Christ presents the ultimate example of patient perseverance and fidelity to the will of the Father through his suffering and death on the Cross. He went to Jerusalem knowing that he would be arrested and crucified.
We may not see these readings so real in life, but there are places where faithful Christians are kidnapped, shot to death, slaughtered, and so on. It says that on average, 12 Christians are killed for their faith. We have the privilege to live the faith. Do we celebrate and live our faith?
We need to pray for ourselves, others in our family, and neighborhood for the courage to live the faith. Today, for some reason, many are not practicing their faith. We have an excellent opportunity to pray for them, inspire them, and invite them to the Parish Mission Apostolate on September 21st and 22nd. First, pray for this event and register today. Second, inspire others you would like to invite by telling them you are registered. Third, invite them and ask if they'd love to join you for this Parish Mission Apostolate. Pray for them and help them to register.
Jesus tells us today that when we immerse ourselves in Christ’s fire of love, it burns the selfishness of our lives and transforms our lives into the likeness of the Holy Spirit’s fire. He also gave us fellow Christians to support each other in our faith journey. Let us grow in love for our faith and share with many.