The Division of the Heart
In what way does Jesus cause division? How should we understand his statement when it seems to contradict his words elsewhere in the Gospels?
Reading: Luke 12:49-53
The following homily was preached to the student brothers during Compline. You can listen here or read below:
“Do you suppose that I am here to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division.” [Lk 12:51]
This saying of our Lord is a challenging one, because it is difficult to reconcile this with what he says elsewhere. After all, does not our Lord say to his disciples, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you to you” [Jn 14:27]? And is this not the same Jesus who says, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God” [Mt 5:9]? So what does he mean when he says, in today’s gospel reading, that he came to bring division?
Perhaps one way of looking at it is by casting our minds back to the Exodus story. God frees the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, leading them into the wilderness where he reveals himself to them. As we might expect, this encounter with the self-revelation of God shapes the identity of the Israelites, and they are drawn by God away from slavery towards the promised land.
But it is not all smooth-sailing for the Israelites. Indeed, their encounter with God causes much turmoil and division. Now that they have encountered the living God, they cannot but be impelled forwards toward their destiny. But at the same time, they are torn – they constantly look back toward Egypt. They are torn between wanting to trust in the goodness of God, and wanting to take control of their own destiny.
So also it is with us. Through our encounter with Jesus, who is the self-revelation of God, we too are impelled forwards, away from our sinfulness – drawn by love towards Love itself. But this very encounter also divides our hearts. Like the Israelites, we too must choose every day whether to follow God, or to return to slavery in Egypt. This encounter with the Lord is what causes the interior schism of the heart which St Paul speaks of when he says, “I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do” [Rom 7:18-19].
This interior schism is the cost of discipleship. It is uncomfortable – at times, it is painful. But the God who causes this interior division is also the one who can heal it. All we have to do is not to resist the spark of Christ’s love when it enters into our hearts – and he who is the Light shining in the darkness will set our hearts ablaze.
Image: Gustave Dore, The Children of Israel Crossing the River. Courtesy of WikiArt.
