The Word God Spells

Luke 12: 49-53
Rom 6:19-23 / Psa 1

Do you think that I have come to establish peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division.
(Luke 12:51)

We must be bold to face the fires
Of life’s trials and tribulation,
This much from us our faith requires
For our own purification

Jesus said: “I came to cast fire on the earth, and would that 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 give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. For 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 father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.”

Reflection

We find many accounts in the Bible when fire fell from heaven. Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed by fire and brimstone in the book of Genesis, 19:24-25. Moses called down fire from heaven as one of the ten plagues against the obstinacy of Pharaoh (Exodus 9:3). The prophet Elijah also called down fire from heaven that destroyed the soldiers of King Ahaziah whom he sent to fetch Elijah (2 Kings 1:9-17). But Jesus was not talking about the Old Testament kind of destructive fire. Our Lord was simply conditioning His disciples about the baptism of fire that He would soon undergo, and which they too would have to follow. However, they would be given the fire of the Holy Spirit first on Pentecost so that they could persevere in their trials of fire in their mission to spread the faith. Perhaps Jesus was also making a prophecy about the fire of division that His Church would undergo in the future generations.

The early Church was almost divided between the camps of Sts. Peter and Paul, due to the question of applying Judaic laws to the gentile converts. Then came the breaking away of the Eastern Orthodox Church from Rome. This was followed by the fire of Protestantism that split Christendom in Medieval Europe. Even in the present age, the Church continues to be rocked by the so-called liberation theology advocated by some members of the church hierarchy, and the disobedience of Catholic Masons. During the necrological services for Bro. Nelson one afternoon, the officiating priest bluntly acknowledged in his homily that he was a Mason and started to defend his brotherhood against excommunication, much to the dismay of the conservative Catholics present.

Our own Brotherhood was not spared of this fire of divisiveness. Recently, an idea was proposed by the national governance to do away with the altar with its crucifix and image of the Blessed Mother during our breakfast fellowships in order to attract non-Catholics to our breakfasts. The proposal drew strong objections from many chapters and outreaches of the BCBP, and even bitter altercations among some of its members. In the end, it showed us that the fire of division is also one of purification, because many of us have gained a stronger faith for it.

Dear God, may the fire of the Holy Spirit transform us and fill us with boldness, that we may enkindle Your message of salvation in the hearts of other people. Amen.