Disruptive Interrupter

A Reflection on the Gospel for August 18th, 2019:
Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Luke 12.49-53

Jesus said to his disciples: “I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! I have a baptism with which to be baptized, and what stress I am under until it is completed! 

“Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division! From now on five in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three; they will be divided: father 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 mother-in-law.”

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Wait… what?!  Did Jesus really say that?


"I came to bring fire to the earth.” (Luke 12:49) "Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division!" (Luke 12:51) I read the passage again and actually laughed out loud. At first glance it's certainly puzzling and seems like a surprising angle for Jesus. So I sat with it for a while—for a very long while. I talked to friends about it and looked up some commentary. I thought Jesus was a peacemaker. What was He talking about? I'm not sure I'm up for this. Life's hard enough. There is enough division around me as it is. Was Jesus really saying He is going to make it worse?


I know God is consistent. He never changes. He's the same yesterday, today, and forever. (Heb 13:8) So when faced with a seemingly confusing passage of Scripture I've learned it can be helpful to look at it through the lens of who we know God to be. We know God is not contradictory, unreliable, unstable, or fickle. So if a particular passage makes me question the character of God, I should probably re-examine how I am reading it.


If there is one thing I know about God, it's that He's love. (1 John 4:7) It's at the very core of His identity. 


I recently went on a silent retreat. I spent a week not talking with a bunch of Jesuits and they taught me that try as we might, we really can't understand the depth of God's love for us, for every single person—past, present, and future. Our limited human brains are just not capable of grasping love that big and that deep, love that is truly unconditional. If that's true, how could Jesus possibly say He has come to bring fire and division?


It's pretty apparent there are things in our world that are not as God intended them to be—violence, sickness, war, disaster, loneliness, rejection, pain. There are also some things in my life and in my heart that are a bit mixed up, that are not in keeping with the good plans God has for me—unhealthy habits, guilt, anger, resentment, sadness, pride, selfishness. What does God's unimaginable, unconditional, perfect love look like in a life and a heart that are a bit mixed up? It might look kind of like fire, burning away those things that aren't helpful, that aren't from God—the pride, the guilt, the sadness, etc.—in order to build something new.

"The peace He offers comes from a deep recognition of who God is and who I am in God."

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Jesus most definitely is a peacemaker, but the peace He offers is not a simple soothing. It's not fake and it's not superficial. Jesus is not offering us a pseudo everything-is-fine-when-really-it-isn't kind of peace. The peace He offers comes from a deep recognition of who God is and who I am in God. It's a better understanding and acceptance of the immense, unimaginable love He has for me and it's an absolute game changer. He's the Almighty God, the Creator of the universe, the Forgiver of sins, and our Heavenly Father. And, astoundingly, I am a well-loved child of God—not because of who I am or what I have done, but because of who He is and what He has done for me through Jesus on the cross. Jesus has been called both a disruptor and an interrupter. When we really meet Him, experience His love, and understand what He has done for us, our lives will never be the same again. They are forever divided into ‘before’ and ‘after’ our encounter with Him.

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And so, scary as it is, I'm slowly learning to welcome the fire Jesus brings as part of His love for me. I'm learning to welcome the division He creates between me and my former self. I'm learning to say 'Come Lord Jesus, come Holy Spirit. Burn away the things in my heart that are not serving You. Clear some space, and build something new. Amen.' 


​Morgan MacKenzie

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