10/26/2026 (Thursday) Today’s gospel reading: Luke 12:49-53

Jesus said to his disciples:
49 “I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing!
50 There is a baptism with which I must be baptized, and how great is my anguish until it is accomplished!
51 Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division.
52 From now on a household of five will be divided, three against two and two against three;
53 a father will be divided against his son and a son against his father, a mother against her daughter and a daughter against her mother, a mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.”

10/26/2026 (Thursday) Today’s gospel reflection / homily / sermon: Luke 12:49-53

The gospel reading above is an invitation to be renewed so that we be made worthy to be with God in His eternal kingdom. We need to undergo the process of purification which is necessarily painful because we have to die to our old self. Yes, it is painful but there is no other way. We cannot avoid it if we really desire to enter heaven. Of course we already know that Jesus had already undergone the process of crucifixion and death for our sake. Yet, He says that in order to follow Him, we have to die to ourselves so that we can be born again (John 3:3). It is rather difficult so we ask God to transform us by the fire of His love.

In addition, we have to be set apart from the world to be holy for it is God who has chosen us to be His own special treasure (Deuteronomy 14:2). Likewise, Saint Paul urges us in Romans 12:2 not to be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of our mind. Jesus Himself said, “I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. (John 15:19)” This is the division that Jesus is talking about.

Hey, why talk about division when we can talk about unity instead? Unity is a very nice sounding word but it is a word that is often misunderstood. We often hear people, mostly politicians, proclaiming the need for unity but what they actually want is for the people to support them and not to criticize or oppose them. Even Satan would like us to have unity. However, Jesus never sugar-coats His teachings. He speaks truthfully no matter how unpalatable His words are. Division may not sound as good as the word unity but He is always straight-forward.

Indeed, Jesus is causing so much division. This is happening everywhere. This is because good and evil cannot mix. Many people prefer to live in darkness so they hate the light. As it was during His time, a lot of people cannot accept Jesus and His followers are often the object of persecution. Until such time when He comes again to complete the work of redemption, His name will always cause division.

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