In today's Gospel Jesus said to his disciples: "I came to bring fire to the earth." It is a very strong statement for the listeners of Jesus. The contemporaries of Jesus expected that the Messiah would bring peace to the troubled nation, that the Messiah would establish political stability in the nation,
and that the Messiah would wipe away all the miseries. Hence the words of Jesus would have definitely shocked them. After two thousand years when we go through the life of Jesus and of His Church, we find that it is literally true.
John appeared in the desert announcing the coming of Jesus and preparing the way for Him. The message of John caused distress for many. Herodias was troubled, and Herod lost his peace. He tried to suppress it by executing John. The birth of Jesus caused trouble and distress to the King. He ordered many innocent children to be executed. When Jesus began his ministry many more lost peace, and were troubled. The religious authorities were troubled and the people were shocked.
Every righteous man was resisted by the forces of evil. Because their mission was not to compromise but to challenge and change. Their words came like a double edged sword to the forces of evil.
Today's first reading is a great example for this. During today's first reading we heard that how Jeremiah was mistreated by the king and his officials. These persons of authority did not appreciate hearing the Word of God that was being prophesied through the mouth of Jeremiah. It cannot be denied that Jeremiah was delivering bad news to them. Like Jeremiah, all the prophets came with the message of God, and that message set fire in the society. All the societies were divided. One group followed the teaching of the Prophets, and the other group opposed it.
Wise men of the ancient past upheld the message of truth, but the authorities tried to silence them by force. Socrates came out as the champion of truth and independent thinking, but the evil forces rose against him. Copernicus and Galileo challenged the age old unscientific belief about the Solar System, but they were persecuted. Abraham Lincoln denounced the inhuman practice of slavery, and Martin Luther King fought against apartheid. Like them millions did fight against meaningless customs and outdated customs. Hence their existence proved a great pain to some. And their words spread fire in the society.
This is the exact mission of the Church and of every Christian. We are called not for a life of compromise but for a life o challenge and change. We have a rich tradition in this regard. Our martyrs and saints upheld this mission and stood for truth and justice. Today, following this tradition we have to stand for justice, keeping in mind that resistance and challenge will be part of our life.
Today more than ever, we need charismatic and fearless Christians to take up this challenge; to do the little that we can in our homes, in our work place, and in our society. The process of sanctifying the world through the institution of the invisible Kingdom of God on earth fall on each one of us. So there arises the Christian resistance to evil. In today's second reading St.Paul reminds us of the same message that we must resist sin.
Let us ask God to give us strength and courage to resist our inner conflict and stand by justice regardless of its consequences.