In illud Ignem veni mittere in terram

I came to cast fire upon the earth; and, I came not to cast peace, but a sword. The child-loving mothers of infants, until the infants grow to a greater and stronger age, holding out the milk-nourishing fountains of their breasts to their dearest ones, coax them to draw the tireless nourishment of milk; but when they come to a greater age and perception, so that they can now soften tender foods with their teeth, the mothers first crush the hardness of the bread, and having prepared the food soft and tender, like marrow, they place it in their mouths. Such are the teachers of the Church. For to those who are infants in the habit of understanding, they do not thrust upon them notions that are hard to grasp and difficult to discern, but, in the manner of mothers, slackening the teat of their mind for them, they invite them to draw the unadulterated milk of speech with a gentle nod. Then, when the infants have grown in understanding to a greater comprehension of thoughts, they are accustomed to reveal to them the meanings of greater mysteries. This is what Paul also did; for, writing to those who were infants, he said: I have given you milk to drink, not solid food. In the same way our Lord does even now; for, having measured the writing of the evangelical thoughts according to the measure of the habit of the hearers, in the preceding days, as to infants, he provided us with the soft and easily digested food of speech; but now, having observed that the mind of our understanding has grown, he allows us to enjoy greater teachings. For what does he say? I came to cast fire upon the earth.

and, "I came not to cast peace, but a sword." But those who are infants in mind think that the Lord has come to consume everything with fire and to slaughter everyone with a sword. But come, let us also, having understood the same things as the infants, converse the words of the Lord with the Lord, so that we may convey the words of the Lord to the infants. "I came to cast fire upon the earth." You came to cast fire upon the earth, Lord, and you came not to cast peace, but a sword? Our sin has prevailed, death has ruled over us, the fire of Gehenna has been threatened against us, the host of abominable demons has prevailed over us, and hearing from the prophets that you are our helper, we awaited you; and having come, you say, "I came to cast fire upon the earth," and, "I came not to cast peace, but a sword"? There was no trophy of faith among us, we have no strength against the array of the devil; for we had no weapon of faith; the devil, having stripped Adam in paradise, laid bare our breastplate of righteousness. Therefore each of us, being naked of assistance, cries out to you, saying: "Judge, Lord, those who wrong me, fight those who fight me; take up a weapon and a shield, and rise up to my aid; draw a sword, and close in against those who pursue me; say to my soul, 'I am your salvation';" and having come to our aid, you say, "I came not to cast peace, but a sword"? And where is the supplication of the saints made to you concerning peace, the "Lord our God, give us peace"? For you have given us everything.

We besought peace, we begged for calm, we did not desire war, we renounced the sword; and having come, you say, "I came not to cast peace, but a sword?" Terrible is his army against us; he armed the host of abominable demons; having slaughtered us all with the two-edged sword of sin, he cast us down into Hades. For this reason we ask pity from you; the whole chorus of saints cried out to you, saying: "He who shepherds Israel, give heed; he who leads Joseph like a sheep; he who sits upon the Cherubim, appear, rouse your power, and come to save us." You say, "I came not to cast peace, but a sword?" And where is your promise that says, "Behold, I incline toward them like a river of peace and like a winter torrent flooding the glory of nations?" Or where is the prophecy of the holy Fathers that says, "Behold, the Lord goes forth and will crush war?" With war crushed, we expected peace and help; and having come, you say, "I came not to cast peace, but a sword?" You sent prophets beforehand, you dispatched patriarchs beforehand, you armed them with the weapons of righteousness to resist the battle of the devil, and having crushed the war, to award peace to the world, as one of them said in thanksgiving: "Blessed is the Lord who trains my hands for battle array, my fingers for war." And these, having been defeated, have turned their backs, crying out to you, calling you as helper, saying: "Lord, bend the heavens and descend." And having bent the heavens and descended to save the race of men in peace, you say, "I came not to cast peace, but a sword?

Why do you bless the peacemakers, that they will be called sons of God? What then of the one who teaches others to make peace—what do you say about yourself, "I came not to cast peace, but a sword"? Because of our sins the Lord has become our enemy; we needed a mediator to dissolve the enmity between us and to award sweet peace. And our father Job prayed concerning the mediator, saying, "Would that our mediator were also one who rebukes." And having come to mediate and dissolve the enmity, you say the opposite, "I came not to cast peace, but a sword"? And in what then shall we place our hope for peace? But yes, I came to cast fire upon the earth, the earth trodden under your feet. Since the devil has sown thorns and thistles of sins in the hearts of men, I came to cast fire upon the earth, the consumption of the thorns. For this reason I came to cast fire upon the earth, and I wish, if it has already been kindled, to cleanse my earth. I must consume the devil's bitter-bearing and harmful shoots with fire, so that with a pure soul I may sow the heavenly seed. For this reason I came to cast fire upon the earth. Having originally formed man from earth, I placed a divine spark of fire in the midst of his heart, so that through fire he might hold to the love of God. Since it was impossible to cast out this divine spark of fire and this warmth, so that they might have a fair-bearing kindling of the Holy Spirit (for the devil has numbed the souls of men with the cold of impiety), I must cast fire upon the earth.

so that, having dissolved and relaxed the storm of unbelief engendered in souls by the devil, and having rendered the mind calm and serene, I might make it bloom and grow green. He therefore enters his fold, concealing the shepherd in the lamb of the body, carrying neither a staff nor a rod threatening the former error, lest the sheep, taking fright and being terrified, should again flee from its own shepherd. But he enters the house of the Pharisee, not as God, not as a king, not as a sun of righteousness, but as a man to a man, as a lamb to a lamb; he dwells with him, grazes with him, grows green with him, enters, lies down with him who has already fallen under sin, so that by lying down together, he might raise up the one already fallen together with himself. And having entered, he did not baptize according to the custom of the Pharisees. This he did in two ways: to give the sheep an occasion to speak to the shepherd, and also to abolish a Jewish custom and establish a spiritual one. For the Pharisee saw, it says, and marveled that he did not baptize first. He marveled, not praising the teacher, but being perplexed at what was happening; not praising, but judging. And one could see, beloved, the life-molder being judged by the molded, and the potter being corrected by the clay.

This the Pharisee said, not beholding with the hidden eyes of the heart the inner commander of the angels and of the Seraphim and Cherubim. For if he had beheld him, he would have fallen at his knees, and with his tears washed his feet, and said: Be gracious to me, the sinner; for he would have said: You are the one who brought all things from non-being into being; by your word the heavens were made firm, and by the breath of your mouth all their power; gathering like a waterskin the waters of the sea; you placing abysses in the treasuries; from you the whole earth fears; from you the entire inhabited world is shaken. But having neither thought nor spoken any of these things, he judged the teacher. But the Lord, having given a pretext, just as also with that Samaritan woman in asking her for water, gave her an opportunity to ask him for the eternal water; so the Lord begins gently to turn the sheep, and to lead it by the hand from error to truth. For now, you Pharisees, you wash the outside of the cup and the plate, but the inside is full of plunder and deceit. That is, You now adorn the body, but corrupt the souls. For how will a cup delight if it is golden, when it contains a deadly drink within? Are not such women prostitutes? They, coloring their faces with paints, destroy their souls.

Or do they not redden their own faces with the palm, fashioning with their own fingers an image of the flame that will succeed them, when they ought to sprinkle their hearts with the blood of Jesus and whiten their souls with the Spirit, so that the bloom of the soul, shining like a rose mingled with a lily, may exist? But now they wipe their faces, so as to draw the hearts of the young into madness. Now you Pharisees wash the outside of the cup and the plate, while the inside of you is full of plunder and wickedness. John said: Why do you wash the body with water, but do not wash the transgressions with the Spirit? For I dare to say, beloved, a man will be benefited nothing, even if he washes both body and spirit, unless he has almsgiving as a fellow worker and companion. Just as a cup washed outside and inside, but having no drink, would not cure the thirst of the one who is thirsty, and likewise a plate washed inside and outside will not feed the hungry, unless it has food within; so also a man, even if he is washed inside and outside, will not feed the Lord, unless he feeds his fellow servant. Therefore the Lord adds and says: Only give alms from what you have, and behold, everything will be clean for you. Only from what you have, he says. For he is not so much pleased by the offering of the wealthy as by the guileless, unfeigned offering of the poor. Do not then cry out, O poor man, that you do not have so much gold and silver; cast into the treasury what you have; even two lepta are sufficient; remember that widow, that she was justified beyond the wealthy.

God does not weigh money, but examines conscience. Almsgiving cleanses the stains of adulterers and stores up good rewards; almsgiving whitens souls and weaves together tender things. O almsgiving, vital for souls, provision for the soul, noble strategy. Cast away gold, and take Christ; give silver, and take the Holy Spirit; scatter bronze, and the rust of sin will depart with it; sprinkle mercy, and quench the furnace; and give garments, that you may receive healings, in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom are glory and power unto the ages of ages. Amen.