Division

Homily for the Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

By Deacon Thomas Stephenson

August 14, 2016

As followers of Jesus, we generally think that He has come to bring peace and harmony to the world, don’t we? He did come to bring peace, but His peace, not necessarily peace as the world understands it. So, the statements we hear Him make in today’s Gospel may surprise us, or even shock us. Does Jesus actually want to instigate turmoil on the earth, and into the lives of his disciples?

Of course, division and fire, stress and anguish, are not what Jesus intends for us, but they are the inevitable result of following His teachings. That was true in the first century, and it is still true in the twenty-first century. Many people do not want to hear what Jesus has to say to them; they resent, oppose, and even ridicule His Word. This is what Jesus expected the reaction would be, toward Him and toward us.

In our first reading, we see the harsh response to the word of God as it was told to the King and the people by Jeremiah. Jeremiah was put into the cistern and left to die of hunger and thirst, because they did not like what he was saying. Although it was dangerous for him to do so, Jeremiah continued to proclaim God’s word, risking his life for the sake of the truth.

Jesus tells us about the divisions that will occur from some following His teachings, and others rejecting those teachings. Father against son, mother against daughter, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law – because of disagreements of Jesus’ teachings. Many of us have personal experiences of these kinds of divisions, including in our families, even among brothers and sisters. It is these divisions between close relative that cut the deepest and hurt the most. Some of those divisions may have created major conflicts; some have just evolved to the point that faith issues are avoided completely. If we find ourselves in conflict with family members because of our beliefs, we must always treat them with respect and love – but we also must remain steadfast in our beliefs. There is no love, there is no mercy, in avoiding the truth. We should continue to pray with hope that those in our families who have objections to the faith will open their minds and hearts to the truth of Jesus’ teachings.

However, we know that the conflict is not limited to our families. It often seems as though much of the world is against what we believe. As Catholics, we need to begin with ourselves, working to maintain our faith, to follow what Jesus, and His Church, teaches. All of those teachings. If we have difficulty with any specific teaching, we have a responsibility to inform ourselves about that teaching. Regardless of what the world around us may think, regardless of how unpopular our positions may be, we must be willing to follow Christ without compromise. That doesn’t mean that we will always be perfectly faithful and sinless – we are all sinners, and fall short frequently. That is why Jesus gave us the Sacrament of Reconciliation. We can still be firm in our faith, and have a strong relationship with Christ, despite our failings.

There are many areas of life in which the faith is currently considered an unwelcome intrusion. In his encyclical The Light of Faith, Pope Francis writes: “...in speaking of the light of faith, we can almost hear the objections of many of our contemporaries. In modernity, that light might have been considered sufficient for societies of old, but was felt to be of no use for new times, for a humanity come of age, proud of its rationality and anxious to explore the future in novel ways.” Some consider our faith a relic of the past. In reality, our faith is a treasure for us to preserve and share, not something that is outdated. It is of use for new times, it is relevant to all times, past, present, and future. It is always loving and merciful, providing us with the light to guide us to our salvation.

The Word of Christ is bound to bring fire and division. In today’s second reading, we hear “Consider Jesus who endured such hostility against Himself from sinners, so that you may not grow weary and lose heart”. We are not meant to seek out conflict, but when conflict arises because of our faith, we are not to lose heart; we can look to Jesus for strength, courage, and wisdom.

When we encounter the inevitable conflict, we also need to remember the spiritual acts of mercy we are focusing on this month, to forgive offences willingly and to bear wrongs patiently. This applies to any issue we have with someone because of a physical, emotional, or spiritual injury wrong we feel has been done. Forgiving those who have injured us is one way of demonstrating our faith, of showing we are followers of Christ.

Even when it is unpopular, we are called to be faithful, bold believers. Let us pray for the courage to live our faith with conviction, to endure division and sacrifice with patience, and to “run with perseverance the race that is set before us.”