Jesus said to his disciples, “I came to cast fire upon the earth; and would that it were already kindled! I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how I am constrained until it is accomplished! Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division; for henceforth in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three; they will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against her mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law."
St. Luke 12:49-53
Man has long sensed the power of God as it can be found within the laws of nature. Whether it be raging storms, or lightning and thunder, or uncontrollable forest fires, the realization of this power is so ancient that we see images such as floods and wind and fire as a normal part of religious expression. Man has always seen the dual nature in such things: things which can serve purposes necessary for life, can also bring about the destruction of life.
Jesus uses just such an image when He says, “I came to cast fire upon the earth; and would that it were already kindled!” What does He mean when He says that He has come to cast fire upon the earth? We know that fire can have a good effect, but we also know that it can cause tremendous damage. When fire is controlled it can be beneficial and purifying, but when it is uncontrolled it can destroy everything in its path.
By using this image of fire, our Lord was using a familiar image. Fire had become an important religious symbol for the Jews. The sacrifices offered to God were animals burned as holocausts. Over time, fire came to signify the spiritual aspect of man’s sacrificial offering. Fire was also a sign of God’s intervention in human life. Through fire God destroyed the evil and punished the wicked. At the time of the exodus, it was by the pillar of fire that He guided the Children of Israel as they journeyed toward the Promised Land. Fire came to symbolize God Himself, and we read in Scripture that God is “a devouring fire.”
Our Lord Jesus Christ used that whole tradition when He said that He came to “cast fire on the earth.” He is saying that He has come to ignite the purifying fire of God’s love amongst God’s people. The presence of the Living God is a fire which gives light, and which also destroys impurities. It refines mankind, and it liberates him from everything which holds him back from loving and serving God.
This is the fire Christ brings. He brings us the life-giving power of the Holy Spirit – that fire of God which can burn away everything that prevents us from being what God intends us to be. This symbol of fire is the very energy of God, bringing all of creation to its intended fulfillment in Christ.
When we understand that, then we understand why He was impatient about it: “I came to cast fire upon the earth; and would that it were already kindled! I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how I am constrained until it is accomplished!”
Our Lord knows that He is the first one who will be submitting to this fire of the Father’s love – this baptism, this love which will lead Him through death on to the resurrection and ascension. Our Lord knows that this passage through fire is necessary for the salvation of the world; and yet, at the same time, it will be painful – not just physically painful, but even more, spiritually painful. In fact, during Christ’s passion, beginning in the Garden of Gethsemane, it was so painful to Him that He sweat great drops of blood, and that deep spiritual pain continued until His final cry on the Cross: “It is finished.”
But Christ says more in this Gospel passage. One of the results of this fire is that He will bring division rather than peace. And here is something of the paradox of the peacemaker – that he may indeed be the occasion of conflict. Jesus is, of course, the Prince of Peace. He is, above all things, the One who reconciles, the One who brings about atonement. Yet He says that the effect of His coming is not to give peace on earth, but rather, to bring “division.” Why is this? Because it is impossible to be completely faithful to the truth without sometimes being at odds – or even at war – with the world.
Of course, the Christian must always try to be the peacemaker. St. Paul writes to the Romans, “If possible, so far as it depends upon you, live peaceably with all.” But the Christian who faithfully bears witness to Christ – the one who is on fire for Christ – is inevitably going to be the victim of misunderstanding and hostility, no matter how gentle and tactful he might be. In fact, Jesus warned us that we should be worried if the whole world loves us. This is part of what He means when He says that He comes “to cast fire upon the earth.”
In trying to be a faithful follower of Christ, it is not always easy, nor is it always pleasant, nor does it always bring a warm feeling of peace. The most devout believer can have a sense of inner turmoil from time to time. The real follower of Christ knows how imperfect a disciple he is. There is always the need to know more of God, and to better discern His will so that we can be more closely conformed to Christ. This, too, is a “fire” within us. It is the fire of God which drives us on. And yet it is a fire that can cause a feeling of division within us, because every one of us is in the process of being purified. Every one of us should be struggling toward that transformation into the new man God intends us to be.
This fire comes through the sacraments. The fire is lit through baptism and confirmation. We keep the fire stoked through confession and the Mass. And it continues to burn through our life of prayer – taking part in the Mass, spending time in adoration, praying with others, and through our works of charity.
This is the fire which burns away everything that is not holy, everything that is not true – and it prepares us for our real destiny, our final destiny, which is eternal life with Almighty God.
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Painting: "The Resurrection" detail from the Altarpiece of St. Zeno of Verona
by Andrea Mantegna (1431-1506)