Luke 12:49-53
[Jesus said:] 49 “I have come to cast fire upon the earth, and how I wish it were already ablaze! 50 I have a baptism with which to be baptized, and what constraint I am under until it is completed! 51 Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division! 52 From now on five in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three; 53 they will be divided:
father 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 mother-in-law.”
“… No, I tell you, but rather division! …”
Perhaps Jesus words have come true. Certainly, as a nation, we could not be more divided. Thanks to years of political wrangling and infighting, divisive partisan issues, racial and gender injustice, and the severe infringement upon personal liberties and freedoms, there is seldom a conversation that doesn’t pit one person or group against another. Rather than unity, we are a deeply divided people.
Of course, Jesus isn’t referring to differences of political, cultural, or social opinion. He is talking about faith. Those who choose to believe in Jesus’ word versus those who oppose who he is and what he stands for. In first-century Palestine, that was the issue dividing family members one against another.
Of course, even that exists today. I was asked by a woman the other day, “How can folks who believe in God continue to kill, harm, abuse, and hurt others?” My response was to say that it’s been happening since the beginning of time. Human beings, even those proclaiming a faith in God, often resort to murder, mayhem, and destruction rather than follow the commands to love God and love neighbor.
Perhaps the only answer comes when folks realize that each person is created in the image of God, deserving of love, mercy, and respect. Perhaps the answer comes when we begin to see the presence of God in one another, put ourselves aside, and see life through the eyes of that other person. Perhaps, the answer comes when we truly seek daily to love God with all our heart, soul, strength, and mind, and love our neighbor as ourselves – just like the Lord teaches.
Prayer: Lord, you have commanded us to love one another, yet we are so poor at it. Forgive us for our disobedience, faithlessness, and divisiveness. Have mercy on us, heal us, and gather us as one. Amen.