By Lynda MacFarland

“John answered them all, “I baptize you with water; but he who is mightier than I is coming, the thong of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.” ~ Luke 3:16

In the optional Gospel acclamation today, we hear in Luke 3:16: “One mightier than I is coming; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.” That’s John the Baptist, who I love. I mean, he’s a saint, so of course I love him. But I have great affection for his otherness. His is a life of extremes. He is living in the wilderness, eating locusts and honey, wearing animal skin, and broadcasting the coming of the One who is to save His people.

John is fierce!

Fierce in his mission, fierce in his warnings, fierce in his love. For he knows that we live in a fallen world and are in need of that Savior who is oh, so near.

Following that exhortation from the Gospel acclamation, John announces: “His winnowing fan is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

OK then. There’s lots of talk about fire going on. And Jesus Himself says several chapters later in the same Gospel, “I have come to set a fire on the earth and how I wish it were burning already.” That used to confuse and frighten me a little, I admit.

Bishop knows best…

The way that’s been explained to me, and I’ve never forgotten, is that fire is what God’s love looks like in a fallen world. Bishop Robert Barron, in 2013, shared a sermon focused on the fire Jesus describes, the same fire John gives us a ‘heads up’ about in Chapter 3 of Luke prior to the Lord’s baptism.

Bishop Barron’s analogy involves someone spending a couple of months in a dark cave with not even a shaft of light for the eyes to adjust to or with which to orient themselves. One might as well be totally blind. Then, one glorious day, that person is found and brought out into the midday sun! And that sunlight blinds the cave dweller in a whole new way!

That sunlight causes pain. The newly released cave dweller, saved from a life of darkness and the unknown, still cannot see because the bright sun overwhelms the senses. And it hurts to see. Eventually, the eyes grow accustomed to the light, and there will be great joy in seeing again and being released from the depths of darkness and despair.

Well, to a world that has “gone wrong,” the fire of God’s love can be painful to the hearts of fallen people. Jesus wants to burn away all the dysfunction and disorder in each one of us so we can see Jesus and then can keep our eyes fixed on Him, the Savior who only wants good for us, the Savior who is nothing but love.

God’s love, in the context of a fallen world, can be frightening. But to an open heart and a soul that is ready to receive that love, that fire is a beautiful thing.

Prayer

Dear Jesus, help me to keep my eyes on You – on the day of Your baptism, on the Cross, at Your Resurrection and Your Ascension. I surrender my heart to You and ask to always see You in my life, in my relationships, and in the mission that You’ve given me. 

Call to Action

Reflect on the Spiritual and Corporal Works of Mercy. Pray for ways to incorporate those into your life with family, friends, strangers, and yes, enemies. You can be the one who helps prepare another’s heart to receive the Love who is Jesus. 

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