Please read the passage before the commentary here.
I have come to set the earth on fire. Lovers’ hearts are on fire for their beloveds. Family feuds, on the other hand, fuel the flames of hatred and animosity in families and communities.
Jesus was baptized into fire and he has desired that the fires grow stronger. His baptism was into his death and resurrection. Our baptism has been into Christ so that each baptized person becomes Jesus Christ, and each baptized person will share in the dying and rising of Jesus.
What happened in the early days of the church is that in some households the baptisms of a few became a source of conflict with the others in the house. Sometimes the dispu0te caused bloodshed and death. The result of people’s confession of faith in Jesus was division in families and in communities.
The gospel of peace became for some a gospel of war and pain. The first Christian saints were martyrs. Even today, religious differences cause division in families and in communities. Even today there are religious wars and upheavals. Antisemitism and social conflicts often have deep religious overtones and undercurrrents.
The dominant culture in the United States is not Catholic and this puts pressure on us as we practice our faith in this culture. We are like Jesus, who lived in a culture that did not expect God to be with us in Jesus. He paid the price for this at the hands of the Romans. His baptism was fulfilled in his death and resurrection.
Since we are baptized, we are baptized into living in a culture that does not expect us to be Christian and Catholic, just ss Jesus had to live in his culture. If he died and rose from the dead, we too shall face death and resurrection. We need to have our baptism completed and our fire blazing to overcome hostility and bring true peace to the world.