Reading
Luke 12:49-53
49 “I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! 50 But I have a baptism to undergo, and what constraint I am under until it is completed! 51 Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. 52 From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three. 53 They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”
Comment
Jesus, as a man, is fully aware of the sufferings that await him in his passion, but his human will is intimately united with that of his divine nature and that of the Father, so the expectation of the "baptism" that he will have to receive becomes anguish until is not accomplished.
Baptismós, properly the "immersion" in the pains of the passion, will be a sign of scandal for many (Rm 9:33) and the disciples themselves, at first, will not grasp the profound meaning of that event. In it, Jesus reveals himself as a sign of contradiction through the falling and resurrection of many (Lk 2:34).
The attitude of acceptance or rejection of the paschal mystery determines whether we are or are not participants in the death and resurrection of Christ. It is no longer an offspring or community of blood that establishes belonging to his "people", but faith in his redeeming blood.
Fulfillment of God's judgment on humanity, the cross, on which our sins have been nailed, is the place of reconciliation of all things, those in heaven and those on earth (Col 1:20).
The words of Jesus, who would already like to see the world burn with his charity (v. 49) constitute an example for every disciple, an invitation to aspire to the greatest charisms (1 Cor 12:31), to desire that perfection that is accomplished in the fulfillment of God's will, of his plan for our life.
Prayer
O Lord Jesus Christ, we recognize in you the Son of God, who became a stone of scandal in his death on the cross. Grant us to be built upon you as the temple of the living God. Amen.
- Rev. Dr. Luca Vona
