Division

A long standing proverb wisely states, "A house divided cannot stand."  Division is dynamite to any structure, yet Jesus seems to be advocating it in today's gospel passage (Mt 10:34-11:1). " Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth.  I have come to bring not peace but the sword. (Mt 10: 34)  Jesus speaks in hyperbolic terms, a familiar literary device in Hebrew literature, to make his point: there will be division and unhappiness unless Jesus comes first, cross and all.  It is through love and service to him that true happiness comes.  And we certainly know world-wide now with the pandemic that most of our sources of meaning and happiness have been removed from our daily lives and we are down to a "bare bones" existence.  Are we wise enough to "get the message" that centering our lives around Jesus and his teachings is what is going to make us whole and help us get along better with each other?  A look at the daily news shows us that we are far from unity, but divided and dividing more and more from each other every day. Such a house is doomed to fall.  Is that what we want?
Bro. Rene