FIRE UPON THE EARTH - 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time Cycle C

Homily for the 20^th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Cycle C)

Based on Lk 12:49-53 (Gospel), Jer 38:4-6, 8-10 (First Reading) and  Heb 12:1-4 (Second Reading)

From the Series: “Reflections and Teachings of the Desert”

FIRE UPON THE EARTH

The Gospel for this 20^th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Cycle C) is taken from Lk 12:49-53. Verse 49 and 50 says: ‘I have come to bring fire^f to the earth, and how I wish it were blazing already! There is a baptism I must still receive, and how great is my distress till it is over!” Footnote ^f says “This fire symbolizes neither the spiritual struggle that the coming of Jesus provokes nor, strictly speaking, the Holy Spirit. It is the fire that is to purify and inflame men’s hearts, the fire lit on the cross. Jn 12:32 has the same thought in different words.”

Parallel texts of verse 50 are:

1.       Lk 9:22 - First prophecy of the Passion^d “The Son of Man’ he said, is destined to suffer grievously, to be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and to be put to death and to be raised up on the third day. Footnote ^d says  “This prophecy is to b followed by several others, 9:44; 12:50; 17:25; 18:31-33. Cf. 24:7,25-27. Lk omits Peter’s protest and his rebuke by Jesus, Mk 8:32f.”

2.       Lk 22:14 - When the hour came he took his place at table, and the apostles with him.

3.       Mk 10:38  - ‘You do not know what you are asking’  Jesus said to them. ‘Can you drink the cup I must drink, or be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?”^d  Footnote ^d says “The drink the cup, cf. 14:36, and to be baprized are symbols of the approaching Passion: Jesus is to be ‘immersed’ (Greek: baptizen, ”to dip”, “to tint”, or “to die”) in suffering.”

The title  “Jesus the cause of dissension”, of verse 51 and following has a parallel text in Mt 10:34-36 that says: Jesus, the cause of dissension^m Do you suppose that I have come to bring peace on the earth: it is not peace I have come to bring but a sword (v. 34). For I have come to set a man ‘against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law (v. 35). And man’s enemies will be those of his own household (v. 36). Footnote ^m says “Christ is a ‘sign that is rejected’, Lk 2:34; his aim is not to provoke dissension, but this becomes inevitable as a result of the strict alternative he offers.”

Verse 51 says: ‘Do you suppose that I am here to bring peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division.

Parallel text for verse 51 is Lk 22:37 that says: Because I tell you these words of scripture have to be fulfilled in me; ‘He let himself be taken for a criminal. Yes, what scripture says about me is even reaching to fulfillment.’

Verse 52 says: For from now on a household of five will be divided: three against two and two against three…

Parallel text for verse 52 is Lk 2:34 that says: Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “You see this child: he is destined for the fall and the rising of many in Israel, destined to be a sign that is rejected.

Verse 52 says: The father divided against the son, son against father, mother against daughter, daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-n-law, daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.’

Parallel text for verse 52 is  Mi 7:6 that says:  For son insults father, daughter defies mother, daughter-in-law defies  mother-in-law; a man’s enemies are those of his own household.

The First Reading is taken from  Jer 38:4-6, 8-10.

Verses 4, 5 and 6 say: These leading men accordingly spoke to the king. ‘Let this man be put to death: he is unquestionably disheartening the remaining soldiers in the city, and all the people too, by talking like this. This fellow does not have the welfare of this people at heart so much as its ruin.’ He is in your hands as you know,’ King Zedekiah answered ‘for the king is powerless against you.’^b So they took Jeremiah and threw him into the well of Prince Malchiah in the Court of the Guard, letting him down with ropes. There was no water in the well, only mud, and into the mud Jeremiah sank. Footnote  ^b says  “Lit. ‘with you’ corr.”

Parallel text of verse 6 is Ps 40:2 that says: He has pulled me out of the horrible pit, out of the slough of the marsh, has settled my feet on a rock and steadied my steps.

Verses 8, 9 and 10 say: Ebed-melech came to the palace and spoke to the king, ‘My lord king,’ he said ‘these men have a done a wicked thing by treating the prophet Jeremiah like this: they have thrown him into a well where he will die.’^c At this the king gave Ebed-melech the Cushite the following order: ‘Take three^d men with you from here and pull the prophet Jeremiah out of the well before he dies’.

Footnote ^c  says “Lit. ‘he will die’ corr.; ‘and he has died’ Hebr. The Hebr. Adds ‘of hunger: for there was no more bread in the city’, a gloss suggested by 37:21’; and Footnote ^d  says “‘three’ one MS; ‘thirty’ Hebr..”

The Second Reading is taken from Heb 12:1-4. Verses 1 and 2 say: With so many witnesses in a great cloud on every side of us, we too, then, should throw off everything that hinders us, especially the sin that clings so easily, and keep running steadily in the race we have started. Let us not lose sight of Jesus, who leads us in our faith and brings it to perfection: for the sake of the joy which was still in the future, he endured the cross, disregarding the shamefulness of it, and from now on has taken his place at the right hand of God’s throne.

Parallel text for verse 2 are:

1.       Ga 5:7 - You begun your race well;^c who made you anxious to obey the truth? Footnote ^c says  “One of Paul’s favorite theme, cf. 2:2; 1 Co 9:24-26; Ph 2:16; 3:12-14; 2 Tm 4:7; Heb 12:1.”

2.       Heb 2:10 - As it was his purpose to bring a great many of his sons into glory, it was appropriate that God, for whom everything exists and through whom everything exist, in bringing many children to glory, should perfect, through suffering, the leader who would take them to their salvation.^f Footnote ^f says “By dying and fulfilling the will of God, Christ becomes the one perfect savior, responsible for the entry of human beings into the glory of God.”

3.       Mt 4:3-11 - and the tempter came and said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God,^c tell these stones to turn into loaves’ (v. 3). But he replied, “Scripture says: Man does not live by bread alone, but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God’ (v 4). The devil then took him to the holy city and made him stand on the parapet of the Temple (v. 5). ‘If you are the Son of God’ he said ‘throw yourself down for scripture says: ‘He will put you in his angels’ charge, and ‘ they will support you on their hands in case you hurt your foot against a stone.’(v. 6). Jesus said to him, “Scripture also says: ‘You must not put the Lord your God to the test’ (v. 7). Next, taking him to a very high mountain the devil showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor (v. 8), ‘I will give you all these’ he said ‘if you fall at my feet and worship me’ (v. 9).Then Jesus replied, “Be off, Satan! For scripture says: ‘You must worship the Lord your God, and serve him alone.’ (v. 10). Then the devil left him and angels appeared and looked after him  (v. 11) Footnote  ^c says “The biblical title ‘Son of God’ does not necessarily mean natural sonship but may imply a sonship which is merely adoptive, i.e., which as a result of God’s deliberate choice sets up a very intimate relationship between God and his creature. In this sense the title is given to angels (Jb. 1:6), to the Chosen People (Ex. 4:22, Ws. 18:13), to individual Israelites (Dt. 14:1, Ho. 2:1, cf. Mt. 5:9,48, etc.), to their leaders (Ps. 82:6). Were therefore it is attributed to the royal Messiah (1 Ch. 17:13, Ps. 2:7, 89:26) it does not necessarily imply that he is more than man; nor need we suppose that it has any deeper significance when used by Satan (Mt. 4:3,6) or by the possessed (Mk. 3:11, 5:7, Lk. 4:41), still less when used by the centurion (Mk. 15:39, cf. Lk. 23:47). By itself the sentence at baptism (Mt. 3:17) and at the transfiguration (17:5) suggests no more than the divine predilection for the Messiah-servant, and all probability the High priest’s question (26:63) concerns messiahship only. Nevertheless the title ‘Son of God’ can bear a further, more profound meaning of sonship in the full sense of the word. Jesus clearly insinuated this meaning when he spoke of himself as ‘the Son’ (2:37), ranked above the angels (24:36), having God for his ‘Father’ in a way others had not (Jn. 20:17 and cf. ‘my Father’ in Mt. 7:21, etc.), enjoying with the Father an altogether singular relationship of knowledge and love (Mt. 11:27). These assertions, coupled with others that speak of the Messiah’s divine rank (22:42-46), of the heavenly origin of the ‘son of  man’ (8:20+), assertions finally confirmed by the triumph of the resurrection, have endowed the expression ‘son of God’ with the strictly divine significance which will later be found, e.g. in Paul (Rm. 9:5+). During the lifetime of Christ, it is true his disciples had no clear conception of his divinity – the texts of Mt. 14:33 and 16:16 which add the title ‘Son of God’ to the more primitive text of Mk reflect, in all probability, a later stage in the faith’s development. But it is equally true that Jesus expressed with his own lips and with as much clarity as his audience could support, his own consciousness of being Son of the Father in the fullest sense. On these historical utterances the faith of the disciples rested, a faith that reached its perfection after the resurrection with the help of the Holy Spirit.”

4.       Jn 6:15 - Jesus, who could see they were about to come and take him by force and make him king, escaped^b back to the hills by himself. Footnote ^b says “Var. ‘withdrew’.”

5.       2 Co 8:9 - Remember how generous the Lord Jesus was:^b he was rich, but he became poor for your sake, to make you rich out of his poverty. Footnote ^b  says “Lit. ‘the generosity (or perhaps ‘grace’) of the Lord Jesus’.

6.       Ph 2:6-8 - His state was divine, e  yet he did not cling to his equality with God^f (v. 6) but emptied himself^g to assume the condition of a slave,^h and became as men areⁱ; (v. 7)and being as all men are,^j he was humbler yet, even to accepting death, death on a cross (v. 8). Footnote ^e - Lit. ‘Who subsisting in the form of God’: here ‘form’ means all the attributes that express and reveal the essential ‘nature’ of God; Christ, being God, had all the divine prerogatives by right. Footnote ^f says “Lit. ‘did not deem being on an equality with God as something to grasp’ or ‘hold on to’. This refers not to his equality by nature ‘subsisting in the form of God’, and which Christ could not have surrendered, but to his being publicly treated and honored as equal to God which was a thing that Jesus (unlike Adam, Gn 3:5,22, who wanted to be seen to be like God) could and did give up in his human life; Footnote ^g says ‘He emptied himself’; this is not so much a reference to the fact of the incarnation, as to the way it took place. What Jesus freely gave up was not his divine nature, but the glory to which his divine nature entitled him, and which had been his before the incarnation, Jn 17:5, and, which ‘normally’ speaking would have been observable in his human body (cf. the transfiguration, Mt 17:1-8). He voluntarily deprived himself of this so that it could be returned to him by the Father, cf. Jn 8:50,54, after his sacrifice, vv.9-11;  Footnote ^h says ‘slave’ as opposed to ‘Kyrios’ v. 11, cf. Ga 4:1; Col 3:22f. Christ as man led a life of submission and humble obedience, v. 8. This is probably a reference to the ‘servant’ of Is 52:13-53:12, cf. Is 42:1;  Footnote ⁱ says “Not just ‘a human being’ but a human being ‘like others’; sharing all the weaknesses of the human condition apart from sin”; and Footnote ^j  says “Lit. ‘And in fashion found as man’.”

7.       Ps 110:1 - The Messiah: king and priest^a Yahweh’s oracle to you, my Lord, ‘Sit at my right hand^b and I will make your enemies a footstool^c  for you. Footnote ^a  says “The prerogatives of the Messiah, worldwide sovereignty and perpetual priesthood, cf. 2 S 7:1+; Zc 6:12-13, are no more conferred by earthly investiture than were those of the mysterious Melchizedek (Gn 14:18+. V. 1 is accepted in the NT epistles and elsewhere as a prophecy of the ascension of Christ to the right hand of the Father;  Footnote ^b says “The risen Christ is seated at the right hand of the Father, Rm 8:34, Heb 10:12, 1 P 3:22”; and Footnote ^c   says “Cf. Jos 10:24; Dn 7:14.”

8.       Ac 2:33 - Now raised to the heights by God’s right hand,^s he has received from the father the Holy Spirit, who was promised,^t and what you see and hear is the outpouring of that Spirit. Footnote ^s says  “Words borrowed from Ps. 118 (v.16 LXX ‘The right hand of the Lord has raised me up’) used in their preaching by the apostles who took it to be messianic: Ac 4:11, 1 P 2:7, Mt 21:9p,42p, 23:39, Lk 13:35, Jn 12:13, Heb 13:6. But it is possible to translate. ‘ Having raised up to the right hand of God’ and to se in this an introduction to the quotation (v.34) of Ps. 110); which is another name of Apostolic preaching: Mt. 22:44p,26:64p, Mk 16:19, Ac 7:55,56, Rm 8:34, 1Co. 15:25, Ep. 1:20 Col. 3:1, Heb. 1:3,13, 8:1, 10:12, 12:2, 1 P.3:22”; and Footnote ^t says “According to the prophets, the gif of the Spirit would characterize  the messianic era, Ex. 36:27+. Peter explains the miracle his bearers have witnessed as the ‘pouring out’ of this spirit, foretold in Jl 3:1-2 by the risen Christ”.

9.       Lk 2:34 - Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “You see this child: he is destined for the fall and the rising of many in Israel, destined to be a sign that is rejected-

Verse 3 and 4 say: Think of the way he stood such opposition from sinners^a and then you will not give up for want of courage. In the fight against sin, you have not yet had to keep fighting to the point of death. Footnote  ^a says “Lit. ‘endured contradictions of sinners against himself’; var. ‘…against themselves’”.

Parallel text is from Heb 10:32 that says: Remember all the sufferings that you had to meet  after you had received the light,^d  in earlier days. Footnote ^d says “‘Enlightenment’ or ‘illumination’ in NT as in patristic writers always refers to baptism, 6:4; Ep 5:14 (cf Rm 6:4+).”

“Fire upon the earth” that Jesus Christ mentioned I today’s gospel narrative, refers to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, as said by internet sources (viz.):  (Paste here all online sources)

An article by Pastor Richard P. Bucher, Th. D, "Casting Fire Upon the Earth" from  www.orlutheran.com:

“He was talking about the baptism of his death and resurrection. For truly baptism is a death and resurrection. But once Jesus underwent his “baptism,” then he could, and did, cast fire on the earth, that is, gave the Spirit to his church. From that day until this the fire of the Spirit has fallen on the Church, and through it, has set the unbelieving world ablaze; this raging fire has spread, bringing not destruction, but salvation to an uncountable number.

But the events of Pentecost happened only once. So how has Jesus continued to cast the Spirit of fire to the earth? Through the Ministry of the Word of God and those two visible words of God, the Baptism and the Lord’s Supper.

Where do we get the idea that the Word of God brings with it the fire of the Spirit? In Jeremiah 23:29: “Is not my word like fire, declares the LORD, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?” The Word of God, when it is preached or taught or read brings with it the Holy Spirit of fire. And when this fire comes to people through the Ministry of the Word, it accomplishes three different things.

1. It Ignites a Fire of Cleansing - Fire burns and kills and destroys. But it also cleanses and purifies, as when a forest fire removes what is already dead, or as when steel is purified of its impurities through fire. The same thing happens when the fire of the Spirit comes to sinful people: it cleanses them from sin.

2. It Ignites a Fire of Passion and Zeal - When Isaiah’s guilt was atoned for by means of the burning coal and the spoken Gospel, he immediately was filled with passion and zeal. A Fire of Zeal for the Lord and willingness to serve was ignited in his heart, which he then devoted his entire life to.

3. It Ignites a Fire of Division and Opposition - Yes the Holy Spirit of fire ignites the fire of cleansing of sin and the fire of passion and zeal. But on this occasion, Jesus was thinking especially of a third kind of fire which the Spirit of fire ignites: a fire of division and opposition.

In the very next verse of our text, the Lord says,

Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. For from now on in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three. They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law."

Jesus knew that whenever the Holy Spirit of fire came to people through the Ministry of the Word, it would ignite division. Why? What about God’s Word brings about division and opposition?

People don’t like to be told that they are wrong. Far worse when they are told that even the good things they are evil in God’s sight apart from Christ. It burns them up. They react to the Spirit of fire working through the Law with anger, opposition, and ultimately division. They want nothing to do with those confront them with their sin.

Yet it is not only the Law which accuses which breeds opposition. It is also, perhaps especially the Gospel. What about the sweet Gospel brings opposition, hatred and division? The fact that it is so exclusive; that fact that it says that only through faith Jesus Christ is salvation, forgiveness, and eternal life given. Because this message excludes those who refuse to turn to Jesus, it offends them, angers them, and often opposition and division result.”

An FIRE ON EARTH from http://www.ccel.org:

“If I might use such an incongruous figure, the fire that is to flash and flame through the world emerges from the dark waters of that baptism. Our Lord goes on still further to dwell upon the consequence of His mission and of His sufferings. And that, too, shadows the first triumphant thought of the fire that He was to send on earth. For, the baptism being accomplished, and the fire therefore being set at liberty to flame through the world, what follows? Glad reception? Yes, and angry rejection. Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, nay! but rather division.’ The fire, the baptism, and the sword; these three may sum up our Lord’s vision of the purpose, means, and mingled result of His mission.”

An article “Consequences of Christ's Coming (Luke 12:49-59)” by Robert L. (Bob) Deffinbaugh at https://bible.org:

“On the basis of these premises, one can only conclude that the “fire” of which Jesus spoke is the same fire about which the prophets, including John the Baptist, spoke—the fire of divine wrath. When Jesus said that He had come to “kindle a fire” He is therefore saying that He has come to bring about the outpouring of God’s wrath on sinful Israel.

How can this be? Elsewhere Jesus has clearly stated that He did not come to judge, but to save (cf. John 3:16-17; 8:11)? The answer is that Jesus did come the first time to save men, but for all who reject Him there is no other means of salvation. When He comes again, He will come to judge, especially those who have rejected His salvation.

How can our Lord be so zealous for this “fire” to be kindled, as His words indicate? If He is going to bring about the judgment of God upon sinners, and if this is not a work in which He takes pleasure, why is He eager for the “fire” to be kindled? I think the answer is simple—this painful and unpleasant (for both God and men, I believe) outpouring of wrath is a prerequisite of and preliminary to the establishment of the kingdom of God. In order for the kingdom of God to be established, sinners must be punished and sin eliminated.

The means by which God has determined to bring about His kingdom (“fire”—the judgment of sinners) is not just painful to sinful men. It is exceedingly painful to God, not only because men will suffer for their sins, but because Jesus Christ, God’s Son will suffer His wrath as a payment for man’s sins. Jesus said that before He cast fire on the earth He had a baptism with which to be baptized. This baptism is clearly the death which He would die on the cross of Calvary. His death on the cross would set in motion a series of events, which will eventuate in the pouring forth of God’s divine wrath on sinners. The sad reality is that it is not really necessary, because Jesus experienced the full extent of God’s wrath on the cross…”

Crucifixion, or death on a cross, in Christianity is symbolized by baptism, which means “to immerse”, “to dip”, “to tint” or “to die in a coloring vat” (See Robinson’s history of Baptism). The Sacrament of Christian Baptism therefore is the tinting or dying of a person in the color of a Christian with the hue of salvation, which is the mystical color of “orange” symbolizing the color of God that makes him a child of God.

The goal of baptism is, of course, to share into the resurrection of Christ, that is why, a person has to die first and experience the crucifixion that is symbolized by the immersion or dipping into the water of baptism in order to rise again a ‘new man’ into the image of the resurrected Christ. The end of resurrection is to achieve the end of, and relief from, all the miseries of life, which is liberation from the world and salvation in this life.