THE FIRE OF TRUTH
Explicitly, the fire Jesus brings into the world, which is ready to burn is the fire of truth. The truth divides people for Christ or against him. As Frederick Nietzsche, the 18th-century German Philosopher said, you could tell much about a man’s character by how much he could tolerate.
Therefore, a Christian who claims to be a follower of Christ but can barely tolerate the truth is never an authentic person character-wise. Thus, knowing and accepting the truth does not only set us free but also as Usman Dan Fodio, the Islamic religious crusader affirmed, “conscience is an open wound that only the truth can heal.”
CHRIST AND THE TRUTH
Hence, true Christianity or Christian life strives on these three fundamental principles of Jesus Christ.
1. Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me (John 14:6).
2. Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31-32).
3. Finally, as John 4: 24 affirms, “God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and truth.” In other words, to be a Christian is to be truthful in actions, words and thoughts without any shadow or alteration of lies.
OUR THEME
In a world of divisions, where there is a divide and rule of interests and agendas in religion, politics, culture, social class and even family. Our identities, values, lifestyles and choices drive us apart without Christ being the Centre of actions, thoughts and motives.
There is a constant war of fire raging between the world and us. It is the fire of truth that either purifies or burns us up. Depending on which side are we, the truth or falsehood. We can never be on the side of both but one. We are either for the truth or against it. This is a choice we make or decisión we take daily in our Christian witnessing.
The fire of truth has no diplomacy, prudence, or relativity that is why it purifies or burns everything or anything untruth on its path. This is what the following Christ means to stand for the absolute or whole truth without any alteration of prudence, diplomacy or relativism
If no one is ever offended by the quality of our commitment to Christ, then perhaps we are practising “inoffensive Christianity,” without the ardent fire Christ brought into this world.
Therefore, the central theme of today’s readings is that we should courageously live out our faith convictions and principles in our lives, as Jeremiah, Paul and Jesus did. Even if, doing so should result in our martyrdom, rejection and society turned upside down or against us.
FIRST READING: JEREMIAH 38: 4-6, 8-10
Jeremiah, in our first reading, is presented as experiencing the consequences of the burning word of God within him. Jeremiah’s preaching divided the city and incited such opposition that people sought his death.
He showed the courage of his prophetic conviction by telling the king that he had to surrender to the mighty army of the Babylonian empire to save Israel. The result was that Jeremiah was thrown into a deep, muddy unused cistern to die for his “treason.”
The story of the fate of Prophet Jeremias in the hands of evil men for daring to speak out the truth. It is a powerful story of divine advocacy amid hatred, rejection, discrimination and injustice plotted against an innocent one.
Eded-Melech, a foreigner, and an Ethiopian court official spoke out the truth to King Zedekiah to save Prophet Jeremiah from the evil plot of the priests, religious leaders and the manipulated people of Israel.
The first Reading reading assures us that God intervened in Jeremiah’s case and sent someone to speak the truth and save him. God never abandons true prophets and authentic followers.
In the first reading Jeremiah 38:4-6,8-10, Jeremiah was punished for criticizing the wealthy and the powerful for their corruption and their injustice to the poor and the nation of Israel. He spoke the truth the king and his officials did not want to hear and he ended up in a muddy well.
SECOND READING: HEBREWS 12: 1-4
The Author of the Letter of the Hebrews probably attributed to Paul urges the early persecuted Christians and us, to look at the “cloud of witnesses,” the saints and heroes who have gone before us, for the courage to remain loyal in the face of opposition and sins.
In other words, the second reading from Hebrews 12:1-4. St. Paul encouraged the Christian community of his time to suffer persecutions at the hands of Jewish and Roman authorities. He admonished the early Christian to persevere in running the race that lies before them.
While keeping their eyes fixed on Jesus; the author or leader and the finisher or perfecter of their faith.
THE GOSPEL: LUKE 12: 49-53
In today’s Gospel of Luke 12:49-52, Jesus, too, preaches the word of God which continues to divide families, a word which, he knew, would ultimately lead to his death. Jesus in the Gospel declared that His teachings will bring divisions and conflicts, even within His followers’ own.
According to late Father Ernest Ezeogu CSSp., the gospel text of today divides all humankind into two camps, the camp of the godly and the camp of the ungodly. There is perpetual conflict, a state of war, between these two groups as one group strives to raise the world to God and the other to pull it down to hell.
These two groups do not live in two different parts of the world, they live side by side in the same neighbourhood, they live together under the same roof, and in fact, the forces of good and evil often exist together in the same person.
THE IMPLICATIONS:
i. The essence of Christianity is that loyalty to Christ has to take precedence over the dearest loyalties of this earth.
ii. A man must be prepared to count all things but loss for the excellence of Jesus Christ.
iii. The fire that Jesus brings to this world is the fire of truth that interrupts, divides and revolutionises us.
iv. It is a fire to re-set what’s fractured, put right what’s dislocated, and cleanse what’s infected with injustice, evil and sins in our lives, families, societies, churches and governments.
v. If your Christian life is not offensive to anyone, it is a conformed lifestyle.
Today, Christianity and Christians suffer a perpetual deficiency syndrome (PDS) called Lack of Truth by Christian leaders and Christians. This is what Robert Cardinal Sarah has to say about the Church, Christian leaders and the truth in our time and age. “The Church is dying because her Shepherds are afraid to speak in all truth and clarity. We are afraid of the media, afraid of public opinion, afraid of our brethren! The good shepherd gives his life for his sheep.”
THE TRUTH AND CONTEMPORARY CHRISTIAN LIVING
One of the most tragic realisations of the contemporary Christian life is the inability to face, accept or speak the truth. For many Christians, life is a game of words to gullible, scheming or outwitting others and getting what you want. So, we have a lot of fake people who posed as Christians but the truth is repulsive to them: pastors, religious or pastoral agents and faithful.
They live a prudent life that is 100% cent devoid of the gospel truth, a glorified and pretentious lifestyle that embraces the externality of Christianity but rejects its essentials; living in and with the truth.
They are touchy and easily offended by the truth. More tragic is that bitter fact, they can viciously attack the truth and violently distort it when it is unpleasant for them to bear. Hence, they create a false personality of being flexible, accommodative and friendly to any and everything about the Christian life but the truth.
While they label or brand any prophetic voice as harsh, direct, violent and aggressive. They also make many believe these voices are anti-social, civic and archaic to human or societal progress, growth and development.
Their Christian life and testimony are shadow, empty, fake and full of falsehood. They live and strive on lies, creating an alternative universe of lies to themselves, others and the world. Sadly, the world believes in them more than the authentic prophetic voices there are among us.
OUR PRAYER
Lord Jesus Christ: the Author and Finisher of our faith, following you has a price and a purification by the fire of truth you have already set burning in our hearts for justice and truth. Help us to be advocates of truth and justice in the face of challenges of injustice, racial, cultural, ethnic or religious discrimination, hatred, corruption, and evil. Especially when “holy and righteous” men and women would prefer silence rather than denounce them or take a stand against them. Amen
