20th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Cycle C
August 14,
2016
4:00pm
at Saint Mary Parish, Pylesville
11:00am
at Saint Matthew Parish, Baltimore
What Does Jesus Mean?
Today’s gospel is not one of
those warm passages of Scripture.
It is very different from Jesus
saying, “Come to me, all you who are
weary and find life burdensome, and I will refresh you.” And it is very different from Jesus praying, “I pray that they may be one, as you, Father,
are in me and I in you.”
And, of course, it is very
different from our prayers here at Mass.
We don’t say, “May the division of
the Lord be with you,” but “May the
peace of the Lord be with you.”
This passage can seem
out-of-sync, almost contradictory to the rest of the gospel. So, I ask, we can ask:
what does Jesus really mean here?
I think
the key to understanding this lies in the three images that Jesus uses. 1) Fire, 2) Baptism and 3) Division.
1.
Fire
Scripture
commentaries say that fire is an image for choice.
So
Jesus is saying that sometimes we will have to make a choice to follow his way
or not. We will have to discern and
choose right from wrong.
This
will be true for children who are tempted to go onto the Internet when their
parents have told them not to, or for business people in their dealings with customers. The image of fire says that Jesus calls us to
make choices.
2.
Baptism
And
then, when Jesus speaks of baptism here, maybe surprisingly, he is not talking
about the sacrament.
Scripture
experts tell us that this means our willingness to be immersed at times not in
water but in suffering. The idea is that
some of the choices we have to make will be uncomfortable.
So
maybe we’re looked down upon and talked about because we will not participate
in a conversation that negatively stereotypes certain people, especially those
who are different from us in some way.
The image of baptism says that Jesus calls us to accept some suffering as
a result of the choices we make.
3.
Division
And
then – and here’s the most confusing of the ideas – Jesus says that he has come
for division and not for peace.
This
also flows from the image of fire or our choice to follow the way of Jesus. The idea is that sometimes our choices will
divide us from others.
So our
youth who say no to alcohol or drugs or sex may find themselves divided from
some of their peers. This is the kind of
division that Jesus means.
Who Causes Division?
But
notice: it is not Jesus who causes the division.
Jesus
never intends, never wants and himself never causes division. Just page through the gospels and look at
Jesus’ life.
Jesus
never divides himself from anyone. And he
never divides anyone else from himself.
His being
with those who were isolated and on the margins of society and with those labelled
as sinners is clear proof of this. There
is no division here.
In
fact, this is one of the traits of Jesus that some people choose – they choose
to reject. Some of the people of Jesus’
day hold themselves above and beyond certain others and think Jesus should do
the same.
So they
reject Jesus. They divide themselves
from him and, in the end, they precipitate his crucifixion.
This, I
suggest, is the division that Jesus foresees. He foresees that his humble, open, embracing
way would be hard for some people to accept and that is why he speaks of
division.
Still,
the example or model that Jesus himself gives is not division but relationship
and oneness, no matter how right we think we are and how wrong we think others
are. Jesus sees this as the way for
everyone to grow closer to God.
