Luke 12:49-53
“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.”
I sometimes wish the Christian story were easier. This passage, with its strong emphasis on division, even to the point of splitting families, is a great example of this.
Here’s the thing: I hate division. Whether it’s because I’m a middle child or a mediator by nature, I really don’t like conflict and division.
But one of things I’ve learned over time is that the only time there is no division in a community is when there is no vision. Because a vision sets a course, pulls you forward, and invites – even demands – change. And that creates division.
Jesus came with a vision of God’s coming kingdom. It’s a kingdom that stands in stark contrast to the kingdoms of the world. Rather than valuing the strong and powerful, it values the poor and vulnerable. Rather than prizing power, it lifts up compassion. Rather than coming by force, it comes in weakness and vulnerability. And for all these reasons, it challenges the status quo and makes people nervous, uncomfortable, even angry.
Which is why Jesus causes division.
Notice, though, that he doesn’t enjoy this either. Jesus, too, is under stress. He was baptized by John and the Spirit at the opening of his ministry, but that baptism has not yet reached its culmination. The baptism of which he speaks, in fact, will only be completed at his cross.
So why, then, does he follow through with this message and vision? Why endure the pain and stress and suffering that such a baptism entails?
Because that’s just how glorious and needful the vision of the kingdom with which he’s been blessed and burdened is. This vision – of a God who loves all and a world drawn together by sharing that love – is worth it. It’s that simple, that hard, and that beautiful. Not easy, to be sure, but beautiful to the end.
Prayer: Dear God, help us catch – and share – the beautiful vision that is your kingdom. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Regarding your paragraph stating: “But one of things I’ve learned over time is that the only time there is no division in a community is when there is no vision. Because a vision sets a course, pulls you forward, and invites – even demands – change. And that creates division.”
I find this paragraph very interesting; and even moreso when I think of the meaning of the word “di-vision”, with the prefix “di-” meaning “two, double, twice”. Like Christ is giving us a special type of double vision, or the chance to see more than once what his vision, his course, this change, his stress, his grace, will create.