During my baseball career, my best coach often said, “You shouldn’t be worried if I yell at you. Be worried if I don’t. If I stop pushing you, it means I don’t think you have any more potential.” He demanded a lot, and I knew it meant he saw that I could be something special on the baseball field. Jesus says some demanding words to us this week. “Do you think I have come to establish peace on the earth?” he asks, “No, tell you, but rather division” (Luke 12:51). He wants you and me–in fact, all the earth–to participate in the luminous glory of God. That’s why he speaks of himself as a divine arsonist. Divine fire is like a good coach: it demands the removal of all that obstructs the achievement of the lofty goal. How is your life demanding right now? That inconvenient family situation, the unfair boss at work, the kids who reject their parents’ wishes, the nagging health issue? Maybe things would be more peaceful devoid of these seemingly arbitrary difficulties. But for us who believe in the one who comes to set the earth of fire, we should be much more worried if he stops demanding so much from us. In fact, let’s thank him for it. He sees how glorious we can become. — Father John Muir
