The Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
What are you passionate about? What stirs up the fire within you?
For some of us, it’s the demands of justice—feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, providing drink for those who thirst, freeing those wrongly imprisoned, and making a home for the stranger—that brings forth fire.
Others among us are passionate about prayer and the spiritual life. And then, of course, we have those relationships that we protect fiercely. And these are good and worthy… and they are also intimately connected, since we can never compartmentalize our relationships, spirituality, and the work for justice.
In this Sunday’s Gospel, we are given a sense of the passion burning within the heart of Jesus: his passion for the Reign of God. But this impassioned, fiery Jesus might startle us, as he proclaims his desire that the world were aflame with the same fire that consumed him.
This particular passage comes from a section of Luke’s Gospel that is inviting us to reflect on what it means to live our faith… to really put into practice what it is we say we believe. At the same time, this Gospel passage presents a different, perhaps even startling facet of Jesus’ teachings. Think about it… the Prince of Peace is asking, “Do you think that I have come to establish peace on earth?”
Our answer to that question would be, “Yes! Of course!”, because that’s what we’ve been taught to expect. That is our hope.
When looked at from the perspective of discipleship, we recognize that what Jesus is asking us to reflect on is the prophetic stance that is part of discipleship. However, as we see in story of Jeremiah proclaimed in the First Reading this Sunday, that prophetic stance can put us at odds with those who are opposed to the truth. This was certainly true for Jesus, as well.
And this is a challenge for us.
As we think of Jeremiah and Jesus—although their stories are very different—we know that there were some who welcomed their preaching and who were caught up in the fire of the vision of the Reign of God that they offered. Others resisted, however, because Jeremiah and Jesus were calling for change and the comforts and complacency of these resisters were being burned up by the fire of the prophetic proclamation.
This is what put Jeremiah in prison.
This is what put Jesus on the cross.
The status quo couldn’t be maintained, and the old attitudes and behaviors had to be refined within this transforming fire.
And it is here that we discover a sort of two-fold examination of conscience within this Sunday’s Gospel.
First, do you… do we ignore or try to silent those prophets who are calling for change—change within ourselves, our communities, or even in the Church?
Are you willing to risk dialogue and even conversion, as we are invited to reflect not only on what is possible, but on what might be essential?
This can become especially difficult for us when we are being asked to reconsider beliefs, customs, or practices that are near and dear to us. However, we know, discipleship demands that we not become complacent or settle.
Second, are you willing to live out your call to be a prophet yourself? Where are the injustices or abuses that need to be named? What wrongs need to be made right? What wounds need to be healed? While we are called to pray for peace, we are also called, by virtue of our baptism, to become prophets ourselves and call for change—for conversion—where change is needed.
This also means that we have to be courageous enough to stand alone, at times.
Here, I would like to share with you these words from a reflection Pope Francis offered in 2016:
“The fire that Jesus speaks of is the fire of the Holy Spirit, the presence living and working in us from the day of our Baptism. It — the fire — is a creative force that purifies and renews, that burns all human misery, all selfishness, all sin, which transforms us from within, regenerates us and makes us able to love. Jesus wants the Holy Spirit to blaze like fire in our heart, for it is only from the heart that the fire of divine love can spread and advance the Kingdom of God. It does not come from the head, it comes from the heart. This is why Jesus wants fire to enter our heart. If we open ourselves completely to the action of this fire which is the Holy Spirit, He will give us the boldness and the fervor to proclaim to everyone Jesus and his consoling message of mercy and salvation, navigating on the open sea, without fear.”
As continue our journey through Ordinary Time, we’re being called to continue to reflect on the demands of our discipleship and what it means to truly live the faith we profess. And so, we also remember the words of another prophetic voice—Saint Catherine of Siena: “Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire.”
O God, who have prepared for those who love you
good things which no eye can see,
fill our hearts, we pray, with the warmth of your love,
so that, loving you in all things and above all things,
we may attain your promises,
which surpass every human desire.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever. Amen.
-Collect for the Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Prepared for the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in Milwaukee, WI
