A few years ago, Pope Francis caused a stir by instructing the young people of the Church at World Youth Day to return to their dioceses and “make a mess” in their dioceses.  The instruction to “make a mess” was not to just cause disorder but to stir things up, as St. Paul instructed Timothy to “stir into flame” the spark of the gospel faith that was in his heart.  This call awakens us from our complacency in faith and causes us to release the hidden and sometimes disturbing dynamism of faith that can bring about transformation in our lives.  If we “stir things up” this spark of faith can become a great fire of charity that will purify our hearts and will spread to others around us.  Here in San Diego most of us have experienced “firestorms” that can quickly transform the landscape of our lives, can literally “make a mess” of things, and can be frightening to pass through.

     Today in our gospel, Jesus is speaking about his mission to bring fire to the earth.  He explicitly states that he has not come to bring peace but to “make a mess” of things and to “stir things up”.  The gospel that he preaches is a transforming force in peoples’ lives.  He certainly challenges the status quo of the religious leaders of his time and causes quite a disturbance in their lives to the point in which they seek to put him to death.  They seem to be all about quenching the “smoldering wick” while Jesus wants to “fan into flame” even the smallest spark of the fire of charity that is in a person’s heart.  St. Pope John Paul II spoke of this fire of love that Jesus brings to the earth in one of his audiences:  “Jesus himself said: “I have come to set the earth on fire; and how I wish that it were already blazing!” (Lk 12:49). In this example we are dealing with the fire of God’s love, of that love which “has been poured out in our hearts by means of the Holy Spirit” (Rom 5:5). When on the day of Pentecost “tongues of fire” appeared upon the heads of the Apostles, they signified that the Spirit brought the gift of participation in the saving love of God. St. Thomas says that the love, the fire which Jesus brought to the earth, is “a kind of participation in the Holy Spirit” (participatio quaedam Spiritus Sancti). In this sense fire is a symbol of the Holy Spirit whose Person within the divine Trinity is Love.” 

     In another audience he takes up this theme again:  “Jesus said: “This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (Jn 13:35). The love that Christ taught by word and example is the sign which must distinguish his disciples. He shows his heart’s great desire when he confesses: “I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing!” (Lk 12:49). Fire means the intensity and strength of the love of charity. Jesus asks his followers to distinguish themselves by this form of love. The Church knows that in this form love becomes a witness to Christ. The Church is able to give this witness because, in receiving Christ’s life, she receives his love. Christ has set hearts on fire with love (cf. Lk 12:49) and continues to light this fire in every time and place. The Church is responsible for spreading this fire throughout the world. All genuine witness to Christ entails charity; it requires the will to avoid inflicting any harm on love. So the whole Church must be distinguished by charity.”

     In another audience, St. Pope John Paul II attributed this fire to the work of the Holy Spirit:  “In the believer, the Holy Spirit develops the entire dynamism of the grace which gives new life and of the virtues which translate this vitality into fruits of goodness. From “within” the believer the Holy Spirit is also at work like a fire, according to another simile, used by John the Baptist regarding baptism: “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire” (Mt 3:11). Jesus himself also used it regarding his messianic mission: “I have come to set the earth on fire” (Lk 12:49). The Spirit, therefore, stirs up a life with that fervor which St. Paul recommends in his letter to the Romans: “Be fervent in the Spirit” (12:11). This is the “living flame of love” which purifies, enlightens, burns and consumes, as St. John of the Cross has explained so well.

      Under the action of the Holy Spirit in the believer an original sanctity is so developed that it assumes, elevates and brings the personality of each one to perfection without destroying it…Holiness consists in the perfection of love. Nevertheless, it varies according to the different aspects which love assumes in the various conditions of personal life. Under the action of the Holy Spirit, each person conquers the instinct of egoism with love, and develops the best forces in his own original way of self-giving.”

     Don’t be afraid of a little “messiness” in your life that is caused by divine charity.  Perhaps God is calling you to set the world on fire.