Lk. 12:49. I came to cast fire on the earth,
For the word is fire, consuming every material and impure thought and destroying idols, of whatever substance they may be. It also means the zeal for good that is kindled in each of us. And perhaps the zeal begotten by the Word of God does not differ from the first. The Lord desires that our hearts be set ablaze with this very fire. For we must have a fervent zeal for good.
Lk. 12:49. and how I would that it were already kindled!
"And how I wish" — otherwise: and how strongly I desire — "that it were already kindled!" He hastens the kindling of this fire, just as Paul also says: "be fervent in spirit" (Rom. 12:11), and in another place: "I am jealous over you with a godly jealousy" (2 Cor. 11:2).
Lk. 12:50. I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how I am distressed until it is accomplished! He calls His death "baptism." Since this fire was to be kindled in no other way than after His death, for from there the preaching and zeal grew, He adds a word about death, calling it a baptism. Strongly desiring it, He says: "how I am distressed," that is, how much I care and "am distressed until it is accomplished!" For I thirst for death for the salvation of all. The Lord came to bring down fire not only upon the earth, on which His teaching and faith spread, but also upon the soul of each person, which (in itself) is thorny and barren ground, but is kindled as if by fire through the Word of God and becomes capable of receiving Divine seeds and spiritually fruitful. For when the grace of God invisibly touches someone's soul, it seems to burn with such love for God that it cannot even be expressed. Just so Cleopas and his companion, being invisibly inflamed by the fire of God's grace, said: "Did not our heart burn within us" (Luke 24:32). Whoever has experienced such a state will understand our words. And many people often experience this while reading the Divine Scriptures or the lives of the holy fathers, or when being persuaded and instructed by someone, their souls being inflamed toward the doing of good; and some burn to the end, while others immediately grow cold.
Lk. 12:51. Do you think that I came to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division; Christ "is our peace" (Eph. 2:14), yet He says: "I did not come to bring peace." This means His words are enigmatic. So we say that not every peace is blameless and good, but it is often dangerous and drives one away from Divine love — for example, when we make peace and agreement to overthrow the truth. Christ did not come to bring such a peace; on the contrary, He desires that we be divided against one another for the sake of what is good, which is exactly what happened during the persecutions. For in one house a pagan father was divided against a believing son, and a mother against a daughter, and vice versa.
Lk. 12:52. For hereafter five in one house shall be divided, three against two, and two against three:
Lk. 12:53. Father will be against son, and son against father; mother against daughter, and daughter against mother; mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law, and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. How did He say that "five in one house will be divided," yet in the enumeration mentioned "six" persons? We answer: one person is counted twice, namely: the daughter and the daughter-in-law are the same person. In relation to the mother she is called a daughter, and in relation to the mother-in-law she is called a daughter-in-law. Thus, "three" — the father, the mother, and the mother-in-law — will be divided "against two" — the son and the daughter. For the daughter, as we said, being one person but bearing a twofold relation, namely: in reference to the mother and to the mother-in-law, is therefore presented as two persons. The father and mother and mother-in-law should be understood, perhaps, as simply everything old, and the son and daughter as everything new. In that case, the Lord desires that His new Divine commandments and teaching overcome all that is old in us—sinful customs and teaching. Understand it also in this way. The father is the mind, and the son is reason. Between them in a single house, that is, in a person, division occurred. I shall speak more clearly. The mind of Dionysius the Areopagite was illumined and accepted the preaching. But his mind, which accepted the faith without proofs, was opposed by pagan reason, which tries to prove and compels one to follow dialectical methods. Do you see the division between father and son, warring against each other for the sake of Christ and the preaching? You may call the mother and mother-in-law thought, and the daughter and daughter-in-law sensation. And between them too there is a struggle for the sake of Christ. Thought has enmity against sensation when thought persuades one to honor the imperishable above the perishable, the invisible above the visible, and has many strong proofs for this. It happens that from the side of sensation as well a struggle is directed against thought. For sensation, guided in faith by miracles and visible signs, is not persuaded by the arguments of thought, and does not wish to follow the pagan proofs either, which urge those who heed them not to believe that God became man or that a Virgin gave birth. So foolish are the syllogisms of the pagans who deify nature. Meanwhile, sensation through visible miracles leads to the knowledge of God better than any proof. Thus, not every peace and harmony is good, but it happens that enmity and division appear to be a certain divine work. Therefore let no one remain in friendship with the wicked, but even if father and mother prove to be opponents of the Law of Christ, one must be at enmity with them as enemies of the truth.
Lk. 12:54. And He said also to the people: When ye see a cloud rising from the west, straightway ye say: There will be rain, and so it is;
Lk. 12:55. And when the south wind blows, you say: There will be scorching heat, and it happens.
Lk. 12:56. Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the earth and the sky, how is it then that you do not recognize this time?
Lk. 12:57. Why do you not even of yourselves judge what is right? Since the Lord was speaking about preaching and called it fire and a sword, it is very likely that the listeners, not understanding the meaning of His words, were troubled. Therefore He says: just as you recognize changes in the weather by certain signs, so too you should have recognized My coming from what I say and what I do. My words, as well as My deeds, show Me to be your adversary. For you are tax collectors and robbers, while I have nowhere "to lay My head" (Luke 9:58). Therefore, just as from a cloud you foretell rain and from a south wind a hot day, so you should have recognized the time of My coming and understood that I came to bring not peace, but rain and turmoil. For I Myself am a cloud, and I come from the west, that is, from human nature, which had previously been brought low and was in thick darkness from sin. I came to bring down fire as well, and I made a hot day. For I am the south—a warm wind and the opposite of the coldness of the north. Therefore I also appeared from Bethlehem, which lies to the south.
Lk. 12:58. When you are going with your adversary to the magistrate, on the way make an effort to be released from him, Having said this, the Lord also gives them teaching about praiseworthy peace. Having pointed out commendable division, He also shows blameless peace. Specifically He says: when your adversary drags you to court, while still on the way, make every effort to settle with him. Or alternatively: "make every effort to be freed" is understood in the sense that even if you have nothing, borrow at interest and "make every effort to be freed," so that you may settle with him.
Lk. 12:58. lest he bring you to the judge, and the judge deliver you to the tormentor, and the tormentor cast you into prison.
Lk. 12:59. I tell you, you will not come out from there until you have paid the very last penny. The Lord says this in order to bring the hardened to fear and urge them toward peace. He knows that the fear of loss and punishments humbles the earthly-minded more than anything else, and therefore He says this. They understand this speech as referring also to the devil. For he is our adversary. Therefore we, while still "on the way," that is, in this life, must endeavor, through the practice of virtue, to "be free of him" and to have nothing in common with him, so that at the future judgment he may not hand us over to the Judge. For the very deeds of his that we performed here will hand us over to judgment, and the Judge will deliver us to the tormentor, that is, to some tormenting and malicious power, and will punish us until we have received what is due even for our last sins and have fulfilled the measure of punishment. But since the measure of punishment will never be fulfilled, we shall be tormented forever. For if we are to be in prison until we have paid even the last penny, and we shall never have the ability to pay it, then it is obvious that the punishment will be eternal.