Saint Category Heading Goes Right Here.
View All Saint Titles
Explore Your Division
4 min
Gospel
Lk 12:49-53
“I came to cast fire upon the earth; and would that it were already kindled! I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how I am constrained until it is accomplished! Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division; for henceforth in one house there will be five 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 her mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.”
Readings are taken from Dynamic Catholic’s Bible: RSV Catholic Edition.
It’s time to take back your life.
It’s time to slow down to the speed of joy.
All revolutions have a moment when they begin. This is your moment.
Transcript
Explore Your Division
And so we see this
division that Jesus is talking about. We see this division all around our society. And
as we wander further and further from God individually and collectively, there becomes
more and more division. Because in God there is unity. And when our life is unified with
God, then there's integrity in our life. There's authenticity in our life. And when we
separate ourselves from God in different ways or in different parts of our lives, then
we lose that integrity, we lose that authenticity.
And so Jesus talks
today about the vision. And every family's got it, right? Every family's got their
story, and the story maybe is different today than it was 5 years ago or 10 years ago.
It'd be different next year than it is this year. Because relationships are complex and
families are complex. And they're a real challenge to our virtue. They're a real
challenge to our love. But they're also an invitation to growing virtue and invitation
to growing love. And so it's easy to look out into the world and see all the division.
But today's reading is an invitation to look within and say, okay, where is the division
within me? In my heart, how is my heart divided? Part of my heart for God? Part of my
heart against God? We look at the actions of our lives. How are the actions of our lives
divided? Some of them for God, with God? Some of them against God, not with God. Where
is the division within us? And where is the division within our lives? And how are we
being called to address that division? We may be called to be a peacemaker. We may be
called to have a courageous conversation, a difficult conversation.
I
wrote recently about the idea that at most times in our lives, there is a difficult
conversation that we're called to have that we are putting off. You're putting off a
difficult conversation. Maybe today's call is to have that difficult conversation. Maybe
today's call is to be a peacemaker. But let's try to heal the division within us, heal
the division within our lives by allowing Jesus to take up more of our lives and to be
that healing.
Have a great day. And remember, don't just be yourself.
Be the-very best-version-of-yourself. All that God created you to be.
Share
