I HAVE COME TO SET THE EARTH ON FIRE
We are in the midst of summer. When we watch the news during summertime, it feels like the world is in fact on fire. There are usually multiple stories about fires raging in various countries of Europe, Canada, the United States, or in some other places. It seems as if every summer can turn into a fire season somewhere in the world.
When we think of fires, we tend to think only of the destruction they bring, and they do bring much destruction. But it is the destruction that also brings life. In forests, the fires turn dead wood and leaf litter into nutrient-rich ash for the soil. By burning down much of the dense undergrowth, the fires allow more of the sunshine to reach the ground where new plants arise. Certain trees only release seeds after being exposed to the heat of a fire. The new plants that grow, in turn, provide food and shelter for a wide range of animals. In a way, fires are paradoxes. They are destructive and yet they restore life as well.
In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus says to his disciples, “I have come to set the earth on fire and how I wish it were already blazing!” (Lk 12:49) This eruption from the heart of our Lord reveals what drives him. Our Lord understood himself to be a man with a mission, and he ardently desired for that mission to be accomplished. Jesus said, “There is a baptism with which I must be baptized, and how great is my anguish until it is accomplished.” (Lk 12:50) Jesus knew what awaited him, his coming suffering and death. Those who crucified him thought they brought destruction upon him. But it was through his death that resurrection came forth. In completing his mission, Jesus returned to his Father and sent the Holy Spirit to his disciples.
What is this fire with which Jesus wishes to set the world ablaze? When the disciples were gathered together on Pentecost, “there appeared to them tongues as of fire . . . and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 2:3-4) The fire our Lord wishes to set ablaze on earth is the very Spirit of God. Setting the earth on fire is releasing the Holy Spirit upon the disciples of Jesus. The Spirit would purify his disciples as it renewed them. The Spirit would send the disciples out of that room on Pentecost to begin preaching in the name of our Lord. The fire was set on earth. It began in Jerusalem, but it is now ablaze throughout the whole world.
Each one of us through our baptism, has participated in the death and resurrection of our Lord. Each one of us, has received the Holy Spirit. We now carry that divine flame into the world through the lives we lead each and every day. A fire of destruction as well as a fire that brings new life. A fire that burns through sin and injustice here on earth so that new life in Jesus may take root and grow.
We are called to be a presence in the world that purifies as it renews. As disciples of Jesus, we participate in his mission. Through us, through our lives, our Lord sets the world ablaze with the very Spirit of God. Our Lord’s great desire is present now and in our midst.
Fr. Joseph M. Everson
易唯誠神父
