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"I came to send fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! But I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how distressed I am until it is accomplished! Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth? I tell you, not at all, but rather division. For from now on five in one house will be divided: three against two, and two against three. Father will be divided against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against her mother in law."
Then He also said to the multitudes, "Whenever you see a cloud rising out of the west, immediately you say, 'A shower is coming'; and so it is. And when you see the south wind blow, you say, 'There will be hot weather'; and there is. Hypocrites! You can discern the face of the sky and of the earth, but how is it you do not discern this time?
"Yes, and why, even of yourselves, do you not judge what is right? When you go with your adversary to the magistrate, make every effort along the way to settle with him, lest he drag you to the judge, the judge deliver you to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison. I tell you, you shall not depart from there till you have paid the very last mite."
- Luke 12:49-59
On Saturday, we read Jesus' teachings for His "little flock" -- at least immediately, this meaning extends to the disciples. On His way to Jerusalem and the Passion, the teachings begin to take note of the time that is to come, when He will no longer be with them. "Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell what you have and give alms, provide yourselves money bags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches nor moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Let your waist be girded and your lamps burning, and you yourselves be like men who wait for their master, when he will return from the wedding, when he will return from the wedding, that when he comes and knocks they may open to him immediately. Blessed are those servants whom the master, when he comes, will find watching. Assuredly, I say to you that he will gird himself and have them sit down to eat, and will come and serve them. And if he should come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants. But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. Therefore you also be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect." Then Peter said to Him, "Lord, do You speak this parable only to us, or to all people?" And the Lord said, "Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his master will make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of food in due season? Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. Truly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all that he has. But if that servant says in his heart, 'My master is delaying his coming,' and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and be drunk, the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the unbelievers. And that servant who knew his master's will, and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few. For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more."
"I came to send fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! But I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how distressed I am until it is accomplished!" My study bible notes that "fire on the earth is either (1) the fire of judgment and the anticipated divisions resulting from uncompromising loyalty to Christ, or (2) the gift of the Holy Spirit poured out as tongues of fire upon the disciples on Pentecost." But of course, we can see this fire as one and the same thing: Jesus has said that blasphemy of the Spirit will be the one unforgiven thing. This fire of love is also the fire of witnessing. And Christ's baptism is also a powerful metaphor of something two-sided: baptism is death and rebirth. He's referring to His Passion, death and Resurrection -- through which we will receive the Holy Spirit.
"Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth? I tell you, not at all, but rather division. For from now on five in one house will be divided: three against two, and two against three. Father will be divided against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against her mother in law." My study bible notes, "Jesus' words are tinged with irony. Indeed He came to bring peace to the world, but uncompromising witness to truth inevitably causes controversies and divisions even within households." Luke's gospel has repeatedly emphasized, in Jesus' words, the primacy of the kingdom over all other allegiances, groups, and ties -- even of family ties. This kingdom's reign is over the place of the heart, and links deeply within ourselves.
Then He also said to the multitudes, "Whenever you see a cloud rising out of the west, immediately you say, 'A shower is coming'; and so it is. And when you see the south wind blow, you say, 'There will be hot weather'; and there is. Hypocrites! You can discern the face of the sky and of the earth, but how is it you do not discern this time?" Here Christ turns not just to the disciples, but to the broad crowds, a message for all people. My study bible says, "These hypocrites are those who pretend to have insight into all things (here the weather) but cannot see that in Jesus' words and works the long-awaited Kingdom of God is dawning." He speaks to our own blindness, and to the power of God to be at work in the world, and yet those without eyes to see and ears to hear (that is, of the heart, where spiritual discernment lies) cannot understand it, neither its work within ourselves or among us.
"Yes, and why, even of yourselves, do you not judge what is right? When you go with your adversary to the magistrate, make every effort along the way to settle with him, lest he drag you to the judge, the judge deliver you to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison. I tell you, you shall not depart from there till you have paid the very last mite." My study bible says, "Jesus gives another warning concerning discerning what is right. Just as one should know when to negotiate a reconciliation with an opponent before suffering greater loss, so also one should know to come to terms with the claims of Christ before having to face His dread judgment."
Jesus speaks boldly of the time that is coming, when the earth shall be baptized with fire, and He shall be baptized with a baptism of His own, for all people. He's calling not just His apostles, but everyone into reconciliation with this time, this time "of the end" in which we now live, which His baptism inaugurated. Do we see divisions? Yes, we have seen this. But there are things we may not see. We may not discern the real signs of the times. We may fail to understand the Spirit at work in our lives, within ourselves, calling us to a reckoning and a growth and a giving, the willingness to change our minds. We can't discern what the time may be in our own lives sometimes, when something may be long overdue. None of us can tell the date of our own passing, which emphasizes Jesus' warning in yesterday's reading that it is time to be aware and alert, and awaiting the return of the Master. It's never too late to develop spiritual eyes and ears, to pray, to cultivate a desire for the things of God, of this Kingdom. But today is the day. The fire of God's love is here with us, all around us, and within us, waiting to burn away the things we don't need, and to cultivate its flame within us and to our neighbor. The fire of God's love is everywhere, but how many of us want to see it?
