I have come to bring fire to the earth

We know Jesus as the Prince of Peace. So why does he speak in today’s Gospel of bringing fire to the earth, and of causing division within families? Because Jesus speaks the truth, consistently and fearlessly, and the truth is not always welcome. He denounces injustice and challenges the hypocrisy of the chief priests and elders, who lay heavy burdens on the ordinary people of Israel. He eats with tax collectors and sinners, cures lepers and welcomes pagans. Jesus causes division because he challenges the powerful and disturbs the status quo. Like all of the prophets before him, he encounters opposition and, in the end, the rulers of the people bring about his death in order to silence him.

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