Gospel Reading: Lk 12:49-53
JESUS said to his disciples: “I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing! There is a baptism with which I must be baptized, and how great is my anguish until it is accomplished! Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. From now on a household of five will be divided, three against two and two against three; a father will be divided against his son and a son against his father, a mother against her daughter and a daughter against her mother, a mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.”
Reflection: A household… will be divided
At the presentation of the Child Jesus in the Temple, the old man Simeon said to Mary his mother: “Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be contradicted” (Lk 2:34). This prophecy is here given its explicit fulfillment.
Jesus declares that he has come to set the earth on fire and to establish not peace on earth, but rather division. Indeed, Jesus’ coming into the world brings peace, as sung by the host of angels at his birth (cf Lk 2:14). But the adult Jesus has a prophetic passion for God’s word. His message does not bring easy or “cheap” peace, but one that is earned by decisions that may pierce one’s heart. He divides households and creates division among people. This is because, like a true prophet, he challenges people to take sides, not remain fence-sitters.
Some see Jesus as a great prophet risen among the people whose healings and exorcisms mean that the Kingdom of God is working in the world and is more powerful than the kingdom of Satan. But others take him as a charlatan, a minion of Satan, who leads people astray even by his miracles.
Thus, people should discern the signs and decide. Peace comes only with acceptance of Jesus’ prophetic message.
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SOURCE: “365 Days with the Lord,” ST PAULS,” 7708 St. Paul Rd., SAV, Makati City (Phils.); Tel.: 895-9701; Fax 895-7328; E-mail: pub[email protected]; Website: http://www.stpauls.ph.
