By Rev. Canon David B. Tabo-oy
“I came to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already kindled! v50I have a baptism to receive, and how distressed I am until it is over! v51Do you suppose that I came to bring peace to the world? No, not peace, but division. v52From now on a family of five will be divided, three against two and two against three. v53Fathers will be against their sons, and sons against their fathers; mothers will be against their daughters, and daughters against their mothers; mothers-in-law will be against their daughters-in-law, and daughters-in-law against their mothers-in-law.” – Read: Luke 12.49-59
Although Jesus Christ is called “Prince of Peace”, and truth must always be proclaimed in love, there is a sense in which his coming and the proclamation of the gospel will bring division, and do so intentionally. Faith in Christ separates the believers from the sinner and the world. The proclamation of God’s Word and its truth will bring opposition, division and persecution. A life lived according to Christ’s righteous standards will bring ridicule and scorn. The defense of the New Testament apostolic faith against heresy will bring division. The teaching of Christ about peace and unity must be faithfully held in tension with the truth that he “did not come to bring peace, but a sword.” These are the truths that every Christian believer and the institutional church must contend with as they travel the narrow path of faithful discipleship.
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Jesus lets those gathered know that following him will not be easy, particularly because the gospel will not always bring peace. Families were being torn apart when the gospel spread because it changed everything. Given our contexts, this may not always happen, but there certainly could be some disagreement or strife in families as the nature of the call is worked out and understood. Whether it be to attend church, go to seminary, engage in social justice issues, etc. the gospel’s effects can create division. There is no doubt that many churches have experienced division at some time in their histories. The problem may not lie in the division itself, but in how we respond to the divisions that happen in our lives.
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One possibility may be to see that God is at work in all realities, and that division is not the problem. Perhaps it is in our own naive expectation that we have more truth than others. Instead, could God be at work on both sides of an issue? There have been calls within the Christian church to become one church so that all might believe. Jesus’ talk about division may point to a broken reality for Christianity no matter how hard we work toward unity. Perhaps this is Jesus’ point: that human togetherness is not what the gospel is about. Rather, the gospel preached into the life of an individual person will do its work, and we are left to trust that it is God at work, and resist our attempts to control the outcome.
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[Episcopal News Service – Canterbury, England] BISHOPS WRAP LAMBETH CONFERENCE WITH LOOK AHEAD TO UNITY, DESPITE PERSISTENT DIVISIONS. Bishops from across the Anglican Communion, meeting Aug. 6 for their last business day at the Lambeth Conference, looked to the future as they emphasized the conference’s theme of Anglicans engaging with the wider world.
Many Episcopal bishops arrived at the July 26-Aug. 8 conference expressing trepidation over conservative attempts to reaffirm past Anglican statements against same-sex marriage. Though stark divisions remain over issues of human sexuality across the communion, which covers 165 countries, Episcopal bishops said they are concluding their time in Canterbury on a more hopeful note.
“I have hope in the communion,” Western North Carolina Bishop José McLoughlin said from the main venue stage. “There’s a recognition that we are really here grounded in Jesus, that we really do have a desire to make Jesus’ love known to all people.”
Loya, the Minnesota bishop, remained hopeful that divisions between provinces will not prevail.
“The Anglican Communion has always been somewhat messy and complicated, and my sense is that’s not going to change anytime soon,” he said. “But what we’ve also learned and talked about here over and over is ultimately this is God’s church, and ultimately the mission of the church is driven by the power and love of God and does not depend on any of us getting it right together.” (Excerpts from the Episcopal News Service Website)
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The above reality in the Anglican Communion, I would say, is just one instance of the fulfillment of Jesus’ ‘prophecy’ in our gospel reading this Sunday. This division within this part of Christ’s family, happened before, is happening and will still happen in the future even in the wider family of the Church universal – until Christ will come again. And when he shall come again the fire from heaven will be lit and shall consume all the causes of these divisions. But as expressed by those interviewed during the closing hours of the Lambeth Conference and the exhilarating and moving closing service, by God’s grace and the power of His love the Anglican Communion will slowly but surely emerge stronger and united than ever. The Lambeth Conference is a decennial assembly of bishops of the Anglican Communion convened by the Archbishop of Canterbury for prayer and reflection, fellowship and dialogue on church and world affairs. The above optimism is captured with the theme of this Lambeth Conference 2022, ‘God’s Church for God’s World – walking, listening and witnessing together.’ The first such conference took place at Lambeth in 1867.
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Elie Wiesel wrote, ‘We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.’ Few of us like to be unpopular or stand up and be counted even when principles are at stake and our voice needs to be heard. We are part of the silent majority lacking the moral courage to speak out. The gospel is forcing us to face the fact that if we are to be followers of Christ, conflict and tension are unavoidable. Jesus never promised that the journey would be without its crosses. They are the inevitable part of being a Christian.
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The teaching of Jesus demands acceptance or rejection. There is no escape route trying to play the role of an anonymous Christian. If we accept Christ’s teaching, we will be opposed and ridiculed by those who reject it. What is at stake is the uncompromising nature of the gospel message, which is the light exposing the darkness of a crooked world. Somewhere along the line we must make the choice of whether we are going to be followers of Christ or not. It’s very serious decision and not to be taken lightly. The call to be prophets by modelling our lives on Christ will automatically mean saying goodbye to a cozy and comfortable existence. It is getting out of comfort zones. If the teaching of Christ does not cause us to question the way we are living, we are falling short of being whole-hearted. The fire of Christ is not burning within our hearts.
Let us pray.
God our Father, you sent your Son to help us in our struggles. Comfort us in our pain and give us strength to act always with trust in your word. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
