Today´s Gospel passage reminds me of a recurring phrase that is used to describe Aslan – the Christ figure in the classic children stories The Chronicles of Narnia. In the stories it is often said of Aslan that “he is not a tame lion,” and, indeed, the image we get of Jesus from this passage is not of a bridled and subdued Lord. Rather, He comes across as demanding and stringent. This would have certainly been the people of the time received His message also. At the time the bonds between family and tribes were supremely important. Thus, Jesus’ words about division over peace between family members would have been a hard pill to swallow.
Passages such as these shake us. They make us uncomfortable. In spite of the very important emphasis that has been placed on mercy and the love of God in recent times, this passage shows of the radicalness of the call to follow Christ and on the demands that are placed on those who decide to be His disciples. Jesus is not the tame or bland Lord that we sometimes paint Him to be. And this certainly does not mean that He is not loving. He is Love itself. But His love is not the permissive and bland love that is common in our society today. True love is not the common epitaph of “live and let live.” Rather, true love acknowledges the dignity of the beloved and calls him/her to becomes who he/she is meant and capable of being. Love gives itself for the other, even if that giving of self implies enduring the division that comes from speaking truth into the lives of others because we love them. This is who Jesus is. A God that is certainly and beyond doubt loving and merciful. But also, a God that calls us to a radical life of following Him without reservations or attachments. A God that spoke truth in spite of how this would be received or the division it would cause. A God that is not tame or weak, but that instead, was courageous and strong enough to endure the Cross out of love. This passage shakes us, but it does so because it shows us that love demands our whole being just as Jesus showed on the Cross.
Following Jesus may indeed bring divisions with hose we love. The assent of faith is not collective, but individual. The invitation to follow Jesus is not cooperative, but is an invitation to each of us, individually, and this may certainly cause disagreements. In our journey to follow the Lord we may take comfort in Jesus’ words today. “I have come to set the earth on fire and how I wish it were already blazing.” Fire purifies and it spreads. So, as we continue to follow Christ, may the divine fire of His love continue to purify us and make us more like unto Him. In so doing may we begin to increasingly radiate His love, joy, and peace, so that in spite of divisions we may, by our lives, bring those closest to us closer to God. As St. Catherine of Sienna famously said: “Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire”.
Santiago Torres – St. Joseph Seminary, Edmonton, Alberta
Fot. Mika Brandt/Unsplash.com