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Bishop's Homily for the Twentieth Sunday of Ordinary Time

August 17, 2025

(LucaFA / Shutterstock.com)

Homily of the Most Reverend Larry Silva, Bishop of Honolulu
[Sacred Heart Church, Punahou (Installation of Pastor); Our Lady of the Mount Church, Kalihi (155^th Anniversary of the Parish)]

Butchers know it.  Bakers know it. Candlestick makers know it.  Fire changes things.  Butchers know that a raw cut of meat can be transformed into a delicious steak when it is fired on the grill.  Bakers know that bland dough can become delicious breads, cakes or cookies when the fire of the oven is applied.  Candlestick makers know that their creations disappear with fire, but before they do, they give warmth and light to all who see them.

So it is that Jesus reminds us that he has come to set the world on fire, to bring about change, to call us to repentance, and to transform death into life. We sometimes cling to our bland and lethargic ways, but Jesus knows that we will only be truly alive if we allow the fire of his love to burn and transform us.

We know, of course, that fire can also be dangerous and destructive, still bringing about a change, but one that is by no means desirable.  I think of the wildfires two years ago in Lahaina, Maui or more recently in Southern California.  Perhaps it is because of the danger of fire that we are often resistant to letting Jesus set us on fire with his love.  Yet sometimes fire is just what is needed to burn away the barriers that allow the love of God to flow more freely within our community.

The prophet Jeremiah was on fire with his love for God and his zeal to call the people of Israel from its infidelity back to fidelity. There were those who did not want to deal with the kind of change in their lives that would be necessary if God were to be taken seriously. So, they try to douse the fire of Jeremiah’s zeal by casting him into a cistern, where he would sink in the mud and never be heard from again.  But God’s fire cannot be put out, and he was rescued so that he could continue his fiery preaching, calling Israel out of the mud and muck of infidelity that they had chosen to sink into.

Jesus, too, often sets the world on fire, and rather than be transformed by the fire of his love, we often try to squelch the fire.  The crucifixion of Jesus was the ultimate fire-fighting technique, intending to douse his voice forever. But the resurrection set the world on fire in a new way, so that Jesus can continue to challenge us to change.

We have so many issues in which just looking the other way can lead to even more serious consequences. There is the issue of homelessness, which we are all called to ponder and address in some way. It is not only a question of providing emergency food and shelter, but of looking at the root causes of homelessness, and applying the fire necessary in our personal lives and in our civic engagement to let the fire of Jesus’ love truly transform this situation to one where everyone lives in dignity.  It may require some controversy, and much self-sacrifice, but Jesus reminds us that these are a part of living the fired-up lives that he calls us to live.

We see family relationships, which are so important for the welfare of individuals and of cultures, deteriorating through divisions, selfishness, and ideologies that work against family life. To confront them and make real changes for the better, fire is needed to burn away destructive attitudes and to fuel the hard work of building wholesome and healthy relationships.

Sometimes it is easier to ignore difficult relationships, hoping that they will just disappear.  But they often do not, and unless we have the fire in our bellies to make some changes in those relationships, we can expect that they will deteriorate even further, causing us even greater suffering.  Jesus calls us to reconciliation, to forgiveness, and to unity with one another, and achieving these things can sometimes burn.  Yet that is precisely the fire Jesus came to set upon the earth.

The parish and its pastor have the mission of setting people on fire with the love of Jesus, a fire that will profoundly change us.  It can be scary, but if we are all in it together, we can help each other get through the challenges and continue to share the fire of Jesus’s love with others.  There is the majority of our relatives, friends and neighbors who do not truly know Jesus and whose lives cannot change for the better because they only see what they can see with their feeble and blind eyes.  It is for us to spread the fire of the love of Jesus to them, but we often hesitate because we do not want to risk causing divisions.  Jesus assures us that such divisions are often a necessary step in making real changes, so that he can truly reign over all.

Butchers, bakers, and candlestick makers know that fire transforms.  Jesus, too, knows that his fire can transform our world, and he invites us never to be afraid of being overwhelmed by it, so that true transformations can be accomplished.