“I have come to set the earth on fire,” Jesus teaches His disciples.  He describes the result of this fire as a future state of division and conflict and unease – not peaceful harmony, but families divided.  Since I read this passage and have been reflecting prior to writing these thoughts I have wondered what He meant.  Why would Jesus seek to sow dissension?

Fire is a powerful force, one that the scriptures frequently incorporate to indicate the presence of the Almighty.  Abraham prepared an altar for a fire to sacrifice Isaac; the Israelites followed a pillar of fire; an angel touches Isaiah’s lips with a burning coal to purify him for the task of prophesying; Moses encounters God in a burning bush.  Many indigenous peoples incorporate fire as a cleansing part of their spirituality, through smoke and incense and sweat lodges.  Fires cleanse grasslands of accumulated dead and decaying growth, and fires rejuvenate forests as part of the natural process of fostering new growth.  Visiting a forest or a grassland immediately after a fire is a stark reminder of the power of fire, but returning a year or two later and seeing the incredible recuperative force of the earth to refresh itself through wildflowers and seedlings is an uplifting reminder of the genius of the Creator in putting these forces in balance.      

We all know that fire needs fuel.  As part of my reflecting on this passage from Luke, I re-read the sad story of “To Build a Fire” by Jack London, in which the newcomer to the winter of the Yukon eventually perishes because of his inability to properly build and sustain a fire.  Building a controlled fire that meets its intended purpose (provide warmth, cook food, etc.) requires attention and a supply of good fuel.  The builder of the fire needs to consider all the natural conditions and possible impediments to the fire or else the fire will not fulfill its purpose.

Why is Jesus eager to build a fire?  What is the fuel that His fire needs?  What are the intended results He hopes to accomplish?  The fire He wants to build is one in the heart, one that is fueled by the love and care and respect that He has felt and about which He teaches, and the faith and love of those who believe in and follow His message.  His fire is an animating force for good, not for destruction.  It is an extension of God’s presence in us.  Jesus wants this fire as His legacy – the fire of love by which Christians are known, a true kingdom of God on earth.  Jesus knew that not everyone can accept this love, nor act on it consistently and with conviction.  So there will be division, unrest, unease, since not everyone will accept or understand this fire of the heart in the way Jesus intended.

Ignatius closed many of his letters to his companions with the words “Ite, inflammate omina” – go, set the world on fire.  We have those words on an eternal flame sculpture outside our Harper Center building.  Ignatius recognized the fuel Jesus wanted us to burn and the need for the fire needs constant encouragement and replenishment.  While the love we receive from God never fades or diminishes, our human frailty means our love is not boundless.  But we know that by loving, we can love more.  We build and grow our fire with the kindling of small bits of love and turn it into a roaring conflagration with the logs of deep and committed love.  

And so my prayer today is for the awareness of how my fire is burning in this moment, and how I can grow it by watching for new opportunities to fuel it with the example Jesus gives to love those I encounter as much as He loves me and them.