The conflict Jesus speaks of in this Sunday’s Gospel (Luke 12, 49-53) is a conflict that comes from the denial of the truth. The conflict He experienced throughout His public life also had roots in this denial. Let’s recall that, very early on, when Jesus was in the desert for forty days and forty nights, the Devil tempted Him to deny the truth of where He came from, who He was, and what He could do. Jesus overcame all those temptations, but they returned again and again, even during His Passion in Jerusalem.
We all know how hard it is sometimes to hear, recognize, and accept the truth; the truth about ourselves, the truth about our behavior, and the truth about the consequences of that behavior. The conflict that Jesus experienced and the conflict He predicts in Luke 12 for His disciples comes, again, from one thing: the truth. He has always wanted His followers to face the truth of our privileged ways, our selfish attitudes, and our ways of thinking about ourselves and our world.
Thus, the old Biblical saying: “the truth will set you free” is right on target. People who live the truth about themselves and the world are very free. So, perhaps the “fire” about which Jesus speaks is most accurately “the fire of the truth.” Therefore, instead of seeing the fire which Jesus came to set as a destructive one, it might be just what we need to “get fired up” … in order to speak up, and even act up for the sake of truth.
Let us pray. “O God, fill our hearts with your love, so that loving you in all things and above all things we may attain what you promise – the grace of your truth. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.”
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Parish Announcements: Our third Family, Faith, and Fun Day will begin Sunday at 10am. All are invited! Please join us for Masses on the Feast of the Assumption (Monday) at 8:30am or 7pm (in Spanish).
