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.” - Luke 12
I used to get fairly discouraged by this passage. I think I wanted Jesus to say he came to bring peace. With many years of ministry, in various contexts, it has become clear to me that Jesus is describing the result of his mission. It brought division.
I once heard a diocesan priest say he’d love to preach the Gospel like Pope Francis did, but, if he did, he wouldn’t be able to repair the church roof next summer. Another priest said he feared that if he preached the whole gospel, some people would just leave and go to another parish. I know I had the experience that, whenever I had the courage to preach the message of Jesus about dying-to-self and love of the least of our brothers and sisters, I’d get rough feedback from a few who’d say something like, “Father, stay out of politics and stick with religion.”
Fire, Baptism, Division
Jesus came to set the world on fire with the Good News of God’s victory over sin and death. That mission involved announcing the mystery of life: if we try to save ourselves, we’ll lose ourselves. He told us about God’s Reign in simple but powerfully counter cultural images: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like …”
Jesus came to be baptized into the mystery that, in God’s Good News, death is the path to life. He revealed that our baptism into his way of living is a baptism into his everlasting life. This Good News is the font of our freedom for self-sacrificing love.
Jesus came to offer us light in the midst of darkness, that we might offer light for others. He came to love and forgive us, so that we might bring healing and reconciliation. Jesus offers us his Spirit to accompany us and to gather us in his deepest prayer, “Father, may
Dear Lord, thank you for the grace to recenter my trust in your Word. In the few opportunities which remain for me, give me the courage to preach your Good News, faithfully. Fill the hearts of your people with the Joy of the Gospel. Allow us to enter into dialogue with each other on a path of greater understanding and unity. Enkindle within us the fire of your love and let us join you in renewing the face of the earth.
Rev. Andy Alexander, SJ
Co-founder of Creighton’s Online Ministries, Retired 2025
I served at Creighton from 1996 to 2025. I served as Vice-president for Mission for three Presidents, directed the Collaborative Ministry Office and co-founded the Online Ministries website.
I loved seeing the number of faculty and staff who over the years really took up the mission as their own and made Creighton the Jesuit university it is today. I was also consoled to witness the website – a collaborative effort - touch the hearts of so many around the world.
I’m now living at St. Camillus – a Jesuit care facility in Milwaukee. Many of my days are spent dealing with my own health issues, as I carry out the mission we’ve been given, “to pray for the Church and the Society of Jesus.”
