Reading 1 Rom 6:19-23
Brothers and sisters:
I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your nature.
For just as you presented the parts of your bodies as slaves to impurity
and to lawlessness for lawlessness,
so now present them as slaves to righteousness for sanctification.
For when you were slaves of sin, you were free from righteousness.
But what profit did you get then
from the things of which you are now ashamed?
For the end of those things is death.
But now that you have been freed from sin and have become slaves of God,
the benefit that you have leads to sanctification,
and its end is eternal life.
For the wages of sin is death,
but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 1:1-2, 3, 4 And 6
R. (Ps 40:5) Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.
Blessed the man who follows not
the counsel of the wicked
Nor walks in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the company of the insolent,
But delights in the law of the LORD
and meditates on his law day and night.
R. Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.
He is like a tree
planted near running water,
That yields its fruit in due season,
and whose leaves never fade.
Whatever he does, prospers.
R. Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.
Not so the wicked, not so;
they are like chaff which the wind drives away.
For the LORD watches over the way of the just,
but the way of the wicked vanishes.
R. Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.
Gospel Lk 12:49-53
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."
Meditation: Luke 12:49-53
“Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division.” (Luke 12:51)
Wait a minute. Isn’t Jesus the Prince of Peace? Didn’t he come to bring reconciliation and not division? Then why is he telling his disciples something that sounds altogether different?
Jesus wasn’t saying that he was on a mission of division and disintegration. Rather, he was describing a natural consequence of his coming. He knew that not everyone would accept the good news and that this rejection could cause conflicts. So he wanted to warn his disciples ahead of time, so that they would not become disillusioned or frustrated when the inevitable divisions did occur.
Jesus also wanted to make it clear that the coming of the Messiah did not mean instant and universal peace. A new age has dawned, to be sure, but it isn’t the final age of harmony and tranquility that we all long for. No, we live in the age of the church, an era marked by the ongoing struggle between light and darkness that we all know so well.
It’s important for us to know that divisions over issues of faith and morality will happen on their own. God isn’t asking us to become confrontational zealots. He doesn’t want us preaching a gospel of harsh condemnation to those who disagree with us. Rather, he wants us to try our best to respond to his call in our lives. And if our words or our witness causes conflicts, he wants us to learn how to lighten up, refine our approach, and look for another opportunity to share the gospel in a less argumentative way. In bad times as well as good, we need to be openhearted to everyone we meet, sowing seeds of the love that God has poured into our hearts.
Remember: Not all divisions have to be permanent. St. Paul tells us that the kingdom of God is a matter of “righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Romans 14:17). If we can keep this promise in the forefront of our minds, we just might be able to help bridge whatever divisions occur and help someone else invite the Lord into his or her life.
“Father, fill me with your joy and peace today. Help me to be an agent of unity and reconciliation in a world of isolation and division.”
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