Divided
Luke 12:49-56[1]
It’s not hard to see that we are a nation divided. This is not a
new phenomenon. The “culture war” that’s been going on in this country has been
recognized for almost 30 years. Its origins go back before that to the times of
social upheaval we went through in the Sixties and Seventies. As opinions about
various social issues changed for some, those who hold onto what they consider
to be more conservative values pushed back strenuously. We’ve seen this “war”
played out primarily on the field of politics, but most families are affected
by it as well. We all know there are certain topics you just don’t talk about
at family dinners!
This intense division has also affected most Christian
denominations. Recent decades have seen divisions in Lutheran, Baptist,
Episcopalian, Presbyterian, Catholic, and Methodist groups. Those churches that
have chosen not to follow the majority view have left their denominations.
Unfortunately, this kind of division hurts all churches. Those that leave a denomination
over disagreements like these typically experience a decline in attendance.
Other churches that stay within their denominations have to try to manage the
tension within the congregation. The
fact of the matter is, like most families, most congregations are not all on
the same page regarding the changes that have taken place in our society.
In our lesson from Luke’s Gospel for today, Jesus makes a
surprising announcement. He says that he has come not to bring peace but
division! If this sounds confusing to you, you’re in good company. How can the
one whom the hosts of heaven heralded at his birth with the declaration of
peace (Luke 2:14) say he has come to bring division? After sending out his
followers with the task of carrying peace to the towns and villages, did Jesus
change his mind and decide to scrap that plan? The message of peace is woven
into the biblical promises of salvation through the Messiah, from the prophets
to Jesus to the Apostles.
How then could Jesus say he has not come to bring peace, but
division? I think part of the answer has to do with understanding the meaning
of the word peace. In the Bible, peace is the wholeness that comes from knowing
God genuinely and living the life God intended for us. Peace is what happens
when God’s reign and God’s justice prevail. It includes all that God is working
toward in this world. The “peace” of the angels’ song is God’s salvation that
brings reconciliation with God and humanity. This kind of peace is clearly at
the heart of Jesus’ message and ministry.
I think that the kind of peace Jesus was rejecting is the
“peace” that comes from avoiding conflict by going along with things as they
are. He was renouncing the approach that seeks to preserve the status quo no
matter what the cost. The peace that Jesus criticized was the approach of
keeping up appearances and preserving a “business as usual” attitude toward
life. Unfortunately, these are values that many of us would endorse. Change is
stressful. Maintaining stability is much easier. But when we maintain the
status quo at the expense of the people around us, the price for our comfort is
too high!
On the other hand, the kind of peace that brings us true
wholeness is the peace that happens when God’s reign and God’s justice prevail.
The truth behind our Gospel lesson for today is that Jesus does come to bring peace, but it is a kind of peace that comes with
a cost. The peace that Jesus brings will only come from righting the wrongs of
injustice, especially the injustice that benefits the privileged few. It is a
kind of peace that will only come from exposing the untruth that perpetuates
the brokenness of our world. It is a
peace that brings with it the strife and division that God’s justice and God’s
truth provoke among those who are comfortable with “business as usual.”[2]
When anyone has the nerve to look at the way things are and say,
“this isn’t right,” it has an unavoidable effect: it divides people. Those who
benefit from the status quo will fight tooth and nail to oppose anyone who
tries to change things. That’s why Jesus said
he had come to bring division. He did not shy away from exposing the unjust
systems of his day. He told parables
that pointed out how the religious leaders had enriched themselves at the expense
of the people, in direct violation of the Torah
they claimed to uphold. He pointedly confronted them for abandoning the
commandments of God when it was convenient, and yet insisting on keeping the
letter of the Law when it suited them. The division Jesus brought was one that
came from directly confronting the “powers that be” of his day for abandoning
God’s standards of justice.[3]
The Gospels make it clear that Jesus came to break down the
systems of injustice and untruth that exploit and oppress people, especially
the most vulnerable. His intention was not to destroy, but to clear the way for
God’s kingdom, for God’s justice, and for God’s peace that brings wholeness and
life. If we would follow Jesus in this way of peace, it will mean that we have
to repent. We have to repent of the selfishness that seeks our own welfare at
the expense of others. We have to repent of the choices we make that reinforce
a “business as usual” attitude and ignores the least and the lost and the left
out. And when we do repent and follow Jesus in the way of justice he lived and
taught, we must expect that it will provoke the division he warned about.
[1]
© 2019 Alan Brehm. A sermon delivered by Rev. Dr. Alan Brehm on 8/18/2019 at
Hickman Presbyterian Church, Hickman, NE.
[2]
Cf. J. Moltmann, Crucified God, 39,
where he speaks of the necessity of “the painful demonstration of truth in the
midst of untruth.”
[3]
Cf. Luz, Matthew, 112, where he says,
“The message of ultimate peace … and of
the love of God for the underprivileged has a political dimension and evokes
the resistance of all those who defend power and privileges.”
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