Sister Kate’s “Gospel Question of the Week” (Luke 12: 49-53) …Weekend of 8/13-14/16 … 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time. In this weekend’s passage from the Holy Gospel, Jesus exclaims, “I have come to set the earth on fire!!!” This is a wonderful phrase and it aptly describes the whole of the mission of Jesus. He’s not talking here about literally being an arsonist! Rather, His greatest desire was (is) to set our hearts on fire with love of God and neighbor. Have you ever heard someone in the midst of a project that they are passionate about say, “my heart’s on fire with this job”? If you have, then you know that this person’s every desire is to accomplish this task to the absolute best of their ability because it is so important to them. So too with Jesus! Actually, the central theme of all of today’s readings is that we should courageously live out our religious convictions and principles in our lives, as Jeremiah and Jesus did theirs, even if doing so should result in our martyrdom and turn society upside down. What? Martyrdom in this day and age? Make no mistake about it; there are different types of martyrdom. We can be ostracized for our beliefs…we can be left standing alone for our beliefs etc. etc. etc. All of these are a type of martyrdom that we might suffer for standing up for what/who we believe! Think about it…if no one is ever offended by the quality of our commitment to Christ, then perhaps we are practicing “inoffensive Christianity.” Have you ever heard the question, “If you were arrested for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?” Hmmmmmm! The fire Jesus brings is the fire of love and the fire of hope. This FIRE can tend to “shake things up” and to disrupt the normal flow of the day. The disruption, division and revolution Jesus and his true followers cause in society by the fire of sacrificial love and the fire of justice is necessary to re-set what's broken in our world, put right what's dislocated, cleanse what's infected. God knows we have so much work to do in the world of today! We might wonder about the division Jesus speaks about in the latter part of today’s Gospel passage. In pursuing his mission, Jesus brings division because some follow him and others oppose him. The same is true today. We must make a decision to follow him or not, to share his "baptism" or not. This choice can result in division, even within families. On the day of our Baptism, we received the light of Christ and were instructed to keep that torch burning brightly until the return of Christ Jesus. In addition, the Holy Spirit was sent into our hearts at Confirmation to help set us on fire. So, as Christians on fire, it’s up to us to inflame people to care, to serve, and to bless one another. Let us remember that Jesus’ sense of love and justice brought him into conflict with those who exploited the weak and the poor…His integrity invited confrontation with the dishonest and hypocritical leaders…and his love for the poor, for sinners and for the outcast alienated him from the narrow-minded and self-righteous. C. S. Lewis once said that the Gospel was concerned about creating "new people" not just "nice people." Are you up to the task of “being on fire” with the love of Jesus? In 1993, the total attendance at worship services in the United States came to 5.6 billion. The total attendance for all pro-basketball, baseball and football games combined was only 103 million, less than 2 percent of the number who attended worship. We complain about a shrinking church membership when the numbers actually point to a shrinking sense of excitement and exuberance for Christ's sake. In the name of sports, those 103 million get stadiums built, get team franchises moved, give local economies a boost and get whole regions of the country stand-up-and-shout excited. In the name of Christ, how much more could 5.6 billion accomplish in this country in the world if they were as "on fire" as the sports fans? GOSPEL QUESTION FOR THE WEEK: Are you on fire with the love of Jesus or just flickering a bit?