" I have come to bring fire upon the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!"

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊

Jeremiah 38:4-6, 8-10

Then the officials told the king,

“This man should be put to death, because he is weakening the will of the fighting men and the people left the city. In fact he is not  out to save the people but to do harm.”  King Zede­kiah said, “His life is in your hands for the king has no power against you.”

 So they took Jeremiah and threw him into the cistern of Mal­chiah the king’s son, in the Guards’ Court. They lowered him by means of ropes. There was no water in the cistern but only mud and Jeremiah sank into the mud.

Ebedmelech went and spoke to him,  “My lord king! These men have acted wickedly in all they did to Jeremiah the proph­et. They threw him into the cistern where he will die.”

So the king ordered Ebed­­me­lech the Ethiopian: “Take three men with you from here and draw Jeremiah the proph­et out from the cistern before he dies.”

 

Ps 40:2, 3, 4, 18

Lord, come to my aid!

 

＊＊＊ 2nd Reading ＊＊＊

Hebrews 12:1-4

 What a cloud of innume­r­able witnesses surround us! So let us be rid of every en­cum­brance, and especially of sin, to persevere in running the race marked out before us.

 Let us look to Jesus the found­er of our faith, who will bring it to completion. For the sake of the joy reserved for him, he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and then sat at the right of the throne of God.  

Think of Jesus who suffered so many contradictions from evil peo­ple, and you will not be discouraged or grow weary.   Have you already shed your blood in the struggle against sin?

 

＊＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊＊

Luke 12:49-53

I have come to bring fire upon the earth and how I wish it were already kindled;   but I have a baptism to undergo and what anguish I feel until it is over!

 Do you think that I have come to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division.   From now on, in one house five 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 her mother-in-law.”

 

Gospel Reflection：

Fiery Peace

Read: Prophet Jeremiah is persecuted for being faithful to his mission as a prophet. Witnessing the Gospel is never easy; persecutions follow. But the model of Jesus must comfort and encourage us. Jesus forewarns the disciples that his Gospel will not be pacific, but will cause violent divisions among.

Reflect: How can the “Prince of Peace” say that he has come to bring division? Perhaps the key is in John 14:27, where he says that the peace he offers is not the kind the world gives. It is not a peace that is all about having no troubles or suffering or enemies.

 

His peace is a “fiery peace” that turns our world upside down. When one definitively opts for Christ, it often  goes against the grain of the world, causing rupture of relations.

Stories abound of martyrdom that accompanied those who chose Christ over worldly values and relationships. Yet, in the midst of all these, there was an undefinable, indescribable, unearthly peace that reigned their hearts. Christ offers such peace which can survive violence and death; not the ephemeral, empty worldly peace.

Pray: Pray for the fire of Christ to illumine our hearts to find peace only in him.

Act: Read a book/watch a movie about a martyr saint.