Monday, March 6, 2023

 

Monday, March 6, 2023


Psalm 18:1-31

Genesis 43:1-15

Luke 12:49-59


“Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division!”


These are confusing words to hear from the lips of the Prince of Peace. Indeed, the Son of Man, God’s only beloved Son, is the only One through whom we may attain peace with God.


But let’s step back for a moment, and think not just of ourselves. If we were to let our mind’s eye wander, and look down upon this world as if from the International Space Station, we would see not only great beauty, but great evil.


Certain periods of history have been described as an “uneasy peace”, such as that following the wars of religion in the early modern era, or after Napoleon’s decline and fall, or between the two world wars. The term refers to the fact that there will always be tension between people as long as there remains unresolved arguments over injustice or greed; and quite often, these tensions have broken out into continent-spanning warfare.


Jesus exposes the spiritual tension of the world. On the one hand, we are all made in the image of God, and so we all have a deeply-held inclination towards generosity and love. But, on the other, we are in rebellion against that same Creator. We can try and cover this tension with fig-leaves, but eventually Christ comes and lifts the lid on the whole rotten system. The tension cracks, and division occurs. But Jesus wins in the end, and this is the true peace that He brings: not an uneasy peace, of soldiers staring at one another on either side of boundary lines, but true peace, where boundaries are completely removed, and brothers have made peace with each other before they get to the magistrate.

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