Peace and Division

Luke 12:49-56

Luke 12:49-56 (NRSV):

49 “I have come to cast fire upon the earth, and how I wish it were already ablaze! 50 I have a baptism with which to be baptized, and what constraint I am under until it is completed! 51 Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division! 52 From now on five in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three; 53 they will be divided:

father against son

    and son against father,

mother against daughter

    and daughter against mother,

mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law

    and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”

54 He also said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, you immediately say, ‘It is going to rain,’ and so it happens. 55 And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, ‘There will be scorching heat,’ and it happens. 56 You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?

Queries:

What kind of “peace” is worth pursuing?

What kind of “peace” is worth rejecting?

How do we love well and live well in the midst of division?