Luke 12
The ultimate self-test for complete humanity or human maturity is to see if I accept the word of Christ and to live accordingly. Why? It’s because he is a true human but also the creator of all human beings. If any human being should be a measure and standard of all men, Christ is to be the one. Some people might presume that it is not possible to live according to his word because Christ is God. But it is precisely the purpose of his becoming flesh so that all men may become like him by following his gospel because he lived according to his divine word with his human flesh.
Whenever I run this self-test, I find myself still incomplete and immature. And I also see self-divisions. In other words, within myself are conflicts and struggles. The Good News of Jesus exposes my unclean, unholy, and evil side. And this is nothing new. Already the prophet Simeon at the Presentation of the infant Jesus in the temple foretold that Jesus would reveal the inner thoughts of men. His word uncovered the hypocrisy of the Jewish leaders. Still, his gospel brings light on our true selves.
When the apostles proclaimed the word of the Lord, the world didn’t welcome it. As Jesus prophesied, the world instead tried to persecute them as it killed their Lord. When we bring the Good News to people, it doesn’t receive an enthusiastic welcome. On the opposite, often it causes controversies and disagreements among people. “From now on five in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three; they will be divided: father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”
Jesus brings fire to the earth. This fire is not destructive but unmasking and purifying, revealing who we are. And as Jesus was baptized in his blood, through this fire, the one bringing his gospel cannot avoid persecution. And anyone with eyes will see this in his family as well as in the society of his time.
