He Came To Set The World On Fire

Jesus’s opening words in Luke 12:49-56 are, “I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!”  Then, he goes on to talk about bringing division amongst us.  Finally, he calls us hypocrites, for not being able to interpret the times.  Is he talking about destruction?  Is he not supposed to be the prince of peace?  It is quite chaotic, don’t you think?

I Came To Set The World On Fire
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As I was meditating, researching, and going through the writing process, I kept coming back to the word “fire.”  Fire, as you know, can be very destructive and bring about a lot of grief.  In 2018, California, due to its dry and windy conditions from spring through late autumn, experienced the deadliest and most destructive wildfire seasons.  There were a total of 8,527 fires burning an area of 1,893,913 acres, the largest area of burned acreage recorded in California.  On the other hand, natural wild fires caused by lightning play an integral role in nature.  They can burn dead or decaying matter; return otherwise trapped nutrients to the soil; and act as a disinfectant, by removing disease-ridden plants and harmful insects from an ecosystem.  In addition, wildfires thin forest canopies and undergrowth, allowing sunlight to reach the forest floor and new generation of seedlings to grow.  Some species of trees, like the sequoia, even rely on fire for their seeds to open.

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So, what kind of fire is Jesus referring too?  Is it a destructive type of fire or a restorative type of fire?  As an educator, I believe I can explain which type of fire it is through the retelling of the classic children’s story, WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE, by the late Maurice Sendak.  The story talks about a young boy named Max, who one evening made mischief of one kind and another.  In desperation, his mother calls him a “Wild Thing.”  Max responds by yelling back, “I’ll eat you up!”  So, his mother sends him to bed without eating supper.  In his bedroom, he is transported into an imaginary world where the wild things are.  The wild things are described as creatures who roar terrible roars, gnash their terrible teeth, roll their terrible eyes, and show their terrible claws.  Max proves himself to be the wildest and is crowned the king of the wild things.  He then leads them into a wild rumpus throughout the forest.  Eventually, he’s tired and sends them off to bed without their supper.  Feeling lonely, Max yearns for that place where someone loves him best of all.  So, he goes back home, leaving the wild things to be wild.  When he’s back in his bedroom, he finds a hot supper waiting for him.

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In my mind, Max represents us.  As humans, we can easily get into trouble due to our many frailties, which take us to Where The Wild Things Are.  For example, most of us enjoy the various social media platforms, such as Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, and blogs.  They can all be a marvelous venue to keep in touch with loved ones, find how-to videos on anything imaginable, and much more.  They can even help spread the Gospel, as I like to do.  However, social media platforms can also bring about division amongst us, like they have in our nation for several years now.  There are a plethora of divisive posts consisting of propaganda, hateful rhetoric, unreliable news sources, and much more.  They come from all directions and it’s extremely difficult to dismiss them.  They have infiltrated everyone’s lives, even if you are not on social media.  The latter puts us in a rumpus with the Wild Things just like Max.

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So what are we to do?  Perhaps, it’s time to send off negative and divisive media to bed, as Max did with the Wild Things.  We can do this by discerning through all information we encounter.  Bishop Michael Curry’s words, “If it’s not about love, it’s not about God,” can help us do that.  This is the only way we will be able to get back to that place where someone loves us best of all, just like Max did.  That place is in Jesus, whose greatest joy is to ensure our salvation.  This is the reason why he died on the cold wooden cross for our sins.  When we're home, just like Max, we'll find that nurturing hot supper, which is representative of the love of Jesus.  Therefore, we don’t need to fear Jesus’s fire, for its healing, restorative, and will allow us to be a reflection of his gracious love.  The fire is represented in Max's story, through his Mother sending him to bed without eating supper, due to his ill behavior.  The Messiah set the world on fire, rejoice in its redeeming power!

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