The Firestarter - A Reflection on Luke 12:49-53


 “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.”

Firestarter! I don’t think anybody has ever thought of Jesus as a fire starter, but by his own declaration, this is what he was. He said: “I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!” What fire was he talking about? I am not going to give you a direct answer to the question. Rather, I am going to give you three possible answers, and want you to see which one, if any, fits best in the context of what Jesus speaks about. It is nice to eat what other people cook, but sometimes it is better to cook for yourself, no?

 The prophet Malachi asked: “Who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the (people) and refine them like gold and silver” (Malachi 3:2-3). Is this the fire that Jesus came to bring — a refining and purifying fire, that separates—or divides—the good from the evil? Gold and silver go through fire for days to be purified, hence the analogy with these two metals.

 

A few years after Malachi, another prophet named John the Baptist would say: “I baptize you with water for repentance,” he said. “But after me comes one who is more powerful than I. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire” (Matthew 3:11-12). There are three possibilities here: a fire that cleanses us of sin; a symbol of tongues of fire that descended on the apostles at Pentecost; or final judgement. Again, check context to see which is the most likely.

 

And many years after John the Baptist, the great apostle Paul would write that our “work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward” (1 Corinthians 3:13-14). This is a  fire that will be used to test us at the end, especially those among us who serve in the vineyard of the Lord. Was Jesus talking about the testing fire?

 

Or, might Jesus have been talking about another kind of fire? I will give you a likely answer tomorrow, and also show you how I arrived at the conclusion.

 

Watch a video of this reflection by Aneel Aranha here:   https://youtu.be/mt2XgkuU8Xg

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