The Fire That Divides and Heals

Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

17 August 2025

 

First Reading: Jeremiah 38:4-6, 8-10

Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 40:2, 3, 4, 18

Second Reading: Hebrews 12:1-4

Gospel: Luke 12:49-53

 

Reflection By:

Bro. Carlo Alexis Malaluan

Diocese of Imus

I met Elizabeth in a retreat in Tagaytay. We became friends and told me her life story. After years of living a life centered on success and approval as a corporate manager in a multi-billion company in BGC, she encountered Christ in a deeply personal way during a silent retreat. Since then, something shifted. She didn’t become a saint overnight — no one does — but her priorities began to change. She started going to daily Mass, simplified her lifestyle, and spoke openly about her faith. At first, her family was proud. But soon, they began to feel uncomfortable. “You’re becoming too intense,” they said. “You used to be more fun.” The same people who once supported her began to keep their distance. She was torn — faith had awakened something beautiful in her, but it also brought a quiet kind of pain: misunderstanding, distance, even rejection even from the persons closest to her.

Jesus’ words in today’s Gospel are not easy to hear: “I have come to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already blazing!” And then, even more jarring: “Do you think I have come to bring peace? No, I tell you, but rather division.”

This doesn’t sound like the Jesus we imagine—the gentle shepherd, the healer of wounds, the one who calms storms. But the fire He speaks of is not the fire of violence or vengeance. It is the fire of the Holy Spirit, the fire of truth, the fire of transforming love. And yes, that fire brings division—not because it seeks to destroy, but because it compels us to choose.

There are moments when the Gospel will disturb our peace—not the peace of Christ, but the false peace we often cling to: peace based on pleasing everyone, avoiding difficult conversations, staying silent when truth is inconvenient. Jesus comes to set a fire to those illusions. And when someone begins to live out that Gospel, to walk away from comfort and toward conversion, it can cause ripples—sometimes even among those closest to us.

That’s why Jesus speaks of households divided. The Gospel changes people. It reorders priorities. And not everyone is ready for that change. Just like the young woman, when we begin to live with deeper conviction, we may be met not with applause, but with resistance—even misunderstanding or rejection from those who love us.

But here’s the truth: Jesus does not bring fire to punish. He brings fire to purify. The division He speaks of is not the end, but the beginning of something new. He divides not to scatter, but to reveal—to show us what truly matters, to awaken us from complacency, to call us into deeper fidelity.

So if you’re feeling that fire—if your faith has begun to cost you something, or set you apart—don’t be discouraged. That may be the very sign that Christ is near, burning away what cannot last, to make room for what is eternal.

Because the fire He brings does not only divide. It also heals, transforms, and sanctifies. It leaves us freer, truer, and more fully alive.

Prayer

Rock the Boat

   

  Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

07 August 2022 

 

First Reading: Jer 38:4-6, 8-10

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 40:2, 3, 4, 18

Second Reading: Heb 12:1-4

Gospel: Lk 12:49-53

 

Reflection

By: Grace Madrinan

 

"Do you think that I have come to establish peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division." - Luke 12:51

When I read the Gospel today, the best example I can think of is abortion among others. The US Supreme Court eliminated the constitutional right to an abortion last month and it blew up the news with protests everywhere. For a predominantly Christian country like the Phippines, it would not be a big deal, since most Filipinos would accept that killing an innocent life is a sin.

But in the US, it's a different story. I can hear in every meme or in the chant that says, "My body, my right." They mock Christians for imposing the law and imposing their "religion" to them. They wanted to be left alone with their choice since they don't believe in God anyway.

But I was glad that there is a division in the US about abortion right now. I have always thought that US have long treated abortion as legal. To have a "change of heart" means that their Christianity is still alive. It means hope is not at all lost.

So when Jesus talks about division in today's Gospel, it means being vocal about the truth of the Word regardless of whoever you are up against. It is about standing your ground for the sake of the Gospel. Are we going to remain silent in order to achieve peace or rock the boat to defend the Gospel?

Prayer

Father teach us to be bold and be brave for the sake of the Gospel. Amen.

Competition is Good

20th Sunday In Ordinary Time 
14 August 2016

First reading

Jeremiah 38:4-6,8-10

The king’s leading men spoke to the king. ‘Let Jeremiah be put to death: he is unquestionably disheartening the remaining soldiers in the city, and all the people too, by talking like this. The fellow does not have the welfare of this people at heart so much as its ruin.’ ‘He is in your hands as you know,’ King Zedekiah answered ‘for the king is powerless against you.’ So they took Jeremiah and threw him into the well of Prince Malchiah in the Court of the Guard, letting him down with ropes. There was no water in the well, only mud, and into the mud Jeremiah sank.

  Ebed-melech came out from the palace and spoke to the king. ‘My lord king,’ he said ‘these men have done a wicked thing by treating the prophet Jeremiah like this: they have thrown him into the well, where he will die.’ At this the king gave Ebed-melech the Cushite the following order: ‘Take three men with you from here and pull the prophet Jeremiah out of the well before he dies.’

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 39:2-4,18

Second reading                                                                                           Hebrews 12: 1-4

With so many witnesses in a great cloud on every side of us, we too, then, should throw off everything that hinders us, especially the sin that clings so easily, and keep running steadily in the race we have started. Let us not lose sight of Jesus, who leads us in our faith and brings it to perfection: for the sake of the joy which was still in the future, he endured the cross, disregarding the shamefulness of it, and from now on has taken his place at the right of God’s throne. Think of the way he stood such opposition from sinners and then you will not give up for want of courage. In the fight against sin, you have not yet had to keep fighting to the point of death.

Gospel                                                                                                        Luke 12:49-53

Jesus said to his disciples: ‘I have come to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were blazing already! There is a baptism I must still receive, and how great is my distress till it is over!

  ‘Do you suppose that I am here to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. For from now on a household of five will be divided: three against two and two against three; the father divided against the son, son against father, mother against daughter, daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law, daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.’

Reflection

by Gary Tulabut

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The younger generation today would probably be surprised to find out that during the 90s, Apple was not a major player in the personal computing industry; that the usage of Macs was then just a niche. In fact, until today, personal computer or PC refers to the Windows-based computers, and not the Macs.

And with the dominance of PC’s for a long time, majority of new softwares Were only for PCs. Companies rarely used Macs for work. And even computer viruses were created for PCs only, sparing the Macs.

In other words, the world in personal computing revolved around PCs and Windows. And with that Bill Gates became the richest man in the world.

But then Steve Jobs returned to Apple; introduced new gadgets; improved the Mac; and the rest is history.

Apple is now one of the top companies in the world in almost all metrics.

Even if PCs still have the upper hand in terms of market share, Macs are now considered one of the high-end products in personal computing along with some PCs in the same price range. It is already a major player, if not the benchmark for excellence.

Competition is good. It is good for the consumers. Quality is assured. Good products guaranteed. It wakes up those companies who used to enjoy monopoly in the market… to improve their products… to win more customers from competition… and hopefully to win back lost market share.

Because we knew it is the Catholic Church that Christ founded; and probably because we knew we have the numbers; we Catholics tend to be lax and proud. But often times we do not do anything to grow spiritually and disciple more.

Then came our non-Catholic Christian brothers and sisters. Suddenly, they’re everywhere. Their churches grew fast. Suddenly, 20% of your neighbors are not Catholic; 30% of your friends; 40% of your celebrity idols; 50% of your classmates (despite being in a Catholic school.)

I believe Christ allowed this division to happen as mentioned today in the gospel.  

Competition is good. It wakes us up to strengthen our faith.  It challenges us to do more work to disciple the unchurched and, hopefully, to win back those who left the Church to the competition.

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Prayer 

Thank you for teaching us to be on guard with our faith. May the diversity we experience be a wake-up call for us to always be in constant pursuit to a deeper understanding of You so that we may seek Your glory alone. 

Amen.

Descended to Unite Us

Pentecost  15 May 2016  

First reading
Acts 2:1-11

When Pentecost day came round, they had all met in one room, when suddenly they heard what sounded like a powerful wind from heaven, the noise of which filled the entire house in which they were sitting; and something appeared to them that seemed like tongues of fire; these separated and came to rest on the head of each of them. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak foreign languages as the Spirit gave them the gift of speech.

  Now there were devout men living in Jerusalem from every nation under heaven, and at this sound they all assembled, each one bewildered to hear these men speaking his own language. They were amazed and astonished. ‘Surely’ they said ‘all these men speaking are Galileans? How does it happen that each of us hears them in his own native language? Parthians, Medes and Elamites; people from Mesopotamia, Judaea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya round Cyrene; as well as visitors from Rome – Jews and proselytes alike – Cretans and Arabs; we hear them preaching in our own language about the marvels of God.’

 

 

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 103:1,24,29-31,34

Second reading
1 Corinthians 12:3-7,12-13

No one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord’ unless he is under the influence of the Holy Spirit.

  There is a variety of gifts but always the same Spirit; there are all sorts of service to be done, but always to the same Lord; working in all sorts of different ways in different people, it is the same God who is working in all of them. The particular way in which the Spirit is given to each person is for a good purpose.

  Just as a human body, though it is made up of many parts, is a single unit because all these parts, though many, make one body, so it is with Christ. In the one Spirit we were all baptised, Jews as well as Greeks, slaves as well as citizens, and one Spirit was given to us all to drink.

 

Gospel	John 20:19-23

In the evening of the first day of the week, the doors were closed in the room where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews. Jesus came and stood among them. He said to them, ‘Peace be with you’, and showed them his hands and his side. The disciples were filled with joy when they saw the Lord, and he said to them again, ‘Peace be with you.

‘As the Father sent me,

so am I sending you.’

After saying this he breathed on them and said:

‘Receive the Holy Spirit.

For those whose sins you forgive,

they are forgiven;

for those whose sins you retain,

they are retained.’

  Reflection
By Benj Santiago  

“And they were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim...but they were confused because each one heard them speaking in his own language. They were astounded, and in an amazement they asked,  how does each of us hear them in his native language?"

Today is the first Sunday after our National Elections. More importantly, today is Pentecost Sunday which is a Sunday after the Ascension of the Lord to heaven. In the First Reading according to Acts of the Apostles, today the Lord's promise  was delivered: The Holy Spirit came down to all the Apostles, disciples, and believers that were gathered together. And as Christ's followers received the Holy Spirit, the crowd that gathered to listen to them were all astonished - the Apostles and disciples were able to speak in various languages.

In the most recent political process we just had, we were like those people in the Old Testament who were building their Tower at Babel. We were very busy building up our idols, our candidates. And so many families went up against each other. So many friendships were broken. So many hurting words and invectives thrown at each other. Such event got us into confusion, division, hate, and misunderstanding. We speak the same language but it is quite obvious we don't understand each other. This reflects what happened in Babel. The exact opposite transpired on that first Pentecost Sunday!

My prayer is that the Holy Spirit that descended to the believers about 2000 years ago would descend upon all of us to unite us, and gather us towards our healing process. I believe in the true nature of Filipinos. And may the healing process start within me. O come oh Holy Spirit!

 Prayer

 

Heavenly Father we thank You for sending us Your Holy Spirit. May the Holy Spirit be with all of us to unite us, to enable us to understand each other, and to heal the wounds of division brought about by the most recent political exercise our country  had. May the Holy Spirit bring peace and love to all of us. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen!