"Fire"

Some years ago, Pope Francis, commenting on this Sunday’s Gospel, spoke of the image of fire. This fire is a creative force that purifies and renews. It regenerates us and makes us capable of loving. Jesus wants the Holy Spirit to flare up in our hearts. We need the Holy Spirit to not let us be held back by fear and calculation ... Thanks to this fire we are called to become people with a dilated heart and a joyful face (Pope Francis-Aug 18, 2013)

If the fire of the Spirit creates a communication of love, why is the Redeemer speaking of division, confiding to his disciples: Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division.

The Gospel of Christ is the best message of peace!

 Jesus himself is our peace (Eph 2:14),

who died and rose to break down the wall of enmity

and inaugurate the Kingdom of God, which is love, joy and peace.

Then, how can these words be explained? What does the Lord refer to when he says he came to bring - according to Saint Luke Division or - according to Saint Matthew – the sword (Mt 10,34)?

This expression of Christ means that the peace that he came to bring is not synonymous of a simple absence of conflict. On the contrary, Jesus’ peace is the fruit of a constant struggle against evil. According to the famous expression of St. Francis of Assisi, in the footsteps of the Lord Jesus, Christian become: “instruments of his peace.”

20th Sunday Ord. Time