To gather and scatter

Thursday of the Third Week of Lent
Gospel: Luke 11:14-23
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/032725.cfm

When people are looking for something to be wrong, they will find something wrong. Once someone has dismissed someone else, it’s hard for that person to be redeemed regardless of what they do. Jesus was in that situation in today’s gospel. After performing a miracle, he gets accused of healing in the name of a demon. 

Jesus uses practical logic to defend himself. He says that a house divided against itself can’t stand. The use of the word house shows that there’s a sense of togetherness or people that should be together. A house calls to mind family, a group to which you have an intimate knowledge. A group that has remained together in good times and in bad. They have had their challenges and have stayed together. They love and take care of each other. They have experienced joy together and have been a shoulder for each other to cry on.

The house that Jesus references is the faith community. The divided house were the followers of Yahweh. The struggles with the Jewish people were caused by skepticism with one another. The Jewish people were not unified and neither were their religious leaders. Brother was against brother. People were quick to judge and dismiss others that did not fully align on their beliefs. They were looking for a reason to cast out others who did not fit their mold. 

Jesus was doing the will of God. He was not condemning people but was healing their community. Some of the people were putting themselves in opposition to Jesus. Jesus sought unity for all people, but he saw that unity requires acceptance. There was nothing that Jesus could do if they had already dismissed him. There was nothing he could do to change their mind if they were sizing him up to see if they could catch him off guard. Instead of attacking them, he calls out their actions. He didn’t dismiss them in return, he was open for the relationship and left it open for their choice.

Jesus chose to not make it adversarial, but took it as an opportunity to show them who they were. God always gives us the choice. We can always gather or we can scatter. With God, there is no option for us to overcome as in the parable Jesus shares. There may be a stronger man to conquer a defended palace, but there will never be a stronger God.

When we gather, we pull together. When we scatter, we pull apart. This goes for our relationship with God as much as it goes for our neighbor. May we find ways this season to gather. The distance we put between each other keeps us divided. Help us to embrace and not push away. Amen.