GOSPEL POWER l AUGUST 14, 2022 - Sunday  

20th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Gospel: Lk 12:49-53 

Jesus said to his disciples, 49“I came to bring fire to the earth, and how  I wish it were already kindled! 50I have a baptism with which to be  baptized, and what stress I am under until it is completed! 51Do you  think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but  rather division! 52From now on five in one household will be divided,  three against two and two against three; 53they 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.” 

The fire that Jesus yearns to ignite is the Holy Spirit, who  will renew the face of the earth. But in the mystery of  God’s plan, this transformative work of the Spirit will have to  be preceded by the sacrificial death of Jesus. This death is the baptism  that he speaks about. And because it is freely assumed in the name  of love, the Holy Spirit can turn the cruelty and inhumanity of the  crucifixion into a source of liberation and healing for the world. The  life of Jesus sets the pattern for the Holy Spirit’s continuing work of  transforming the face of the earth. In this pattern, glory is intertwined  with suffering and death; and new life is born at the cost of labor  pains. This pattern is a stumbling block for many and a cause of  division even in a household. Thus, Jesus’ way continues to be the  less traveled road today. 

Lord Jesus, grant that love may triumph over our fear of pain,  diminishment, loss. Let your Holy Spirit transform us into new creatures.  Amen.