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Gospel Reading for October 24, 2024 – Luke 12: 49-53
WILL ALWAYS CAUSE DIVISION
Jesus said to his disciples: “I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing! There is a baptism with which I must be baptized, and how great is my anguish until it is accomplished! Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. From now on a household of five will be divided, three against two and two against three; a father will be divided against his son and a son against his father, a mother against her daughter and a daughter against her mother, a mother-in law against her daughter-in-law and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.”
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Setting something on fire means to ignite and burn, or to excite. Which one did Jesus mean? Perhaps, both. Jesus came to burn everything evil or everything that destroys humanity. It meant getting rid of all these. Jesus’ teaching brought excitement to the Jews. They never heard anyone preach the way he did, and they never saw anyone perform so many miracles.
The society Jesus was born into was more or less, an authoritative one, not only because they were under the Romans, but because they perceived their religious leaders (especially the scribes and Pharisees) to have legitimate authority, so people tend to respect and follow whatever they were taught by them. It is therefore, not surprising, that the scribes and Pharisees were so much against Jesus and plotted to kill him because what he was teaching the Jews ran counter to what they were teaching.
Even in our families, there will always be conflicts, especially if decisions made within or by any of its members are against or not in line with Christian principles/values. It is the same in our societies, and even among countries when the laws that are being promulgated are not in line with Christ’s teachings. Christianity WILL ALWAYS CAUSE DIVISION, and rightly so, because it is this DIVISION that makes the devil lose his chance of taking over the world!
Lord Jesus, we always wish to be on your side when these conflicts arise!
