In Luke 12:49-51, two statements here are un-Jesuslike: “I have come to bring fire on earth and how I wish it were already kindled,” and, “Do you think that I have come to bring peace on earth? No. I tell you, rather, division.”
Was He not a peacemaker and an advocate of forgiveness and kindness? Why did He say these?
Jesus’ messages were strong. If we reflect closely on these, we will see that He really meant well. He said them to stress a point.
Fire may be a devastating element but it has good uses (e.g. for cooking, for disinfecting). And fire is also used to purify, to separate the impurities from valuable elements like gold. Thus, the saying, “A test of fire is a test of gold.” And that is the point Jesus was stressing in the Gospel.
He challenged His followers to make a stand. Christian life calls for absolute faithfulness and commitment to God. No compromises. Lukewarm faith is unacceptable. Either you are fully committed and passionately faithful or not. There is only one Kingdom — that of God’s; and only one king — Christ the King.
The only way He could make them commit themselves was to challenge them with His Word and deed. And the best way was to test them, i.e., to see themselves in the light of what He preached and bore witness to.
It is in this context that He spoke of division. Following Him puts relationships to the test. His teachings of forgiveness, repentance, morality, detachment etc. Create tension in all relationships. It is His hope that everyone will embrace Him. Otherwise, division will prevail. For Him, living in civility, lukewarmness and toleration meant merely allowing a peaceful co-existence among men. Jesus would rather encourage people to willingly abandon everything and everyone for Him. And Christian peace is attained only in unity with God. Again, it is not the Lord’s intention to rock the boat for the sake of rocking it. He rocks it to put everyone where they should be.
His ultimate purpose is to recover all of us to His fold. He will do everything to fulfill this. That is how much He cares for us. He will not settle for one, ten, hundreds or thousands of us. He wants everyone. That was His promise to His Father: “No one was lost!”
-- Fr. Benny Tuazon
Reflection Question:
Do you get going even when the going gets rough? Do you find company in the Lord during these times? Do you accept challenges as opportunities to prove your faith in God?
By Your grace, Lord, let me not compromise my faith when life gets tough. You are my strength and my shield.
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