Fire, baptism and division

Reflection: Luke 12:49-57 The Gospel for this Sunday is part of Jesus’ teachings to the disciples during his journey to Jerusalem, where death on the cross awaits him. Jesus explains the purpose of his mission through three images: fire, baptism and division. What is the fire that he came to bring on earth? What is the baptism that he must receive? Why does the Lord say, he comes not to bring peace but division? After the flood in the book of Genesis, God makes a promise: “Never again will all life be cut off by the waters of a flood, and never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth” (Gen 9:11). Therefore, the Israelites came to the conviction that, to cleanse the world of iniquity, God would no longer use water, but fire. The fire of God is not intended to destroy or torture those who committed mistakes. Instead, God wants to destroy evil and purify us from sin through the fire of his Word and the Holy Spirit. This fire lit by Jesus is his Word that saves, cleanses, and heals. It is his Spirit, on the day of Pentecost, descended like tongues of fire on the disciples (Acts 2:3-11) and changed their lives forever. “How I wish it were already kindled!” It expresses Jesus’ burning desire to see the world’s weeds burned in the fires of his Word and Spirit. The images of baptism and fire are interrelated. To unleash the fire of the Spirit, Jesus says, he must first go through a baptism. This baptism refers to Jesus’ immersion in the waters of death. He will indeed be overwhelmed by the waves of humiliation, suffering, and death, but these will not extinguish the fire of his Word, love, and Spirit. The books of the prophets have introduced the Messiah to be “the prince of peace”; during his reign, “peace will have no end” (Is 9:5-6). At his birth, in Bethlehem, the angels sing about “Peace on earth!” (Lk 2:14). But now, Jesus says he has come to bring divisions. Jesus was only quoting a passage from the prophet Micah (Mic 7:6) to explain the divisions between young and old generations and among the family members. The Words of Jesus is the fire that wants to destroy all the unjust structures, inhuman situations, discrimination, greed for money and the frenzy of power. Many reject the words of Jesus because they feel threatened by this “fire.” They react violently because the Word of God disagrees with their projects of selfishness. At this point, divisions and conflicts arise. Today the Lord confronts us with the question: How fiery is your love? How fervent is your faith? Can our faith accept contradiction and ridicule without reducing us to silence?

 “Do not prevent them”

Coffee With God

13 August 2022

Reflection: Matthew 19: 13-15 Who doesn’t love children? Parents and family love watching them growing up. Being a parent is a vocation. But giving birth to a child does not make anyone a parent. A parent is one who accepts the task of integral formation of a child and raises him or her into physical, emotional, spiritual and intellectual maturity. Today’s Gospel reminds us of our responsibility to take our children to God. How often do we hear secular-minded parents say, “Faith is a personal choice, and religious beliefs should not be imposed on children? Let the children choose their faith when they are old enough to do so.” But these generous parents, ironically, do not give that equal freedom to their kids when it comes to choosing the food they eat, the dress they wear, the schools they go to, and the activities they engage in. Because when it comes to these aspects, parents believe they know what is best for their children and wish to give them the best of everything. The Gospel talks about people bringing their children to Jesus so that he might bless them. A faulty understanding of secularism and personal freedom prevents today's parents from bringing their children to God. There are many Catholic parents who do not consider religious and faith formation as anything worthwhile. The parents would not mind if their children skipped the Sunday liturgy and catechism to attend tuition classes and co-curricular activities. While giving their children the best of everything, parents no longer feel the necessity of introducing God to their children. It is the sacred mission of the parents to teach their children not only to aspire to be successful people in the world but, even more, important to aspire for heaven! “Do Not Prevent Them” Jesus rebukes his disciples who tried to send the parents and their children away from approaching Jesus: It is a moving Gospel narrative. Our experience is that children in grave difficulty are often given extraordinary parents, ready and willing to make every sacrifice. Parents of children with special needs turn out to be extremely gifted special parents. But these parents should not be left alone! As disciples of Jesus today, we should not leave them aside; instead, we must accompany them in their struggles and offer them moments of shared joy so that they are not left alone with their daily routines. Pope Francis reminds us of the lesson about the angels of children: The Lord judges our life according to what the angels of children tell him because these angels “always behold the face of the Father who is in heaven” (cf. Mt 18:10). Let us always ask ourselves: what will the children’s guardian angels tell God about us?

 

God blesses the choices you make with Him

Coffee With God  

12 August 2022

Reflection: Matthew 19: 3- 12 Once again, Matthew presents a catechesis for his community on issues of marriage and divorce and human relationships. Perhaps he was witnessing troubles in family relationships in his community and reminded them of the sacredness of marriage. The influence of the Judaisers and Pharisees on the Christian community was so strong because most of the believers who accepted Jesus came from the Jewish faith. Now Matthew reminds them of the teachings of Jesus on marriage. It is not an ordinary union of one man and one woman; instead, it is a sacrament – because God wills it in his creative plan. The world of Jesus and Matthew was patriarchal. On marrying, the wife left her family and moved to the husband’s home, becoming a member of the husband’s extended family. Both remained under the general control of the husband’s father until the father’s death. Within the culture, only the husband could initiate divorce; the wife could not. But, Matthew wished to insist to his community that Jesus denied the universally accepted right of the male within the culture to initiate divorce. The answer given by Jesus, “What God has joined together, let no person separate,” fails to convince many people even today. Many continue to raise the same question of the Pharisees: “Is it legal to divorce?” The Gospel answers – Marriage is a Sacrament – willed by God – and the Sacraments are for life; they are not meant for a short period. It is never easy to have two people united as a couple. The Word of God teaches us that married people are no longer two but one. But how does that logic work? It is the logic of love, surrender and sacrifice. The love between the spouses enables them to sacrifice their lives for each other. Jesus often compared his love for his people to the love between spouses. St. Paul would develop this teaching to describe the relationship between the Church and Christ. Love without conditions, total surrender to each other, and even offering one’s life for one’s partner are the principles of marriage. This is how Jesus loves his people - the Church, without conditions, even unto death on a cross. Whoever believes in Jesus and agrees to live by what Jesus taught would not consider separating from one another.  

The fear of the disciples of Jesus is our fear today. They say, “it would be better not to marry!” Many youngsters are afraid of making choices in life – for marriage and family or for religious life and priesthood. They are afraid of failure in their choices. Running away from making life choices is failing to place our trust in God. Pope St. John Paul II told the youth: “God will not make choices for you, but he blesses the choices you make with Him.” Jesus repeats his words of power and encouragement to us: “Do not be afraid, only believe.” 

  “You will pay for it”!

Coffee With God

11 August 2022

Reflection: Matthew 18: 21 - 19:1 Jesus gives us a catechesis about the unity of brothers and sisters and ends it with a promise: "I assure you that if two of you on earth will agree and ask for a grace, it will be granted to you." Unity, friendship and peace among brothers and sisters attract the kindness and providence of God. But it is not always easy to be in unity with people around us. There are disagreements and quarrels. And Peter asks, "What should we do with the people that offend us? If my brother offends me, how many times will I have to forgive him? Seven times?" And Jesus answered with an idiom, "Seventy times seven," which meant, “always.” You must always forgive. Our selfish heart is always attached to hatred, revenge, and resentment. We have all seen families destroyed by hate. Hatred is passed on from one generation to the next. We have seen siblings who, in front of the coffin of their parents, refuse to greet each other because they carry on old grudges. The devil succeeds in making us believe that nurturing hatred is a symbol of being strong and to love and forgive is an act of weakness. The devil always occupies himself among our grudges and destroys everything. It succeeds in keeping us away from the Lord who celebrates our repentance and forgets all our wrong-doings. When God forgives us, he forgets all the evil we have done. God loses the memory of the awful stories of so many of our sins. He asks of us only one thing: "Do the same: learn to forgive." Have you ever said to anyone: "You will pay for it". This word is neither Christian nor human. The generosity of Jesus teaches us that to enter heaven, we must forgive. Remember the Lord raising this question: "When you go to Mass, and you remember that your brother has something against you, reconcile first; don't come to me with love for me in one hand and hate for your brother in the other." May the Lord teach us this wisdom of forgiveness that is not easy. And let us do one thing: when we go to confession, to receive the sacrament of reconciliation, let us first ask ourselves, "Do I forgive?" If I feel that I do not forgive, do not pretend to ask forgiveness because I will not be forgiven. Asking for forgiveness is forgiving. They both go together. They can't be separated.

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