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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!” Luke 12:49–50
There is much that we can take from these teachings of our Lord.
Not only did Jesus say, “I have come to set the earth on fire…” He
also said that it’s His desire that this fire be “blazing!”
Fire is powerful. A blazing fire, for example, can purify the
precious metal gold. When heated to a liquid state, the impurities
rise to the surface for easy removal. Fire can also consume. When a
blazing fire completes its burning, what’s left are only ashes.
Many great saints have reflected upon the image of fire as an image
of the purification God wants to do within our souls. Saint John of
the Cross, for example, reflected in depth upon this image. He
explained that entering into divine union was similar to a log
burning. At first, as the log begins to burn, it crackles and pops.
This is because the impurities within the wood, such as moisture or
sap, do not burn as the wood burns. But as a log continues to burn,
as Saint John explains, eventually the log becomes one with the
fire. At first, you can distinguish the log from the fire when only
part of the log is burning. But once the entire log is engulfed in
the flames and all the impurities are burnt out, you have a piece
of wood that is one with the fire. It glows and emits light and
heat.
When we ponder these words from Jesus regarding His desire to “set
the earth on fire,” we must first see this as His desire to purify
our souls. Within our souls, there are many impurities that need to
be removed if we are to become one with God, emitting His radiance
and glory. This purification involves a process of allowing
God to bring our sins to the surface so that they are seen and can
be removed. But this is only possible if we allow the blazing fire
of God’s purifying love to consume us.
Oftentimes in life, we are content with simply being mediocre in
our faith journey. We pray, go to Mass on Sunday, and try to be
good. But this is not the life our Lord wants for us. He wants a
life that is radically consumed with the blazing fire of His love.
He wants us to become so purified from our sin that He is able to
become one with us, sending forth the radiance of His glory through
our lives.
Reflect, today, upon this image of a blazing and purifying fire.
Use the image of gold melting to the point that all impurities rise
to the surface. Or use the image that Saint John of the Cross uses
with the log. God wants so much more from you. He wants to
transform you and use you in ways beyond your imagination. Do not
be afraid to make the radical decision to allow the blazing and
purifying fire of our Lord’s mercy to transform you. And don’t wait
for this to start tomorrow—kindle that flame today.
My purifying Lord, You deeply desire to set my heart and soul on
fire with the transforming mercy of Your love. Please give me the
grace I need to permit You to kindle this fire of love in my heart
so that it will truly become blazing and all-consuming. May this
blaze ignite me in the inner depths of my heart so that You will
shine brightly in my life, bringing forth the warmth of Your love
into our world. Jesus, I trust in You.
Image: Our Lord Jesus Christ the Universal King by Lawrence OP,
license CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.
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