Fire, Baptism & Division
20 October 2005. Luke 12, 49-53: Fire, baptizein, and division
Fire, Baptizein, Division
- In Jewish thought, fire was always the symbol of judgment or divine punishment. But Jesus is not speaking of a vengeful and destructive fire, as one who would exact punishment. As we can see in Luke 9, 54-56, Jesus sternly rebukes James and John who plan on “bidding fire to come down from heaven” on those unwelcoming Samaritans.
St. Gregory the Great, Ambrose, Cyril of Alexandria and Jerome say this fire as a symbolic fire, like the Holy Spirit. Jesus speaks of a fire in the hearts of men (Luke 24, 32 as the fire in the hearts of the disciples of Emmaus). “Are not our heart burning.” And this fire as Jesus encouraged to be kindled.
- “I have a baptism to be baptized with.” The Greek verb baptizein means to dip, to be submerged. It has several use and meanings:
- as a ship sunk beneath the sea.
- as a man submerged in wine, that he was dead-drunk.
- as a student submerged in a teacher’s questions/exam.
- as a person submerged in some grip or terrible experience. “Malas talaga ako.”
= Jesus used the word baptizein is the last sense (d) to mean that he is going to experience a terrible thing, but through which he has to pass to emerge triumphant.
- His coming eventually means division. Over and over again, Christianity divides people— not just families, friends but even groups. We are presented with always a choice of priority and importance: which do you love most, your family or your God? Essence of loyalty is with Christ. As they said, “we belong to our families, our line, but we also belong to God.”
Points to Ponder:
- The fire which must be always burning is a fire burning in the heart of Christ; a fire that is not of this world, a fire which comes from God. It is the will of God that something in our hearts is kept burning and hurting. We have met people whose hearts are consumed by a passion for justice, peace and healing. We have seen people who have dedicated their lives for noble cause: they are in the hospitals caring for the sick, they are those who go teach catechism, etc. They have in turn set us afire.
· QUESTION TO PONDER: What person are you? Cold or Warm? Are you contented with just what is there, or are your hearts burning and desiring for something more?
- And inasmuch as we want to light up the earth with fire of love, to bring about a change, or a revolution of mentalities and structures, then we are also driven to the same baptism as that of Jesus. We are thus asked to suffer division, pain and failure and rejection; whether we are asked to choose between our friends and the ideals we would live by.
· QUESTION TO PONDER: Christianity is not just being nice. It means being angry at times, confronting injustice, making a stand. This Gospel is meant to shake us from being cold-hearted, into Christians with a stand.
