St. Mary's Church

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."

We like to think of Jesus bringing peace and joy, healing and inspiration as he traveled from village to village with his disciples. But at this point in Luke's Gospel he is making his way to Jerusalem, when he knows what he will face, and his message has become sobering. The road to redemption is difficult Jesus knew that sins and evil must be confronted. Our own encounters with sin and evil can be divisive, as Jesus warned his disciples. Let us pray for the will and the courage be stand up for what is right and good and holy, no matter the consequences. We have an advantage that the disciples did not have at this time. We know that after the Resurrection the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples in what was depicted as multiple tongues of flame. We know that the Holt Spirit aided the disciples in carrying out their mission, preaching repentance for the forgiveness of sins and making disciple of all nations. We can imagine that the wisdom and fortitude they received allowed them to confront sin and evil and that the purifying fire could cauterize the wound they produced, allowing healing and reconciliation to begin. In baptism we have received the Holy Spirit as well, enabling us to carry on in Jesus' mission.