Luke 12:41 - 59
Today’s very brief gospel describes a cry from Jesus’ heart. He knows that in the end God will triumph and evil will be overthrown. But he also knows that getting to that point will be extremely painful, not only for himself, but for everyone who is with him.
Much of what Jesus tells his disciples suggests that he is bringing peace, that he is the source of unity for his followers. Yet today he says he will not bring peace, but rather division. How do we reconcile this? The Christian world is certainly no example of unity, and even within the Catholic church there is a lot of division. About sixty percent of Catholics don’t agree with things the Church says are non-negotiable. If you are a regular church goer, and only 26 percent of people who call themselves Catholics are, you know what these positions are -- abortion is the destruction of human life; the Eucharist is the Body and Blood of Christ, serious sin requires the sacrament of penance; sex outside of marriage is a siin, and I could go on. Of course the Church believes in all ten commandments, but takes a counter-cultural position on a few. Most of us would agree that murder is bad, as is theft and adultery. So the Church, like Jesus, seems to bring division.
And I think that’s what Jesus is talking about. There are things he says that have been recorded in the gospels that leave many of us, even those of us who try to lead good Catholic lives, a little bothered. “Sell all you have and give to the poor,” he says, “and you will have treasure in heaven”. “If your eye offends you, pluck it out…” you remember that saying. “Whoever would be great among you must be a servant”. “Blessed are you when people hate you…”.
Now most of us hear these things and we water them down, and Jesus may have been exaggerating, it’s true, especially with that command of self-mutilation. But there have been people who have listened to Jesus and tried with all their hearts to follow him. Saint Clare, whose feast we celebrate this week, lived a life of complete poverty. Saint Theresa Benedicta of the Cross, formerly Edith Stein, went cheerfully to her martyrdom, as did Saint Lawrence the deacon. And just about any saint you can name lived an heroic, counter-cultural life that divided people, even those within the Church. The point is that you can expect push-back, even from your loved ones, when you decide to take Jesus seriously. And yet, that’s the division that he’s talking about. Father against son, mother against daughter, and so on. MY parents were pretty good Catholics, I would say. But I remember coming home from college at Catholic University of America. On the drive home I was going on and on about all the great insights I had gotten from my religion classes. My mother became very upset and made it clear that she didn’t want to hear any of this. I learned my lesson.
Following Jesus will bring about division, and the closer you follow him, the more division you will experience. Sometimes you will just be excluded from polite company, or considered a bit peculiar because of your beliefs. Other times it will be real persecution; you may face beijing canceled because of your advocacy -- or even physically assaulted as usually happens at the March for Life in DC.
So where is this peace that Jesus promised in some of his other sayings? I think it’s different. I don’t think we can expect global peace during the life of the human race. It will only come at the end of the world. People will try and there may be little pockets where peace breaks out for a few years. And then Russia will invade Ukraine, China will threaten Taiwan, Saudi Arabia will bomb Yemen back to the stone age -- and war will break out again. But there is a peace. Saint Paul describes the Peace of God, which passes all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” It’s a mysterious peace. It seems to come from forming a relationship with Jesus, a relationship of intimate friendship. It doesn’t mean you have to be a monk or a martyr, but it does mean you have to cooperate with Jesus, who wants to form this friendship with you. This is something anyone can achieve. Recently I read a very simple plan for spiritual growth. First, when you go to a restaurant, sometimes choose your second or third favorite thing instead of the first. Second, when you are standing in line at the DMV, thank God for things. Third, speak to Jesus throughout the day -- “I love you, Lord.” “Thanks for taking on my sins and opening heaven for me.” “Please help that woman who looks like everything she owns is in that shopping cart” -- and maybe I will as well. You can have a dialogue with Jesus if you take the earbuds out of your ears and put away the cell phone for a few minutes. This is what the saints did. It’s what each of us can do. And that will bring peace, the peace Saint Paul talks about, which surpasses all understanding.
