Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time
One of the greatest stories of martyrdom in the early church is the story of St. Perpetua. She was merely 22 years old when she became a Christian. Consequently, she was incarcerated for her faith and put into prison along with her nursing baby. While in prison, she got the chance to write her testimony. In it she talks about her father’s visit to the prison. For his sake and for the sake of the baby he pleaded with her to renounce Christ. She writes, “…my father liked to vex me with his words and continually strove to hurt my faith because of his love: Father, said I, Do you see (for example) this vessel lying, a pitcher or whatsoever it may be? And he said, I see it. And I said to him, Can it be called by any other name than that which it is? And he answered, No. So can I call myself nought other than that which I am, a Christian.” On March 7, 203, Perpetua was attained martyrdom when she was thrown to the beasts and killed.
Stories of martyrdom like this and others are part of our Christian heritage but they also very appropriate for today’s reading. The first reading is the account of Jeremiah’s persecution. I would like approach my reflection from the perspective of the second reading and specifically, the words, “… keep your eyes fixed on Jesus, the leader and perfecter of faith.” What does it mean Jesus is the perfecter of faith? Last week in the second reading we heard faith defined as “the realization of things hoped for and evidence of things not seen.” And the author presented Abraham as an example of someone, who without seeing the final result, was able to believe in what God promised. So for example, he was prepared to sacrifice Isaac without knowing the good it would bring. In a far more superior way, Jesus endured unimaginable pain and gave up his life on the cross without any concrete evidence of the resurrection. The faith that Jesus had in his God was unlike any other in all of human history. For this reason the author calls Jesus the leader the perfecter of faith. Because Jesus is the first of such an example of faith and because Jesus lived a life of perfect faith we are invited to live our own life “keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus.”
In light of this explanation and example, I want to offer three practical implications.
a) “Keeping Our Eyes Fixed on Jesus.” What does it mean, “Keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus?” To answer the question let me read the full sentence within which this phrase occurs. The author says, “Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us and persevere in running the race that lies before us while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the leader and perfecter of faith.” The author uses the analogy of running a race to make his point. Just as athletes keep their focus on the finish line, and just as they let nothing distract them on their way to it, a Christian should keep their eyes fixed on Jesus. In other words, we are being encouraged to live a purposeful life. A Christian is not without a goal, a vision, a destiny. And as Christians, neither should we have any doubts about our goal, vision and destiny – it is JESUS CHRIST! God’s words is inviting us to make sure that our life-style is consistent with our final goal. To do this would be an act of faith and to do this would be follow Jesus our leader and perfecter of faith.
b) “I have come to set the earth on fire.” What does it mean when Jesus says, “I have come to set the earth on fire?” Fire is symbolic of multiple realities. For one, fire has the power to purify. But then it also is symbolic of power. This is best captured in the Pentecost event. Christ meant both of these things when he says, “I have come to set the earth on fire.” Jesus came to purify us and reconcile humanity to God. He knew the destructive power of sin. He was himself the ransom for our sins. He came to purify the effects of sin with the burning fire of God’s love. Every sin is washed away at the foot of the cross. But then, he also came to empower us. As Jesus envisioned the post-resurrection Church, he probably could not wait for the world to be set on fire by the power of the Holy Spirit. And what a fire that was! That fire burnt in Perpetua, in the thousands of martyrs and it burns even today. It is Jesus who set this earth on fire with God’s love.
Both these fires should burn in us: the fire that purifies us (as Paul would say in today’s second reading, “let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us”), and the fire that empowers us (we must live each day in the power of God’s Holy Spirit).
c) “Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth?” Of all the statements that Jesus made, this is perhaps the most intriguing of them all. I have to say that it is not God’s will or Jesus’ will that there be division. Jesus came to reconcile humanity through love. In fact, his prayer was, “Father, may they all be one as you and I are one.” However, division is a reality and one cause of it is the stand one takes for Jesus. This statement reflects a post-resurrection reality where Jesus became the cause of division. Families were torn apart because some members of the family were choosing Christ. Think especially of those families were someone worked for the Romans. When a family member became Christian, the rest of the family feared for his or her life. Some of the people whose family members became Christian were high-ranking officials. One such example is Saint Perpetua. This situation may exists is some places even now. I also know people in our parish who, for example, become Catholic or Christian and the family lost its peace over it. Most of the time for us, though, it is stand that we take for Christ that can cause tension. I have certainly lost friends when I have tried to lived radically as a disciple. And perhaps you have too. But that is not a bad thing. We must “keep our eyes fixed on Christ.”
- Fr. Satish Joseph