Last week there was a large grass fire across the border in Oklahoma. We hardly noticed, but the fear and respect for the destructive power of a range fire, that ironically cleanses the land and prepares for a luxurious spring, in the moment of its burning blazes blown by gusting winds that tend to change directions and adds to its unpredictability is a horror. This is the image of the spiritual fire that the Holy Spirit inevitably brings to every true disciple. Whether it comes early or late in life, the reality of confronting the world, the flesh, the devil, is made manifest in the Divine transformation that must be part of every conversion of a human soul to the truth, beauty and goodness of the person of Jesus Christ.
So, it should not surprise us, that Jesus speaks in this shocking and hyperbolic way, “I have come not for peace, but for division.” Ultimately we must all decide whether we are driven by the lust of the flesh, the greed of the world, the pride of the evil one, these are the most potent of the 7 cardinal sins that are the genesis of a life of destruction and war, most intimately the destruction of family and marriage, the destruction of our parish family, or are we to be driven by the Spirit of love, a love willing to lay down one’s life, willing to suffer rejection, even violence.
We are, metaphorically, to recognize that if we are faithful and true, there will be moments in life when we are at odds with the flesh, with the world, with the devil and they naturally respond with violent hatred. Jesus says in his passion, if the world hates you, know that it hated me first. But this image of Jeremiah, this true suffering servant thrown into the mud at the bottom of a well to die, is the necessary rejection of the way, the truth and the life proclaimed by a true prophet. In my youth, I helped my father clean out the mud at the bottom of 15 foot cistern that was fed by our farm pond. Its not pretty down there. This persecution of Jeremiah takes place during the Babylonian and Egyptian wars that end with Babylon leveling Jerusalem and taking most of the citizens into exile, as Babylon becomes the dominant power in the Middle East. But Jeremiah is allowed to escape with a small group who go down into Egypt. Is it any wonder that Jeremiah is one of the mentioned possibilities, with John the Baptist, and Elijah, of the identity of Jesus of Nazareth, who do people say that I am?. Is it any wonder that the suffering servant, Jeremiah is seen as a prefiguring of the Christ, the type of prophetic voice that must become part of every disciple of the Christ.
Jesus explains that the primary effect of the Spirit’s coming will be to make the disciples his witnesses; “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria to the ends of the earth. Acts 1;6. This observation come from “Baptism in the Holy Spirit’ by the International Catholic Charismatic Renewal Services Doctrinal Commission copyrighted in 2012 and recently reprinted. On Pentecost Sunday, 2008, Pope Benedict XVI spoke these remarkable words, “Today, I would like to extend this invitation to everyone. Let us rediscover, dear brothers and sisters the beauty of being baptized in the Holy Spirit, let us be aware again of our baptism and our confirmation, sources of grace that are always present. Let us ask the Virgin Mary to obtain a renewed Pentecost for the Church again today, a Pentecost that will spread in everyone the joy of living and witnessing to the Gospel.” He then continues to describe it like a waterfall able to purify every heart, to extinguish the flames of evil and ignite the fire of divine love in the world.
This is what we are talking about, the fire of divine love let loose in the world. Fire can be both destructive and purifying. The so-called discovery of fire by man is one of the pivotal points of human history and seen by ancient peoples as making them like gods. That there is inevitable division even unfair division three against two, and two against three that is part of the reality we live in this world and is the experience of Christ and all of his followers over the years. Even the good of marriage and family is corrupted by the weight of sinfulness in the world, usually somehow founded in greed of the world, lust of the flesh and the pride of the devil. The document from which I quoted Pope Benedict, says, Baptism in the Spirit brings about an interior revolution;” The document quotes the Evangelist, Mark, “Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father who is in heaven may in turn forgive you your trespasses, Mark 11. To open ourselves fully to the Holy Spirit, and that is what we are talking about, there is need for repentance of sin and forgiveness of anyone who has offended us, which is itself a grace of God.
When we are thrown into the muck of sin, we need deliverance and that comes through the Holy Spirit. Whether it is family or religion, or wealth that is the heart of the division, prayer is our first refuge and calling upon the Holy Spirit to empower us to faithful responses of love. The surprising recognition of the foresaid document is that, beyond our sacramental baptism and confirmation, every disciple must receive an on-going baptism of the Holy Spirit. The Catholic Charismatic Movement has, very imperfectly, brought to the Church a need to recognize the spirit moving in us. We are called to accept the divisions that this will create in our lives as we strive to give a perfect witness to the following of our Lord, knowing that faithful witness will be resisted, more than power, we need humble submission and willing and prayerful participation in the parish and family.
So the author of Hebrews, after giving a roll call of old testament witnesses, beginning with Abraham, that we heard last week, remember by faith, Abraham heard the voice of God, became a pilgrim, willingly offered his only begotten son, though we skip the parade of others that the author of Hebrews hails, he suggests we are surrounded by such a cloud of witnesses, recognizing that in Greek, martyr and witness can be the same word, we should persevere in running the race, keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus.
If you are experiencing divisions in your families, I would like to suggest the EWTN programs More to Life with Dr. Greg and Lisa Popcak that plays from 9:00 -10:00 PM weekdays on 88.3 FM and/or the Doctor is In with Dr. Ray Gerendi that plays daily at 12:00 noon to 1:00 PM, where 90 % of their called in questions are about how to handle family and marital disputes with faith. If you are struggling through religious divisions I suggest Called to Communion with Dr. David Anders which follows Dr. Ray from 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM. They give great insights into how to live in the spirit. And that haunting last words in the passage from Hebrews, “you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood.” That’s your blood not someone else’s. You have not yet become a martyr, those first recognized as saints in the early church.
https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ogbl#inbox/FMfcgxwLsJrrfQXcmFSnRlJgFdpqvdGc
http://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/apost_letters/documents/papa-francesco-lettera-ap_20201208_patris-corde.html
http://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/encyclicals/documents/papa-francesco_20201003_enciclica-fratelli-tutti.html