Hearts Ablaze: The Burning Call of Christian Faith

08-17-2025Weekly ReflectionFr. Albert

Jesus said, ''i have come to set the earth on fire and how I wish it were already blazing.'' Jeremiah, the author of the first reading, wrote, '' within me there is something like burning fire shut up in my bones,'' What is it that is burning within? The fire of enthusiasm. enthusiasm sounds almost too weak a word. Athletes can surely appreciate the ''fire in the gut'' feeling. Being ''fired up'' means maximal effort, the absolute best effort within you. There is fire-filled football on the two-yard line - on both sides of the ball that is never exceeded.

John the Baptizer who said Jesus would baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire prefigured Jesus. here it is! The disciples on the road to Emmaus on Easter afternoon returned the seven miles to Jerusalem claiming their hearts were burning within them when Jesus spoke with them. Later, tongues of fire strengthened the apostles to speak out fearlessly of Jesus.

Jesus asks, ''Do you think I have come to bring peace? No, i tell you, but rather, division!'' Jesus tells of the different effects of his message on different households. He tells us that his message will not result in having one, big, happy family. He said elsewhere that his word was like a two-edged sword. it cut those from Jewish culture; it cut those from secular culture. it led Him to His death. Yet, from Jewish culture, Peter led those people who listened ; Jesus' people from secular culture, Paul and his companions led people who listened to form a community who were called ''Christians'' for the first time.

Christian faith is trust, acceptance of Jesus; it is entering what philosophers call ''a new sphere of existence.'' The division of Christian faith is simple; either you accept Jesus or you do not. Christian religions, on the other hand, have creeds and codes. Religion is the institution supporting faith. A religion is a means, not an end. Christian religions, as we know, differ; Lutheran, Methodism, Baptist, etc. in the last forty years and a lot of meetings, there were fewer differences among Christian religions.

The opposite of division is unity. we remember Jesus' prayer at the last supper: '' I pray that all may be one as you, father, are in me, and I am in you; I pray that they may be in us.'' To have unity we do not need uniformity, but some, especially the hierarchy, maintain that unity requires uniformity.

May the fire spoken of by Jesus be the spark of love for Jesus that has taken hold in our hearts and grows stronger as faith grows within us. At times, it is fire that illuminates our minds with new insights and transforms us. At times, it brightens a scene of God's magnificent creation and lifts our spirit. At times, it becomes a driving energy as we face the hurdles of life as a fire within us to stretch ourselves. At times, it is the solitary light burning at the end of the tunes. Often, it is the wonderfully warm glow that emanates from this loving faith community and encourages us.