Sunday Gospel Comment

Today Luke presents an angry Jesus, who gives a strong warning against divisions, hurts, feuds, revenges: at his time and ours, in families and in multi-cultural society, among religious denominations and Church groups.  Luke makes use of a well known proverb, which came into the Hebrew Bible from Prophet Michah (7,6), and talks about divisions between father and son, daughter and mother, daughter-in-law and mother-in-law.  With this proverb Luke points to and addresses the absurd and unwritten law about organized vendetta, ethnic cleansing, terrorism in every society at his time and ours.  Tragically, right through history and even here and now, ‘the sword of division’ continues to spell out endless feuds and pain: at Michah’s time in 731BC, at Jesus’ time 33AD, in Luke’s time 80AD, in the conflicts between Eastern and Western Christianity up to 1000AD, between Catholics and Protestants in 1500AD, and we deceive ourselves if we say that the scourge this ‘sword’ is not affecting us in our lifetime and in our families.

In today’s Gospel Jesus quotes on purpose Michah’s well known proverb about Father and daughter and daughter-in-law, to suggest that evil is a grim reality in every age, culture and community.  The ‘peace on earth’ which was so joyously proclaimed by angels in Bethlehem, is constantly challenged in our society and even in our Christian families.

Luke says: when in our very homes and communities, we get caught, as Jesus got caught - in the grips of evil divisions and hurts, we have no other choice, but to do God’s will - as Jesus did - accepting (as He did!) to offer our life, in order to stop or reduce the immense and irreversible damage that division and hurt will always cause for years unending.

 The Baptism of fire

One of the symbols of the Holy Spirit is fire.  At Pentecost the Spirit came in the form of tongues of fire on the disciples.  Fire symbolises also the great passion and emotions that we have about our beliefs.  In this case fire has both positive and negative connotations: it can be a painful and destructive force to be feared and shunned, and it can be a purifying and creative force, as in the case of bush-fires: while bringing death and destruction they also cause regeneration and new birth.

Jesus for his part, speaks also of a “Baptism of fire”, and by it he points to his death on the cross:  he freely took upon himself the judgment and punishment owing to our sins, and thus he rescued, saved and redeemed us.

We too could imitate Our Lord in this redemptive mission:  when facing conflict, division and destruction, we could choose to follow the example of Jesus and of many saints (men and women); they accepted the baptism of fire and judgment, as an agonising mixture of impatience and reluctance.  Like them we too could become convinced that God’s redemptive plan requires us to join Jesus, as victim for the sins of all and for peace to be restored:  in this way we ourselves never inflict pain and hurt on others, but instead we own and carry pain and hurt, as if we undergo it ourselves, in union with our compassionate Lord.

Howsoever we see our role in God’s redemptive mission, Luke’s message is this, learn to face evil; it’s never far from our lived experience; it causes cruel divisions, tragedies, pain and hurt….  At global level, our generation has perpetrated horrendous genocides, holocaust, ethnic cleansing, stolen generation, terrorism….who will grieve for the victims and their families?  Who will own these atrocities of massive proportions?  It’s easy to say I did not do any of this and remain insensitive and patronising.  Thus we allow our society to continue to adopt what Pope John Paul II called a “culture of death and distrust”.