Announcing the moment when the face of the earth will be renewed by the fire of divine love, Our Lord reveals the extraordinary power born of His sacrifice and manifests the ardent desire to consummate it.
Newsroom (17/08/2022 1:00 PM, Gaudium Press) The expressions of mercy made by Our Lord Jesus Christ in the course of His public life are moving and admirable. Without ever refusing any benefit to the unfortunate who approached Him in need of help, He performed physical and spiritual healings never before witnessed.
Once, while walking along the road that led to the city of Naim, He came across the funeral of a young man who had died, leaving his mother, a poor widow, destitute and alone. Compassionate at the sad fate that awaited her, Jesus brought the young man back to life and restored him to his mother in excellent physical condition, certainly better than before.
The miracles were ceaseless and the extent of His favours immeasurable. That is why St. Luke summed up these works by saying that he “pertransivit benefaciendo” – He passed by, doing good (Acts 10:38).
Since we often hear words full of commiseration coming from God’s own lips, the teaching of the Gospel of this 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time can cause us a certain perplexity, because at first sight it does not agree with the way Our Lord acted in other passages. Is there, then, a contradiction in Jesus’ ministry? Or do His words about fire, division and the breaking of family ties contain a depth that demands a more accurate analysis?
The fire of divine love
At that time Jesus said to His disciples, “I have come to cast fire upon the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!”
Bold is the statement of this verse, in which Our Lord declares that He took on the Incarnation for the purpose of spreading a fire, His desire to see it burn being so vehement that He eagerly awaits the arrival of such a moment.
We know that the figure of fire appears in Scripture with various meanings, most often with a punitive connotation. In the episode in which a flame coming from the Lord devoured the two hundred and fifty who had rebelled against Moses, the effect was so complete that not even a trace of the defamers remained (cf. Eccl 45:22-24; Num 16:35).
With a similar purpose Elijah brought down fire from Heaven upon two captains, each in company with fifty soldiers, all of whom were immediately incinerated (cf. 2 Kings 1:9-12). Moreover, the mentions of hellish punishments are always accompanied by the image of a peculiar fire, created by God for this purpose, whose energy is Himself, an intelligent fire that does not go out.[1] Now, the context of this Gospel denotes that the Saviour does not allude to the ancient passages already known to the public to whom He preached, nor does He refer to the flames of hell. His words, wrapped in an air of mystery, are about a new fire.
Setting the earth on fire for redemption
Through the union of human and divine nature in one Person, and through the infinite merits of the Incarnation, Passion, Death and Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ, a fire came down to earth that was able to purify the swamp in which men were mired because of the effects of the fault of our first parents: “Jesus came from Heaven to Earth to set souls on fire in order to purify them, burn away their dross, and make them pure silver and gold before God: it is the fire of holiness, of charity; it is the whole system of sanctification which Jesus brought into the world.” [2]
With the Redemption, we have been raised to an unimaginable spiritual level, for the possibility has been opened to us of being pleasing to God and partakers of His very Divinity. Called to assume the same perfection as the Heavenly Father (cf. Mt 5:48), we have received for this purpose the outpouring of Christ’s love, which purifies our own love, makes it worthy and fruitful, and also offers us the possibility of conquering sin, which, even though it still has its sting, no longer reigns supreme.
As men allow themselves to be penetrated by the fire of charity, the obstacles to the dictates of grace are overcome, because nothing can stop the progress of those who love.
Those who give themselves totally to supernatural love become capable of performing wonders, just as the great heroes of the Faith did. The history of the saints is full of magnificent examples of this. Moved by this burning fire, they devoted themselves to a superlative cause, faced the greatest adversities with superhuman determination and changed the course of history.
These were souls who possessed the fullness of charity, for the representation of which Our Lord found no better symbol than fire, for the flame is attractive, beautiful, raises its brightness to Heaven and illuminates. At the same time, however, it burns, and before this power of combustion there is no one who would commit the temerity of judging it innocuous.
Let us love Him Who has loved us so much
“I must receive a baptism, and how eager I am until this is accomplished!”
It is this fire of love that makes Our Saviour so eager to fulfil His mission and receive this “baptism” that was His sorrowful Passion. What could be the reason that He was so eager for this to be fulfilled?
The redemption of mankind to be wrought through this surrender, for His infinite love for souls impelled Him to desire to purify them as soon as possible and to cause this fire to begin to consume human miseries, transforms men into perfect children of God. The fire of charity cannot bear delay, for delays would mean a fading of fervour; so Jesus, moving only out of love for the Father and for us, walks eagerly towards the torment.
In the face of such a display of goodness, what is there for us to do? Let us remember that “love is repaid with love”. If we have received such an outpouring of love from Jesus, it is our duty to love Him above all things and to make Him the centre of our existence. In this way we will be repaying, as far as our limitations as human creatures permit, this infinite charity of God towards us.
Compiled by Sandra Chisholm
