Isaiah 42:1-4, 6-7 / Acts 10:34-38 / Luke 3:15-16, 21-22
One of the things that we have been told when we were young was: Don’t play with fire.
But “Don’t play with fire” is a warning not just for children but also for grownups, regardless of how old they are.
Yes, fire is a good servant but it is a bad master. And when it is a bad master, it is something that we won’t want to play with.
And when fire becomes a bad master, what is there to do?
There is this puzzling saying “Fight fire with fire”. But to fight fire with fire will only result in a bigger fire.
Maybe there is a word missing there, and that is “fight fire with fireman!”
The fireman, as we know, fights fire and puts it out. The fireman does not play with fire.
In fact we can say that the fireman goes through a kind of baptism of fire, and he would know how dangerous it is.
There is a fireman’s prayer that goes like this:
“O God when I am called to duty, wherever flames may rage;
give me the strength to save a life, whatever be its age.
Help me to embrace a little child, before it is too late.
Or save an older person, from the horror of that fate.
I want to fulfill my calling, to give the best in me.
To guard my friend and neighbour, and protect his property.
And if according to Your will, I must answer death’s call;
bless with Your protecting hand, my family one and all.”
Where others run away from the fire, the fireman goes to the fire, to face the fire, and to fight the fire.
To face the fire and to fight the fire, the firemen will have to go through some kind of baptism of fire.
It is a calling to go through that kind of baptism of fire, but having gone through that, the fire that now burns in those firemen is stronger that the fire that burns around them.
So the warning “Don’t play with fire” must always be observed otherwise there will be burning issues.
But as the Church celebrates the Baptism of the Lord, there comes another warning and it’s this: Don’t play with fire and water!
In the gospel, we heard about the baptism of Jesus. After His own baptism, He was at prayer and heaven opened and the Holy Spirit descended on Him in bodily shape, like a dove.
And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; my favour rests on you.”
Jesus was baptized by John with water, and then astounding and amazing things happened.
And John has this to say about Jesus: I baptize with water, but someone is coming, someone who is more powerful than I am; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
The elements of water and fire become powerful means at the Baptism of Jesus.
Jesus went through the baptism of water. And with that, He will give the baptism of the Holy Spirit and fire.
Now, we have gone through the baptism of water. And with that we must now be prepared to go through the baptism of fire.
It is said that the most powerful weapon on earth is the human soul on fire. Indeed, the human soul on fire is a very powerful weapon.
But is it with the fire of the Holy Spirit, or with the fire of a bad master?
Is it a fire that leaves sparks of light everywhere, or is it a fire that destroys?
Yes, we have a fire within, but is it a good servant or a bad master?
One way to find out is to listen to what the letter of James 3:5 said: The tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts.
Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark.
The tongue is just a small organ yet it can be an instrument of the fire we have within.
And if the fire we have within is a bad master, then the fire that comes out of our tongues will cause hurt and destruction.
Those fiery words will burn up relationships and sow discord with gossips and slanders and lies.
The tongue becomes like a flamethrower that burns away everything in its path.
But Jesus baptized us with the fire of the Holy Spirit. It is with the fire of the Holy Spirit within us that we fight fire with fire – the fire of a good servant against the fire of the bad master.
Hence, the holy fire from our tongues should leave sparks of light for those who hear us.
Our words must be words of love and mercy and compassion, words of kindness that encourage and strengthen others instead of tearing them down and destroying them.
Yes, we have a fire within, and the human soul on fire is a very powerful weapon. But it can also be a very dangerous weapon.
Jesus has already baptized us with the fire of the Holy Spirit. Let us not play with that fire, but let us make that fire a good servant, to serve God and to serve others.