Setting the Earth on Fire


"I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing." (John 10:27)

This is not what firefighters want to see. Forest fires and other devastating fires have done more than enough destruction in our world. But, that's not the kind of fire Jesus is talking about in this passage from John's Gospel. Instead, he wants us to be fire-bearers, to carry the flame that Jesus ignited on earth and to keep it burning. It is his Spirit that started the fire, and we preserve it by uniting with a community of disciples to keep it ablaze. 

We have to have "fire in our bellies" to fan the flames into burning brilliance. That means to lift our flagging spirits and numbed bodies and spread the light of Christ to our world. One flame is bright, but thousands of flames make a formidable fire. Communities on fire can transform our darkened world into a brightness not quenched by hate, war, vengeance, or lies. By sharing our love, service, and kindness with all, no matter a person's color, creed, or orientation, we can "set the earth on fire."  

This is difficult work that cannot be done alone. We need dynamic communities aflame with the fire that keeps faith alive through working together for the common good. One flame ignites another and then another and another. Our willingness to commit ourselves to becoming "blaze builders" is what is necessary to overcome the evil in our world. 

This formidable task is not for the lukewarm or fainthearted. We must be like kindling wood that is kept burning by God's Spirit. Anne McGowan asks: "What kind of spiritual fires are we tending and stoking that will warm the weary, offer hope to the faltering, and illuminate divisions in the world that trace back to divine intervention in the form of God's firestarting Son? Now is the time for us to show courage and commitment that will set the world ablaze."





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