Fire With Fire

26th Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)

Readings: Numbers 11:25-29; Psalm 18 (19):8, 10, 12-14; James 5:1-6; Mark 9:38-43, 45, 47-48

Picture: By Landon Parenteau on Unsplash

My dear friends, what does it mean to fight fire with fire? The expression is often used as a figure of speech, to mean adopting our opponents’ own methods against them. Such as by responding to violence with violence of our own. And we know that we Christians are not supposed to do this. Instead, we are called to follow Jesus’ example, and return good for evil (see, eg, 1 P 3:8). But there are people who fight fire with fire in a more literal way. In places where wildfires are prevalent, some indigenous communities start smaller controlled fires in cooler months, as a way to prevent larger fires when the days get hotter. The controlled fires help reduce the amount of fuel available to feed the more devastating wildfires. Fighting one type of fire with flames of another kind. Isn’t this what we find in our scriptures today?

In the gospel, Jesus describes hell––the ultimate consequence of sin––as a fire that cannot be put out. A fire so wild and devastating that drastic steps are needed to reduce the fuel available to feed it. Even if that fuel includes parts of my own body. If my foot or hand or eye should cause me to sin, I am to cut it off, or tear it out, for it’s better to be deprived of these body-parts than to be totally consumed by hellfire. This teaching is, of course, not meant to be taken literally. Otherwise, there’ll be a far higher proportion of physically disabled people among Christians than in the general population, including the one preaching this homily. So what then should I do with my errant body-parts?

In the second reading, what fuels the fire of sin isn’t human body-parts, but earthly riches that have been gathered corruptly, fraudulently, unjustly. Such as by withholding what others need to live a dignified human life. (L)isten to the wages that you kept back, calling out… Fuelled by unjust riches, the fire of sin becomes so strong, it’s able to corrode even precious metals like gold and silver. Yet it’s also subtle enough to consume less tangible forms of wealth. We may think of stocks and shares, bonds and futures, and yes, even cryptocurrency. This fire is so voracious, it gobbles up not just accumulated wealth, but also the one doing the accumulating. (T)he same corrosion will be your own sentence, and eat into your body… And if this stern reminder is needed, isn’t it because those in danger of being burnt up are often unaware of the peril they face? It’s possible to become numb to sin, and its deadly consequences. Isn’t this why the psalmist prays to be acquitted from hidden faults, and not to be ruled by presumption?

On earth you have had a life of comfort and luxury; in the time of slaughter you went on eating to your heart’s content. My dear friends, in a world where so many struggle just to survive, how does it feel to hear these words of warning? I have to confess that they make me tremble interiorly. For even if I may not have any personal wealth to speak of, I do benefit considerably from living in one of the richer parishes, and one of the most affluent countries in the world. Where much pride is taken, perhaps rightly, in the substantial reserves we’ve accumulated over the years. How sure can each of us be, that our national, familial, and personal wealth is truly free from the taint of injustice? That it’s not somehow fuelling the fires of sin? What steps might we need to take to prevent this from happening? What is the economic equivalent of cutting off a body-part to stay out of hell?

In pondering these questions, it’s helpful for us to see that there’s actually another kind of fire in our scriptures today. Without using the word explicitly, the first reading speaks of something that acts like fire. Except that, in contrast to hellfire, these flames do not consume or corrode. Instead, they purify and strengthen. Isn’t this what happens to the people on whom the Fire of the Spirit falls in the first reading? The Spirit ignites in them the wisdom and courage to truly hear and proclaim the prophetic life-giving word of God. Such that both those embraced by this Fire, as well as those to whom they prophesy, might become ever more truly who God calls them to be. Isn’t this why Moses wishes that the whole people of the Lord were prophets, and the Lord gave his Spirit to them all?

My dear friends, could it be that, whether it’s unjustly acquired wealth or wayward body-parts, the way to keep from fuelling hellfire is to offer all that we have and all that we are to the Fire of the Spirit? Just like how wise indigenous communities start controlled fires in order to prevent the devastation of wild ones. Which is not the same as cunningly setting aside some small portion of one’s time and money for charity, in order to appease God, and quiet one’s conscience.

Sisters and brothers, what type of flame is burning within and among us? How are we called to fight fire with fire today?