Luke 12:49-56 (NRSV)
Read Luke 12:49-56 on biblegateway.com
Verse 49"I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! Verse 50I have a baptism with which to be baptized, and what stress I am under until it is completed! Verse 51Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division! Verse 52From now on five in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three; Verse 53they 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."
Verse 54He also said to the crowds, "When you see a cloud rising in the west, you immediately say, 'It is going to rain'; and so it happens. Verse 55And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, 'There will be scorching heat'; and it happens. Verse 56You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?
Devotion
There are so many ways families can be torn apart: abuse, addiction, divorce, infidelity, politics, prejudice. But regardless of the cause, deep pain is always the result. Which is why Jesus’ announcement that households would be divided because of him doesn’t sit well. Doesn’t Jesus pray elsewhere that we may all be one his name? Then why does he seem to be endorsing broken relationships?
Yet this was the reality for Christians in Luke’s time. Followers of the Way were outcasts. Many had turned their backs on the emperor, their relatives, everything that gave them security in society. Why? Because they truly believed that Jesus was the Messiah. They placed his call to be disciples above their own comfort, status, even flesh and blood.
In our safe, comfortable, family-oriented modern context, we often forget that following Jesus always comes with a cost. You may not have to give up your family to hold on to your faith … but what might it cost you?
Prayer
For those who give up everything in order to follow you, O Lord, we pray. Amen.