20th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C - August 17, 2025

 20^th Sunday in Ordinary Time – C 

August 17, 2025      11am  

Our Lady of Grace Parish, Parkton 

 

What Does Jesus Mean?

 

Today’s gospel is not one of those warm passages of Scripture.

 

It is very different from Jesus saying, “Come to me, all you who are weary and find life burdensome, and I will refresh you.” And it is very different from Jesus praying, “that they may be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you.”

 

And it is very different from Jesus’ greeting to the apostles right after his resurrection. “Peace be with you.”

 

This passage can seem out-of-sync, almost contradictory to the rest of the gospel. So, we can ask: what does Jesus really mean here?

 

I think the key to understanding this lies in the three images that Jesus uses. 1) Fire, 2) Baptism and 3) Division.

 

1.   Fire

 

The passage begins with Jesus saying, “I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing.”

 

Fire, especially a blazing fire sounds threatening. We may feel afraid of it.

 

However, Scripture commentators explain that the image of “fire” here expresses Jesus’ passion. He’s not out to burn anything down. 

 

Instead, he wants to light us on fire with enthusiasm for his teaching and his way for living. So, as he says in the Beatitudes, he wants us to be intense about being “peacemakers,” working for reconciliation and understanding and common ground between people. 

 

Again in the Beatitudes, Jesus wants us to be “clean of heart,” to be very intentional about a life of chastity and faithful love. These are examples of the ways Jesus wants us to be on fire for his teaching.  

 

2.   Baptism

 

And then Jesus says, “There is a baptism with which I must be baptized.”

 

Maybe surprisingly, Jesus is not talking here about the sacrament of baptism. Instead, he is talking about his and our willingness to be immersed not in water but in suffering. 

 

The idea is that our being on fire for his values will probably bring some suffering upon us, just as it did for Jesus. I have to think of Jesus’ words about the final judgment and the criterion for that: “I was hungry and you gave me food, thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcome me.” 

 

Well, if we are on fire for Jesus in these ways, we may suffer because others may be critical of us as they were of Jesus. I have to think of the Archbishop of Miami who has led the way in giving care to the immigrants who are imprisoned in Alligator Alcatraz in Florida right now.

 

I am sure he is taking heat from some people because of his living out Jesus’ way and teaching. This is the kind of baptism Jesus is talking about today, an immersion in suffering, not water. 

 

3.    Division

 

And then Jesus says that he has come for division and not for peace. 

 

Well, just think about it. This flows, regretfully, but it flows from being on fire for the Lord. 

 

Jesus knows that our choice to follow his way will sometimes divide us from others. So, our youth who say no to alcohol or drugs may find themselves divided from some of their peers. 

 

Or our not participating in conversations that are hateful of other individuals or whole groups or nationalities of people may divide us from others.  But notice.

 

It is not Jesus who causes the division. The division comes because some accept Jesus’ way and others reject it and reject those who follow it. 

 

Conclusion 

 

So, to go back to where we began, this is a difficult passage of Scripture today.

 

Are Jesus’ words contradictory? Challenging yes, contradictory no!

 

In truth, they are in sync with the rest of his teaching and his way. They simply spell out the implications of it.

 

So, I ask you today or this week to take these words in and think about them. See if they speak to you in some area of your life: the words fire, baptism, and division.  

 

 

19th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C - August 10, 2025

 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time – C 

August 10, 2025     8:30am  

Our Lady of Grace Parish, Parkton 

 

Trust Not Certainty 

A man named Kyle has talked about his faith. 

 

He says that for many years, he treated faith like a checklist. Prayers said, rules followed, doubts buried! 

 

Kyle thought that faith meant certainty, unwavering belief. But life eventually cracked that illusion. 

 

There was an unexpected layoff from his job, then his mother’s illness, and then a friend’s betrayal of his confidence. All of this shook the ground beneath him. 

But then, one day, Kyle was at a playground with his little son, helping him to swing. They were having a good time, and his son got the nerve to jump from the swing into Kyles waiting arms, even laughing in midair. 

No fear. No hesitation. Just trust. And then it struck Kyle. Faith wasn’t about having all the answers. 

It was about letting go, even when the future was unclear. Like his little boy, he didn’t need to see the safety net. 

He just needed to trust it was there. From that day, Kyle prayed differently—not to control outcomes, but to lean into uncertainty with trust. 

He realized that faith wasn’t just a fortress of beliefs. It was trust – trust in God. 

 

Faith as Trust

 

Kyle’s breakthrough is what we hear about in today’s second reading.

 

The passage makes two points: 1) Faith is trust about what is not present but hoped for – what is not present but hoped for.  And 2) faith is trust about what is present but not seen – what is present but not seen

 

1.   Trust: Not Present, but Hoped For 

 

So, first, faith is trust in what is not present but hoped for.

 

The Letter to the Hebrews gives us Abraham as a model. Abraham and Sarah lived in what is now Iraq, but at God’s calling, they set out for an unknown land.

 

They were also advanced in years, but they now had God’s promise of a child. So, they had trust in what was not present but hoped for – a new land and a child.

 

In our lives, we need this same kind of faith. Maybe when we leave home and go out on our own for the first time, or maybe when we take a new job. 

 

I remember having to do this when I was trying to make a final decision on becoming a priest. I ended up having to trust that when I got ordained, God would be there for me helping me to live this life happily and be a good priest.  

 

My point is that we are all often called to have this kind of faith: this trust in what is not present but hoped for.  

  

2.    Trust: Present, but Not Seen

 

And then, faith is also trust about what is present but not seen.

 

To go back to today’s second reading, Abraham had to trust in what God was telling him about a new land and a child. He had to trust that God was really present to him in these promises, even though he did not see God.

 

Maybe we need this trust that God is still present with us when we feel very dry, empty in our prayer. Maybe we need this when we are grieving the loss of a loved.

 

Maybe we need this when we are doubting our own worth because of a traffic accident or a foul-up at work that we are responsible for. In times of darkness like these, we need trust God still loves us and is still with us.  

 

My point is that we are often called to have this kind of faith also: this trust in what is present but not seen. 

 

Conclusion

 

So, Kyle in the story that I shared came to realize that faith is not so much certainty as it is trust: trust about what is not present but hoped for, and trust about what is present but not seen.

 

With that understanding, I ask you to do one thing right now.  

 

As we make our usual Profession of Faith, offer this today as an act of trust. Make it a statement of trust in God and of entrusting yourself and your worries and upsets to God and God’s love.