Gospel Lectio Divina for Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time - August 14, 2022
Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created. And You shall renew the face of the earth.
O, God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit, did instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and ever enjoy His consolations, Through Christ Our Lord, Amen.
Jesus said to his disciples:
"I have come to set the earth on fire,
and how I wish it were already blazing!
There is a baptism with which I must be baptized,
and how great is my anguish until it is accomplished!
Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth?
No, I tell you, but rather division.
From now on a household of five will be divided,
three against two and two against three;
a father will be divided against his son
and a son against his father,
a mother against her daughter
and a daughter against her mother,
a mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law
and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law."
MEDITATE
"I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing!”
“Jesus!? You want to set the world on fire? What on earth do you mean?” That’s my first thought upon reading this as a responsible adult who is generally opposed to pyromaniacs. But then again, Jesus’ message still burns within me despite my inclination to resist reckless behavior. He is not encouraging reckless abandonment of the world, but he is encouraging abandonment of it. In fact, that seems to be a central theme to the entire gospel: Cast away your concerns for the
earth. “Store up your treasures in heaven,” as we heard in last week’s Gospel. As dramatic and radical as Jesus’ teachings may sound sometimes, he definitely is consistent, nonetheless. Don’t cling to this world. It will pass away. It will go up in flames. All of this will perish. Keep your eyes on heaven. Learn the biblical virtues at any cost: charity, faith, hope, justice, temperance, fortitude, and prudence. These are treasures in heaven. Jesus wishes everything in this world would go up in flames because of how much it all distracts us from these treasures, from love for him.
“Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division.”
Let’s continue to address the hard sayings of Christ, because that’s often where we get tripped up in the faith; or at least for me, that’s where I have the most trouble believing. At the same time though, Jesus’ paradoxical, enigmatic, eccentric teachings are often what make the gospel so appealing. He does not teach like other teachers. His teachings have a bit of a bite.
In addition, he backs up his hard sayings with his own life. In the way he lived, he abandoned this world, violently suffered, was ridiculed and killed. His life was not peaceful, so it’s no wonder he points out the fact that a life lived for him will not be peaceful. As he says, a servant is not better than his master. If he had to suffer, so will we. His hard sayings are designed to prepare us for that. It’s tough.
He came to bring division. In another place, he said “Unless you hate your father and mother you’re not worthy to be my disciple.” His word choices in these instances seem harsh. But this is how far he has to go to point out that our relationship with God is infinitely more important than any relationship we have here on earth. When he uses the word “hate” he does not mean “despise”. He means we should care less about our parents than we do about God. Similarly, in
this passage, when he says he came to bring division, he does not mean “conflict”. He is saying we need to make a choice. Will we stand with those who oppose God, even if they are a family member, or will we stand with God? Inevitably, there will be times when we have to leave our family behind if we choose God. At some point we will have to draw a line and choose a side if we follow Christ.
PRAY
Dear God,
While I struggle to leave this world and all of its pleasures behind, I am encouraged by your message because the world also often disappoints. It promises one thing and then gives something else, or takes away what it gave. You are not like that. You are an abundant font of grace that seeks nothing in return but love and gratitude. Even those things are gifts from you, because you are their ultimate source. So, help me to cast aside everything I treasure in this world, even my loving relationships–because if I do not put you first then even the love I have in those relationships is disordered. I ask for the strength to do your will, because it is so contrary to earthly wisdom.
LISTEN
In his book City of God, St. Augustine wrote about two cities, the City of Man and the City of God. In the former, men live for the self even to the contempt of God, and in the latter men live for God even to the contempt of man. His wisdom here seems to be a reflection on this week’s Gospel. Can I leave behind all that I desire in this world and live for God’s kingdom. The more I try the harder it becomes, it seems. When prayer seems to not be working, when the temptations of this life pull at us too strongly, let’s remember to just listen. So often, I try to climb the
mountain of holiness to get to the City of God. Dante’s concept of Purgatory probably contributes to this thought, since in his Divine Comedy, Purgatory is a mountain. But the truth is, God’s kingdom is all around us if we have the eyes to see it. We simply have to quiet our hearts and we will see his design in everything. It’s just covered in the muck of man, underneath the millennia of debris brought about by our destructive human nature. But the deeper we reach, the more we seek, the more we will see. At the core of contemplation is a quiet heart. That means shutting out all of our concerns for our own lives and what’s happening in the world, and looking at the big picture. We get so caught up in our everyday affairs that we often forget how God sees everything at once from his throne in heaven. From there, there is a silence that would leave us speechless. It’s a silence where we can contemplate the wonders and mysteries of God’s entire creation and God himself, and Jesus is inviting us to be there with him.
Kilby is a freelance writer from New Jersey and managing editor of Catholic World Report.
