History buffs will remember that, when Abraham Lincoln was running for the Senate, he gave a speech using the image of a “house divided against itself cannot stand” which he had, no doubt, learned from the Gospel of St. Mark. When he looked around the country in 1858 he saw a country divided. His prophetic insight was, all too sadly, fulfilled when the Civil War broke out three years later. It’s kind of Captain Obvious to say we are nation divided: blue state/red state, conversative/liberal, Republican/Democrat. Right on cue, Hollywood notices and puts out a movie called, what else, Civil War. Nor are divisions limited to US politics. The world at large is a house divided. Christianity is a house divided. Even the Catholic Church can look like a house divided with proponents for the Latin Mass and proponents of Vatican II, friends and foes of Pope Francis throwing brickbats at one another. As history demonstrates, such divisions can have terrible consequences – war, schism, rupture, desertion. It is tempting to wring one’s hands in despair when seeing the divisions in nation and Church.
Jesus worried about divisions. He knew how toxic a divided house could be. According to St. John’s Gospel, at the Last Supper Jesus prayed for unity – “that all may be one.” As long as we have Jesus praying for unity we have hope. This is still God’s world and God is still at work. To feel trapped in a divided house is to downplay the power of the Holy Spirit to make all things new. Jesus warns us not to do that. The Holy Spirit must not be blasphemed, ignored, denigrated but instead trusted as the force or power which is at work even now bringing about God’s kingdom of peace and justice.
However, as the life of Jesus demonstrates, he had to deal with division. Certainly, he was divided from the scribes and the Pharisees who looked on him as a danger to their understanding of Jewish practice. Closer to home, as the gospel of St. Mark testifies, Jesus was even divided from his own family, from his neighbors, from his childhood friends. They said, “He is out of his mind.” Despite wanting an end to division, despite praying for unity, despite a vision of all becoming one, during his life Jesus had to cope with a divided house. We should probably not be surprised, therefore, that divisions are a feature of our time as well. Since we do trust that the Holy Spirit is at work we must work toward the prayed-for unity. The scripture readings for this Sunday give us some hints on how to do so.
First, fess up. When you look at the story of Adam and Eve in the book of Genesis you can’t find anyone taking responsibility. It was someone else’s fault. Adam pointed at Eve, “I didn’t do it, She did it.” Eve pointed at the snake, “I didn’t do it, He did it.” And if the snake had any arms for pointing, I’m sure he would have blamed someone else. They were reluctant to fess up to their own culpability in the original sin. Perhaps the lesson: the only way to overcome division is for everyone to acknowledge that we all contribute to it in some way. We presume that our attitudes, opinions, prejudices, outlook are the correct ones. If someone thinks otherwise, they aren’t like me and are on the other side of the divide. Only when we are willing to face our own contribution to creating division can we move forward.
Second, look up. Don’t look down. One of the commandments of Jesus was to “stop judging, lest you be judged.” We readily judge others – their motives, their intentions, their hearts. Jesus always looked up at the potential he saw in people instead of looking down on them for their faults and failings. One of the constant criticisms throughout his life was that he hung around with sinners and prostitutes. Instead of seeing them as unworthy or as undeserving, Jesus recognized them as children of God. St. Paul put it in the epistle: “We have the same spirit of faith.” When we find ourselves divided from someone we must learn to accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative. St. Ignatius put it, always assign the best possible interpretation on the words and deeds of others. We might say today, cut everyone a break and give a positive spin. When we see others in the best possible light, then the divisions don’t harden into walls.
Finally, sign up. Create your own family, your own peeps. Jesus said, “Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.” He felt divided from his family so he formed a new set of connections with those who were striving as best they could to live the will of God. One of the major roles that we have as a parish is to provide the opportunity to forge those connections which will support our efforts to live a Godly life. We live in a world which has different values than the gospel – get ahead, look beautiful, look out for number one and devil take the hindmost. We can find ourselves divided from even people we grew up with as we try to live a life of compassion, forgiveness, generosity, charity. Jesus formed a community based on the will of God that would support him in his life. We can do the same.
A sufi saying: When I was young I asked God to help me change the world. When I was middle aged I asked God to help me change those who I come in contact with – family and friends. Now that I am old I ask God to help me change myself. I should have started off with that prayer!
