Robert Barron - Christ Came to Cast Fire Upon the Earth
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Peace be with you. Friends, people ask me sometimes: Where did the title of my ministry, Word on Fire, come from? It came from our Gospel for today. Jesus said to his disciples, «I’ve come to set the earth on fire». Other translations, «I’ve come to light a fire upon the earth». I remember sitting around a table at Mundelein Seminary with some friends, and we were trying to come up with a title and I said, «Well, I love that passage, 'I’ve come to light a fire on the earth.'»
And it’s a ministry of the Word, and preaching, and fire. And finally, it was Father Steve, who runs now Word on Fire Ministry, who said, «Word on Fire». And we thought, «That’s it. That’s the title». So it came from this Gospel, but I want to draw attention to something right away. Listen to how this translation goes: «I’ve come to set the earth on fire. How I wish it were already blazing». See, if you say, «I’ve come to light a fire on the earth», okay, but that sounds a little too cozy, maybe. «I’m going to light this little, nice, comfortable fire over here to keep our hands warm». The Greek behind this is «ballein,» which means «to throw»: «I’ve come to throw fire on the earth».
So this is closer, «I’ve come to set the earth on fire». This is not the lighting of a cozy campfire. This is closer to, if you want, Sodom and Gomorrah. This is closer to fire and brimstone; «I want to send fire which will set the whole world ablaze». Now, something positive, sure. Light and illumination and all of those wonderful things. And think of all the great preachers up and down the centuries who’ve done that. But don’t overlook how kind of dangerous this fire is. You know, it’s a fearsome thing to fall into the hands of the living God, we hear. It sure is. You think dealing with God is a walk in the park? Well, you’ve not read the Bible, Old Testament or New.
Now, if you doubt me on this, listen to what follows right after Jesus talks about throwing fire upon the earth. «You think I’ve come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, rather division». «Wow, really? I thought you were the Prince of Peace»? «No, I haven’t come for peace; I’ve come for division». And lest you miss the point, he gets real specific: «Now on a household of five will be divided, three against two, two against three; father against son, son against father, mother against daughter, daughter against mother». And in case you still miss the point: «Even mother-in-law against daughter-in-law, daughter-in-law against mother-in-law».
That’s how this Gospel passage is. Alright. Not a walk in the park, not a cozy little campfire. Whatever Jesus is talking about here, everybody, is something a little bit devastating. It’s a fire that is pretty dangerous. And is he a nice, cozy, warm, Mr. Rogers–kind of figure? Not judging from this. «You think I’ve come for peace? I’ve come to divide, and I’m getting real specific about it. I’m dividing family members, those who love each other the most». All right. How do we begin to make sense of this? And I am smiling here because people from my generation will recognize the dilemma. I mean, the version of the Gospel we got was «It’s all kindness, all gentleness, all the God of inclusivity, and the God who never challenges, and nothing but compassion».
And yeah, that’s one side of it; that’s a dimension of it. But you think the Bible doesn’t have language of judgment and division and fire, and well, then you’re not reading it very carefully. So you say, «Okay, okay, well how do I make sense of this»? We left with just this kind of fearsome view of God, «The Gospel is setting the world ablaze».
Think about this, everybody: Jesus comes how? As light, right? «I’m the light of the world». We say, «God from God, light from light, true God from true God». He comes as the divine luminosity. Will he be received positively? Yeah, by those who to some degree are in the light, right? If you are, to some degree anyway, properly aligned to God, then you’ll experience Jesus as this wonderful figure. But look, we’re all sinners, every one of us. We’re all off-kilter. We’re all not where we’re supposed to be.
So how will we receive the light? More like that, right? Think of, think of someone who’s been in a cave for weeks; they’ve been trapped in a cave, and then suddenly, suddenly they’re rescued and they come out of the cave into the light. Well, it’s like a torture, right? It’s like a torture to them, the light. And you say, «It’s just light. It’s beautiful light». «Yeah, yeah, but I’ve been deep in the darkness». «I’m the light of the world,» Jesus says. Well, yeah, and so a lot of people are going to respond like that to him. A lot of people will be desperately put off by him.
Can you imagine now a family, as he himself says, some: «Hey Jesus, he’s the best thing ever? Jesus has lit a fire in my life in a positive way». Other members of the family: «Jesus? Are you kidding? He’s a threat to everything we hold dear. He’s a dangerous figure». And lest we forget, we hold up before our eyes all the time the image not of Jesus being cheered on by the crowds but Jesus nailed to a cross. Everybody loved him. Everybody said, «Great». Everyone said, «Hosanna». Uh-uh. At the end of the day, everybody ran or they contributed to his Crucifixion. «I’ve come to throw fire on the earth, and this fire is going to be dangerous, divisive».
I keep thinking about it in terms of images. Let’s say you’re in the worst mood; you’re having a terrible day, and you find you have to go to this party. You’ve been invited and for whatever reason you have to go. You’re in a terrible, dark mood, brooding. Your life’s just not going well, having a bad day, and you show up at the party and everybody around you is just having the best time. There’s music and there’s dancing, and there’s laughter, and you’re surrounded by happy, happy, clappy people. They’re the most obnoxious people in the world to you. Am I right? Misery loves company.
If you’re in a terrible mood, you’d much rather be with people who are also in a bad mood. Suddenly the best, most cheerful people possible around you, it’s like torture, isn’t it? Well, this is the human race. We’re all sinners. We’re all in a, at least to some degree, in a bad spiritual space. We become accustomed to being with like-minded people who are also caught in patterns of addiction and hatred and cruelty and retribution. That’s the world we’re used to. And then into that world comes the light, into that world comes the Son of God. Into that world comes someone who is luminously right ordered.
What’s the reaction going to be? Yes, for some, it’ll be like a drink of cool water in the desert. For some, it’ll be like liberation. For some, it’ll be like redemption. But for many, if not most, it’ll be like being dragged out of the dark cave into the light. It’ll be like on your worst day being dragged into the happiest party. It’s going to be something that’s difficult and off-putting. «I’ve come to throw fire upon the earth». Well, you know, that fire is going to be very, very dangerous and difficult for a lot of people. It’s just the way it goes, everybody, in the spiritual order.
You know, Chesterton’s line «We’re all in the same boat. We’re all seasick». We’re all off, and so the uncomfortability of Jesus. But see, here’s the thing, is you cannot bracket this dimension and turn Jesus into just sort of a namby-pamby figure, nonthreatening. Consult much of the popular culture, if Jesus comes up at all, that’s exactly how he’s presented, non-threatening, nice teacher, says nice and encouraging things, and «I’m okay. You’re okay. I’m just here to help you and encourage you».
Uh-uh. That’s not the real Jesus, though, everybody. That is not the real Jesus. The real Jesus is this deeply challenging figure. Now, I want to draw attention, with all that in mind, that’s the Gospel, but look at our First Reading, from Jeremiah. Jeremiah, I’ve told you before, the message Jeremiah had to give was like the least-popular message you could imagine. God told him to say something so terrible to the Israelites that they just hated him. His message was «Okay, the Babylonians are coming and don’t fight them. We should surrender 'cause we deserve this punishment, and just cooperate and go off into exile». That was his prophetic message. Made him Mr. Popularity? Uh-uh, uh-uh.
Listen: «In those days, the princes said to the king: 'Jeremiah ought to be put to death; he’s demoralizing the soldiers who are left in the city.'» Well of course he was. He was telling them to surrender. «And all the people, he’s speaking such terrible things to them. He’s not interested in the welfare of our people, but in their ruin». So the king said, «All right, he’s in your power». What did they do? «They threw him into the cistern, letting him down with ropes. There was no water in the cistern, only mud, and Jeremiah sank into the mud».
Now, I want you to stay with that image for a second. Jeremiah, I mean, one of the greatest of the prophets. Jeremiah, depicted beautifully by Michelangelo on the Sistine Chapel ceiling. Jeremiah. This is what they did to Jeremiah, his own people, the people to whom he spoke. They lowered him into a cistern, and he sank into the mud. Try, sometime, going online and preaching the Gospel in a way that is really true to its fullness and integrity. Not tickling ears; that’s easy. Go online and tell people what they want to hear, tell them that they’re fine, and just go along with whatever the culture is saying. They’ll love you; you’ll have no trouble. But try going online and preaching the real Gospel, preaching the authentic Christ. You want to talk about mud? The mud that’ll be slung at you is like the mud into which Jeremiah sank. «I’ve come to throw fire upon the earth».
Now, that’s authentic Christianity. Jeremiah has been called by God to give his authentic message, not the one people want to hear, so it goes. And now, look at reading two, this wonderful Letter to the Hebrews. «We’re surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us and persevere in running the race that lies before us».
See, what’s the purpose of all this, everybody? So that the Lord wants to cast fire. Why? To burn away what needs burning away in us. To burn away our sin so that now we can really live according to his will. Jeremiah is preaching to the people to get rid of what’s keeping them from God. The tickle-the-ears message, that’s not going to help people. To do what? To run the race, to get to God, to fulfill your mission, to do what God wants you to do. Then you got to accept this cleansing fire. You got to accept the harsh word of God sometimes if you want to have the courage to run the race.
So, the Gospel, the Gospel, good news, uh-huh, it is good news, but how is good news heard by those who are running in the opposite direction? It’ll be heard initially anyway as pretty bad news. So it goes. «I’ve come to cast fire upon the earth. How I long for that fire to be blazing». That’s the real Christ talking. And God bless you.