Gospel Reading: Lk 12:49-53
JESUS said to his disciples: “I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing! There is a baptism with which I must be baptized, and how great is my anguish until it is accomplished! Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. From now on a household of five will be divided, three against two and two against three; a father will be divided against his son and a son against his father, a mother against her daughter and a daughter against her mother, a mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.”
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Many wonder why Jesus says this when it is clear that his mission is to bring peace, a peace the world cannot give.
This division is like a family feud. The experience of the early followers of Jesus shows that once you commit to Jesus, somehow you separate yourself from your past, from your loved ones, and from long-held family traditions, and embark on a new relationship. Christians were literally kicked out of the synagogues. Non-Jewish converts, once known as Christians, are no longer given high posts in the government of the Empire. Gentile Christian converts are discriminated against because of their new status that makes them look strange in their behavior.
The division Jesus refers to emerges from following him. It has nothing to do with Christians being divisive, as we understand it today. Many of our families are divided because of unresolved conflict, ideology, politics, envy, or pride.
Neither has it anything to do with discrimination, racism, or elitism, but it is the result of choosing Christ and living out his values and teachings against the prevailing culture of the time. It is unsettling to become a Christian.
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SOURCE: “365 Days with the Lord 2017” ST. PAULS Philippines, 7708 St. Paul Rd., SAV, Makati City (Phils.); Tel.: 895-9701; Fax 895-7328; E-mail: [email protected]; Website: http://www.stpauls.ph.
