From the Daily Lectionary for Monday in the Twenty-Second Week after Pentecost
Luke 12:49-59
“I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! I have a baptism with which to be baptized, and what stress I am under until it is completed! Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division! From now on, five in one household will be 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 mother,
mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law
and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”
He also said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, you immediately say, ‘It is going to rain;’ and so it happens. And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, ‘There will be scorching heat;’ and it happens. You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?
“And why do you not judge for yourselves what is right? Thus, when you go with your accuser before a magistrate, on the way make an effort to settle the case, or you may be dragged before the judge, and the judge hand you over to the officer, and the officer throw you in prison. I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the very last penny.”
This passage seems a paradox. Jesus has preached unity and reconciliation and peace, but here he speaks of division… dramatic division. Reconciliation and unity and peace are virtues for which to strive, but not at the expense of the truth. There comes a time when the truth comes first, even at the expense of our most treasured relationships. Jesus will go on to say that it is more important than our very lives.
Certainly, we live in such an age, an age that cries out for the truth in the face of illusion and falsehood and willful ignorance. We, brothers and sisters, belong to the truth above all else. At our baptisms we were claimed by a community that lives and moves according to the truth. What are the facets of truth in the present day? Black Lives Matter, the truth; welcoming the immigrant as if she were one of our own family, the truth; following the rule of law so that we as a nation may live together justly and sustainably, the truth; we advocate for a government whose policies seek to include those without privilege in the American enterprise, the truth; we believe honesty is a cardinal virtue, that character matters, the truth.
This passage also appears in Matthew’s Gospel, and Matthew is even more emphatic than Luke. “I come not to bring peace, but a sword,” Jesus tells his stunned disciples. We are in a battle for the soul of this nation. We have a choice between tyranny, and the possibility of a renewed Democratic Republic. Our sword is our vote. Wield it nobly, good people. Let it flash like lightning in defense of the good and the true. Divisions can heal in time, and we are bound to the healing process. That comes later… but for now, The truth.
A Prayer for the Election (BCP p. 822)
O God, to whom we must account for all our powers and privileges: Guide the people of the United States in the election of officials, representatives, and the president of the United States, that, by faithful administration and wise and just laws, the rights of all may be protected and our nation enabled to fulfill your purposes; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
