We hear Jesus proclaim that he has come to set the earth on fire, how he wishes that it were already blazing!” Perhaps he is not meaning literally, but rather symbolically. We must remember that Jesus was a practicing Jew. To him and to all the Jews of Ancient Israel, the imagery of fire as evoked in the Old Testament symbolized the powerful presence of God. We recall how Moses saw God in the burning bush and how the pillar of fire led the Israelites through the desert at night on their way to the promised land. We also recall the tongues of fire that came upon the disciples with the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. The fire of the Holy Spirit burns in all the hearts of Christ’s disciples. The Holy Spirit leads us and guides us to transformation, conversion, and renewal. If Jesus wishes to spread that fire throughout the earth, we as his disciples and the messengers of his Gospel, must be willing to help.
Some of our parishioners had told me that they have had friends and acquaintances ask them about the eternal flame in front of our church, about what it symbolized. To many in our parishes, it is a symbol of God, that God is with us in our parish of St James, named after one of the original apostles, the apostle who brought Christ’s Gospel to others as a missionary after Christ’s death and resurrection. The symbols of our faith are there for a reason, to remind us of who we are and what God is about. May we never forget our mission.
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