Word to the Wise
Thursday, March 31, 2011 - 3rd Week of Lent - Thurs
[Jer 7:23-28 and Luke 11:14-23]Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste and house will fall against house..... [Luke]
Jesus speaks these words in response to an accusation that his power to cast out demons comes from a character known as "Beelzebul, the prince of demons." The point is one of common sense. Why would demons want to cast out demons? Furthermore, since his questioners also claimed power to cast out demons, where do THEY get their power? It is a typical rabbinical debate. However, the point about a "kingdom divided against itself" seems to carry a common sense meaning that goes beyond the issue of casting out demons. Many of us may recall that Abraham Lincoln used the image in his debates with Stephen Douglas in referring to the issue of slavery in the United States, pointing out that he did not believe the country could exist "half slave and half free." This goes to the idea of "national integrity" - i.e. are there values that are so fundamental to the cultural and political character of the nation that certain patterns of conduct threaten that "national integrity" in such a way as to cause violent conflict? Slavery was clearly a form of conduct that was counter to the fundamental values enshrined in the U.S. Constitution (even though the Constitution itself did not originally forbid the practice!). The result was the Civil War, the effects of which are still felt in the South 150 years or more later!
The "divided kingdom" image could be helpful in our own personal examination of our lives in Lent! It has been my experience as a counselor and confessor that the individualism fostered by our national culture leads to a form of "compartmentalization" of life in which we isolate various elements of our life and practice in such a way that we may be divided without even knowing it! We put our faith in one compartment and our conduct in another and live as if the two have no relationship! The conflict can become acute if we have awareness of the inconsistency, but often enough this awareness is lacking. We see no inconsistency between our faith and our prejudices! We see no conflict between our consumer oriented lifestyles and the terrible scourge of hunger, homelessness, etc. in our own country, let alone in the rest of the world. If we isolate our faith from these needs, we run the ultimate risk of no longer seeing that our response to our neighbor is our response to Christ! A reading of the scene of the final judgment in the Gospel of Matthew [25:31-45] should be enough, but it rarely is. It is very threatening to look at the divisions in our own selves, even though the result could be a very beneficial "conversion." The season of Lent offers an opportunity to realize how sin can divide and destroy a person, a community and a nation! AMEN
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