O God, who have prepared for those who love you good things which no eye can see, fill our hearts, we pray, with the warmth of your love, so that, loving you in all things and above all things, we may attain your promises, which surpass every human desire. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.
First Reading Jer 38:4-6, 8-10
The officials of King Zedekiah heard the words that Jeremiah was saying to all the people: 2 “Thus says the Lord: ‘Those who stay in the city shall die; but those who go out to the Chaldeans shall live.’” 4 Then the officials said to the king, “This man ought to be put to death, because he is discouraging the soldiers who are left in this city, and all the people, by speaking such words to them. For this man is not seeking the welfare of this people, but their harm.” 5 King Zedekiah said, “Here he is; he is in your hands; for the king is powerless against you.” 6 So they took Jeremiah and threw him into the cistern of Malchiah, the king’s son, which was in the court of the guard, letting Jeremiah down by ropes. Now there was no water in the cistern, but only mud, and Jeremiah sank in the mud. 8 So Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, an officer in the king’s house, left the king’s house and spoke to the king, 9 “My lord king, these men have acted wickedly in all they did to the prophet Jeremiah by throwing him into the cistern to die there of hunger, for there is no bread left in the city.” 10 Then the king commanded Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, “Take three men with you from here, and pull the prophet Jeremiah up from the cistern before he dies.”
Responsorial Psalm Ps 40:2, 3, 4, 18
R/. Lord, come to my aid!
Second Reading Heb 12:1-4
Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider Jesus who endured such hostility against himself from sinners, so that you may not grow weary or lose heart. 4 In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.
Acclamation before the Gospel Jn 10:27
Gospel Lk 12:49-53
Jesus said to his disciples: 49 “I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! 50 I have a baptism with which to be baptized, and what stress I am under until it is completed! 51 “Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division! 52 From now on five in one household will be divided, 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 her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”
Catena Nova
What could be meant by a peace which is not like the kind the world gives? It is a peace... stronger than suffering. Not a peace without warfare, but peace despite warfare, within warfare, beyond warfare. It is the peace of a soul that through love has come to dwell entirely in heaven and to share in heaven's own peace, regardless of anything earthly that can happen to it. (St. Charles de Foucauld)
Discipleship involves the readiness to tread the lonely road and to bear people’s hatred…. A division will go right through the midst of families and the closest relatives—fathers and brothers, mothers and daughters, even one’s own children. They will denounce each other and deliver each other up to death. Yes, Jesus envisages martyrdom as the fate of his disciples. The law that the Kingdom of God comes through suffering applies also to the disciples of Jesus. But suffering brings with it the promise that the surrender of life is simultaneously the acceptance of life. God will deliver those who endure to the end, and persevere faithfully in the hours of trial.(Joachim Jeremias)
When you are totally consumed by the Eucharistic fire, then you will be able more consciously to thank God, who has called you to become part of His family. Then you will enjoy the peace that those who are happy in this world have never experienced, because true happiness, oh young people, does not consist in the pleasures of this world, or in earthly things, but in peace of conscience, which we only have if we are pure of heart and mind.(St. Pier Giorgio Frassati)
The peace that Christ promises is not a peace that can be achieved by avoiding conflict. It is a peace that comes only after the great struggle, after the 'sword' that separates us from ourselves and the false peace of illusion.(Thomas Merton)
This age cannot be purified by fire if Christians are not ready to allow themselves to be tested in the same fire to see whether they are made of gold or of potash, whether their hearts and their work are of “gold, silver and precious stones” or of “wood, hay and straw” (1 Cor 3,13)(Hans Urs con Balthasar)
The peace of Jesus is the cross. But the cross is the sword God wields on earth. It creates division. The son against the father, the daughter against her mother, the member of the house against the head-all this will happen in the name of God's kingdom and his peace. That is the work which Christ performs on earth. It is hardly surprising that the harbinger of God's love has been accused of hatred of the human race. Who has a right to speak thus of love for father and mother, for son and daughter, but the destroyer of all human life on the one hand, or the Creator of a new life on the other? Who dare lay such an exclusive claim to man's love and devotion, but the enemy of mankind on the one hand, and the Saviour of mankind on the other? Who but the devil, or Christ, the Prince of Peace, will carry the sword into men's houses? God's love for man is altogether different from the love of men for their own flesh and blood. God's love for man means the cross and the way of discipleship. But that cross and that way are both life and resurrection. "He that loseth his life for my sake shall find it." In this promise we hear the voice of him who holds the keys of death, the Son of God, who goes to the cross and the resurrection, and with him takes his own.(Dietrich Bonhoeffer)
Christ's words mean that the peace he came to bring us is not synonymous with the mere absence of conflicts. On the contrary, Jesus' peace is the result of a constant battle against evil. The fight that Jesus is determined to support is not against human beings or human powers, but against Satan, the enemy of God and man. Anyone who desires to resist this enemy by remaining faithful to God and to good, must necessarily confront misunderstandings and sometimes real persecutions. All, therefore, who intend to follow Jesus and to commit themselves without compromise to the truth, must know that they will encounter opposition and that in spite of themselves they will become a sign of division between people, even in their own families. In fact, love for one's parents is a holy commandment, but to be lived authentically it can never take precedence over love for God and love for Christ.(Pope Benedict XVI)
Homily
Well, so much for “Gentle Jesus, Meek and Mild.” We just heard one of those passages that shakes our accustomed view of Jesus, doesn’t it? For how could the Prince of Peace tell us,Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you but rather division?How could someone who went about doing good speak ofbring[ing] fire to the earth?And how could someone who would not break a bruised reed or quench a smoldering wick wish that the firewere already kindled?
Perhaps Luke is giving us as much a glimpse into the the early church as he is of Jesus of Nazareth. So leaving aside troubling questions about Jesus himself for a moment, let’s focus instead on divided households of various kinds:five in one household to be divided, three against two and two against three? (cf. G) I think there are three kinds Luke may have mind: let’s call them Empire, Religion, and Your Fellow Christian – spelled with capital letters!
As to the first, by the time Luke wrote his gospel, the Empire had taken note of these Christians -- and not with pleasure. Jewish Christians were probably among those Claudius expelled from Rome in the year 49. Nero would later give Christians a bum rap when Rome burned while he fiddled. Peter and Paul, along with scores of other believers, were among those who wouldresist sin to the point of shedding their bloodfor Christ (cf. II). Such persecutions would continue for centuries to follow.
And then there’s Religion. By the time Luke wrote his gospel, the Empire had moved against Jerusalem, destroying the city and its Temple. In the aftermath of the disaster, the rabbis regrouped led by the Pharisee party. Because their religion's survival was at stake, they could tolerate no deviation from their understanding of Torah. So sects like the Nazarenes, following this Jesus, distancing themselves from the Law, letting Gentiles join their movement without becoming Jews first – well, that would not do under the circumstances. So one can imagine households divided, where followers of the Way might be living with those who followed the Pharisees —enough to seta father…against his son and a son against his father, a mother against her daughter and a daughter against her mother, a mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law(cf. G)
Finally, there’s Your Fellow Christian: probably the most troubling of all. And Luke leaves no doubt where his sympathies lay. His hero is Paul with his gospel of freedom, inviting Gentiles into the church without benefit of circumcision and most other prescriptions of the Law. In the Acts of the Apostles, with understatement, Luke speaks of “no small dissension” over the matter (15:2). And it’s more than possible some believers were handed over to the authorities of Empire and Religion by Their Fellow Christians, "false brethren," as Paul would call them.
Now I don’t mean this to be just a history lesson. Because the forces of Empire, Religion, and Your Fellow Christian can be just as fiery today and households just as divided. Empires have always found reason to rid themselves of Christians. We just celebrated the memorials of two victims of the Nazis — Sts. Maximilian Kolbe and Edith Stein — both of whom died at Auschwitz. And as we speak Empires are harassing and killing people for their faith — in Nigeria, Ukraine, Myanmar, North Korea, Somalia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sudan, Syria, China, Burkina Faso, and India. By some estimates, 1 in 7 Christians worldwide experience high levels of persecution for their faith.
Then there’s Religion. Some of the countries I just mentioned outlaw religious conversions under penalty of death, have stringent “anti-blasphemy” laws and proscribe or severely limit the exercise of religious freedom. An ISIS affiliate slaughtered nearly 40 Catholics, many of them children, in Eastern Congo last month during a nighttime prayer vigil as they adored the Blessed Sacrament.
As for Your Fellow Christian, there's no end to divisions among us either — and not just between churches. A recently published book by Jesuit, Mark Massa, calledCatholic Fundamentalism in Americareports on a small but vocal element that makes use of print and social media, blogs and podcasts, to push their traditionalist views as they pronounce judgment on others whom they judge insufficiently orthodox by their narrow standards. They were especially vocal in their antipathy toward Pope Francis. The newly confirmed ambassador to the Vatican, by the way, is one of them. Worse, they are often aligned with their Evangelical counterparts in support of the current regime in Washington and its Christian nationalist agenda.
So there you have it. Peace on earth? Perhaps on Christmas Eve, but in light of theopposition Jesus endured (cf. II)and the later conflicts with Empire, Religion and Fellow Christiansfire to the earth(G) was more like it. For the LORD’s word, as Jeremiah also knew, islike fire .. .and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces (I).
But don’t forget,we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnessesto encourage us as werun with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith(cf. II). Who lives and reigns, forever and ever. Amen.
Intercessions (Joe Milner; The Sunday Web Site)
For the Church: that we may be transformed by the fire of the Spirit into a dynamic community of faith and give witness to God’s abiding presence and action in the world.
For this community of faith: that the Spirit will raise a sense of urgency within us to share God’s love and mercy with all who have no direction in life.
For a renewed inspiration: that as we recall the witness and example of the women and men who have gone before us, we may be inspired to offer witness in our society to the Paschal mystery.
For all who speak the truth to power: that they may faithfully witness to the truth without succumbing to pride, self-centeredness, or being judgmental.
For all who are suffering for their discipleship: that God give them strength, console them when they are rejected, and help them to respond with love and forgiveness.
For courage: that the Spirit will empower and sustain us even when the fruits of our pursuit of the truth yield division and confusion.
For families which are divided or in conflict: that God will help them to hear and understand one another and find ways to support each other on life’s journey.
For all who work in public safety: that God will guide them in their service and protect them from all harm.
For all who have been impacted by violence or abuse: that God will heal their wounded spirits and memories, help them find places of safety, and help restore a spirit of trust within them.
For all recovering from fires, storms or floods: that God will comfort them in their loss, give them strength, and open the hearts of many to be generous to them.
To set the earth ablaze, O God, your Son submitted to a baptism unto death, and from his cup of suffering you call the Church to drink. Keep our eyes fixed on Jesus and give us strength in time of trial to run the race that lies before us. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. (ICEL; 1998)
Offertory Antiphon
Offertory Hymn
Give me the wings of faith to rise Within the veil, and see The saints above, how great their joys, How bright their glories be.
Once they were mourning here below, And wet their couch with tears: They wrestled hard, as we do now, With sins, and doubts, and fears.
I ask them whence their victory came: They, with united breath, Ascribe their conquest to the Lamb, Their triumph to His death.
They marked the footsteps that He trod, His zeal inspired their breast; And following their incarnate God, Possess the promised rest.
Our glorious Leader claims our praise For His own pattern giv’n; While the long cloud of witnesses Show the same path to Heav’n.
Communion Antiphon
Closing Hymn
O thou who camest from above the fire celestial to impart, kindle a flame of sacred love on the mean altar of my heart.
There let it for thy glory burn with inextinguishable blaze, and trembling to its source return in humble prayer and fervent praise.
Jesus, confirm my heart's desire to work and speak and think for thee; still let me guard the holy fire and still stir up the gift in me.
Still let me prove thy perfect will, my acts of faith and love repeat, till death thy endless mercies seal, and make the sacrifice complete.
