Hearts Aflame with Love

Homily for Thursday of the Twenty-Ninth Week in Ordinary Time

Today our response to the readings comes from Psalm 1. This particular Psalm is like the preface or the forward of a book; you might even consider it an introduction to the Book of Psalms. The theme of this particular Psalm is one that runs throughout the entire book; namely, thoughts and meditations on the Law of the Lord. “Blessed is the one who delights in the law of the Lord.”

The Book of Exodus is the part of the Torah that introduces us to the covenant that God makes with the children of Israel, a covenant that is mediated by Moses. Scripture scholars agree that this particular book of the Hebrew Scriptures is really the place that we ought to begin. While the stories that appear in the Book of Genesis introduce us to the origins of the children of Israel, it is the story of Israel’s enslavement at the hands of the Egyptians and the lengths to which God goes to free them that gives us the foundation for all of the other books of the Hebrew Scriptures.

Even the books of the Christian scriptures rely upon the story of Moses and the Exodus for their underpinning or foundation. That fact is remarkably evident in the writings of St. Paul, particularly his Letter to the Romans. The text that we read and proclaim today from that letter continues St. Paul’s explanation of how justification or righteousness comes from faith rather than from obedience to the covenant of Mount Sinai. Remember that St. Paul was a Pharisee. That means that he once believed that obedience to the commandments was the source of justification. However, he has come to the realization that faith in the passion and death of Jesus and his subsequent resurrection is the real source of righteousness. When we realize that none of us can ever obey the commandments completely – in other words, when we realize that we are all sinners – we will truly appreciate the fact that righteousness and justification come from our faith. This is what he means when he compares his former way of life to “slavery to sin.”

In today’s Gospel text, we hear Jesus tell his disciples that he has come to set the earth on fire. While we may have a certain amount of dread when we hear these words, stop and consider what it means when we say that someone is “on fire with love.” A hard-working person is often called a “ball of fire.” Even the image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is the image of a heart aflame with love. Just as every fire needs some sort of fuel, we are meant to be the fuel or catalyst for a fire that sets the world ablaze with love. Jesus is our example in this endeavor.

As we receive Jesus in the Eucharist today, let us remember the experience of the disciples who met Jesus on their way to Emmaus. When he disappeared from their sight, they said to one another: “Were not our hearts burning [within us] while he spoke to us on the way and opened the scriptures to us?” May our hearts also burn with love for Jesus as well as love for the Church.