Luke 12:49 Go and Set the World on Fire

Tuesday of the Twenty-Ninth Week in Ordinary Time

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By SOPHIE DRUFFNER

Jesus said to his disciples:
“I have come to set the earth on fire,
and how I wish it were already blazing!

About a year ago, I was kneeling in the All Saints Chapel in Eucharistic adoration when, flipping through the readings in the Worship hymnal, looking for some divine revelations from God on which college I was meant to attend, my eyes caught this verse.

I was so confused.

The “fire” here that Jesus mentions has a deeper meaning than a single spark, although of course, it starts that way. The fire here is a purifying, cleansing fire, one that can cleanse the world in order to make change. And we’re not talking about physical fire here, which relies on the presence of oxygen. We’re talking about spiritual fire: the fire of the Holy Spirit.

Go and Set the World on Fire

Almost every day I thank God for how blessed I am to have been given a solid Catholic education, a faith that reaches through the centuries, and a capacity to make change. But no one can move mountains alone. One needs the fire which Jesus gave us on the day of Pentecost. One needs the ability to say or write the right words, to know when to speak and when to stay silent, and the ability to love no matter how unlovable someone may seem. One needs the Holy Spirit.

In this world, there are so many people who need your love. Let’s take the cashier at Target. For eight (or more) hours a day, the cashier swipes credit cards, counts change, has to endure screaming children and irate parents, and interact with hundreds of members of humanity. It’s a mind-numbing job, I’m sure.

So break the monotony. As St. Ignatius of Loyola wrote, go and set the world on fire.

Try to strike up a conversation, or at the very least, give that cashier a compliment. Look for something that she probably took time on that morning—earrings, hairstyle, a nice sweater over the regulated polo, makeup, gelled hair. Or look for something the person probably admires about themselves—quality or color of hair, beautiful eyes. Look that person in the eye and give them a compliment. Break the monotony. Go and set the world on fire.

Or think about the invisible people in this world: the bus drivers, bathroom cleaners, janitors, bus station-sweepers, shop assistants. If you have the opportunity, reach out to them. I once had a five-minute conversation with a woman cleaning one of our college’s bathrooms over singing while cleaning. She had a beautiful voice and I think she appreciated the compliment and the conversation.  I’ve told a custodian fixing her hair in between cleaning sinks that I really liked her hair, because she let it go gray and white instead of dyeing it. She was so surprised that I noticed, and then she gave me a huge smile and with a thick Latin accent, wished me a happy weekend! I walked off to class with a huge smile on my face, and I know hers was still there when I closed the door of the restroom. A spark had ignited.