26 October, Thursday — Division

Thursday of Week 29 in Ordinary Time

Rm 6:19-23
Lk 12:49-53

“I have come to bring fire to the earth…Do you suppose that I am here to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division.”

Did I read it right? Jesus didn’t come to bring peace but division and fire? I must be mistaken! 

Before you react negatively, do ponder a little deeper instead of reacting to the words superficially. Our Lord is perfect in every sense, so He would never bring destruction and division, not without just cause.

Think of gold, a precious metal — what does fire do to it? It refines it, makes it pure, burns out all the impurities. In this sense, Jesus is talking about the purification of our soul. He wants to sanctify us and eradicate all the impurities of sin that are so ingrained in our human nature. He wants us to rise above and be one step closer to God, to perfection. I like to think that the holy fire He speaks of is the Holy Spirit. Like the tongues of fire during Pentecost, may the Holy Spirit ignite in our hearts a fire, a zeal for the love of God and all His Goodness.

The division that Jesus speaks of is that of good and evil, of the righteous and the wicked, of His true followers and simply fair-weather fans. After all, in Matthew 6:24, our Lord said, “No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other.” 

This really dates me but when we were children, we would play cops and robbers, and everyone wanted to be a cop. I think intrinsically, we all want to be on the good side. That was just a game. But when it comes to picking sides for our soul and eternal life, it doesn’t seem so clear, especially in the current social climate. As a Catholic, the choice is pretty clear – Jesus. I want to pick His side — it will be hard, probably I will get battered and bruised along the way and may feel defeated sometimes; but He gives us strength when the going gets tough. Care to join me on the good side? Tip — the good wins the war! The rewards won by Christ are out of this world!

(Today’s OXYGEN by Winnie Kung)

Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, we pray that you purify us with Your Holy Spirit, burn all inequities from our soul and cleanse us so that we may dwell with You in Your House at the end of time.

Thanksgiving: Our Purifying Lord, thank you for giving us the Advocate, the Holy Spirit. Thank you for dying on the Cross so that we can be washed clean by Your Precious Blood.