Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division! From now on, five in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three; 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.’
A group of my friends recently discussed these verses and the ones that follow. I've been thinking about them since.
I wonder what about Jesus' message would cause such divisiveness. "Love your neighbor" seems pretty innocuous on the surface. How could it drive a wedge between family members?
This fairly dark passage is followed by another.
I wonder what about Jesus' message would cause such divisiveness. "Love your neighbor" seems pretty innocuous on the surface. How could it drive a wedge between family members?
This fairly dark passage is followed by another.
He also said to the crowds, ‘When you see a cloud rising in the west, you immediately say, “It is going to rain”; and so it happens. And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, “There will be scorching heat”; and it happens. You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?
I think perhaps he answers the question here. He calls us to be prophetic. The prophets of the bible were not so much fortune tellers as they were people called to see their world and to speak truth to power. Or, as the passage says, interpret signs.
Is the division caused by divergent interpretations of signs? One looks at the healthcare debate in one way and sees a train wreck coming and decides to "repeal and replace". Another looks at the same situation, also sees a wreck coming, but it's a different wreck with a different solution. The one view is the polar opposite of the other. Neither can see middle ground. So, the conversation becomes a confrontation. Division occurs.
I see our times as "the new sixties", a time of change from old ways to new ways with those in power clinging to the old ways. The polarization reminds me of the rifts in the country over civil rights, the war in Vietnam, women's rights, and so on. In fact, it appears everything old is new again. Civil rights is still an issue but expanded from racial minorities to the LGBTQ community. There's a new war, a war on terror, that is the longest war we've ever fought. And the struggle of women to be completely equal partners in our democracy continues.
I wonder if Jesus foresaw a day when family members would argue to the point of severing ties with each other. I know it's happened in my family. I know other families that struggle with division.
I'm a firm believer in the power of compassion. What if we, regardless of left or right, blue or red, straight or gay, white or not, would view all the signs through the lens of compassion?
I think the result would be safety for refugees, access to healthcare for all, equal rights for all.
What do you think?
I wonder if Jesus foresaw a day when family members would argue to the point of severing ties with each other. I know it's happened in my family. I know other families that struggle with division.
I'm a firm believer in the power of compassion. What if we, regardless of left or right, blue or red, straight or gay, white or not, would view all the signs through the lens of compassion?
I think the result would be safety for refugees, access to healthcare for all, equal rights for all.
What do you think?
