A prayer group was discussing body positions for prayer—better to kneel, sit, or stand? Arms raised? Hands folded? What difference did body position make? The members didn’t notice an electrical worker in the back of the room, but he was listening to them. Finally, he came forward, “I couldn’t help but listen to you talk. I just want to say the best, most intense prayer of my life was one night during a storm when I was hanging upside down on a utility pole. God heard, answered, and here I am.”
Today’s mass readings consider difficult situations when conflict turns us upside down on a utility pole in the storm.
Luke 12: 49-53
In Scripture, today’s Gospel follows immediately after last week’s Gospel. Jesus is still answering Peter’s question, “Is this meant for us?” It follows the parable about wise and foolish stewards that end with the words “Every one to whom much is given, of him will much be required; and of him to whom men commit much they will demand more.” (Luke 12: 48)
Jesus speaks peace many times in the Gospels, but he does not speak peace here. Is he speaking God’s vengeance or a desire to cause division? While commentators give a variety of perspectives, the “fire” is generally considered to be the power of God’s Presence and Love—think of the cross, Pentecost, and the Sacred Heart. Jesus is saying to his disciples, “There is a powerful manifestation of the Divine soon to happen. It is going to happen in the midst of chaos and division. Expect it. Don’t be intimidated by the chaos. Be faithful through it.”
The inclusion of the lines, “for henceforth in one house there will be five divided…father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against her mother” lead us from Biblical times through the centuries to today. Many of the “nones” who do not believe in God or practice faith today have fathers and mothers who do believe and do practice. Families and friends disagree about how to handle the current polarities around abortion. There are differences in attitudes about gender identity and sexual morals. Jesus is describing situations just like the one we are living in now. His words are meant for us today.
Does Jesus’ comment of “Do you think I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division” negate other things he said:
- “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God,” (Matthew 5:9)
- “Do not resist one who is evil, but if any one strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also,” (Matthew 5:39)
- “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you,” (Matthew 5:44)
- “Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you.” (Luke 6:37)
- “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you;” (John 14:27)
Bluntly, no.
In fact, John 14: 27 continues, “not as the world gives peace do I give it to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” Later on Holy Thursday night, just before his Passion begins, Jesus repeats the message he gives today: “I have said all this to you to keep you from falling away. They will put you out of the synagogues; indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God.” (John 16:1-2)
Jesus is preparing his disciples—including us—for the times when we are upside down on a utility pole in a storm. He is speaking truth. His goal is to help us remain good and faithful servants, no matter what.
Jeremiah 38:4-6, 8-10
Jeremiah was a prophet in Jerusalem in the years before it fell to Babylon. Several times through the years God sent him to tell the king “Babylon will conquer you; submit.” It is now shortly before Nebuchadrezzar breaches the city walls. Jeremiah once again has told King Hezekiah that the Lord’s direction is to accept being conquered—without a fight. That will not save Hezekiah’s life or the city, but it will save many of the people’s lives. Instead of seeing this as helpful information for coping with reality, King Hezekiah and his court perceive Jeremiah’s prophecy as treason. They throw him into the mud in an empty cistern. The goal is for him to starve to death.
While a friend of Jeremiah pleads with the king who then lets Jeremiah out, the situation begs the question: what is likely to happen when we speak unpleasant truths? Is possible rejection or even violence reason to keep quiet?
Here, it seems to me, God’s Word centuries later is “use prudence” to see what God asks. Jeremiah needed to speak. He did. The king and court objected—but God found a way to keep him safe in the storm. On the other hand, God told King Hezekiah to be quiet, not to fight. He did not listen and obey. Not only did he lose his life, but many other people died who might have been saved.
Knowing what to do in a storm is not easy. The answer is not always to speak—nor is it always to keep quiet. We must listen for what God asks of us.
Hebrews 12:1-4
Hebrews gives us guidance for knowing the difference. It says, “Let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us and persevere in running the race that lies before us while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the leader and perfector of faith.”
What do you do if you are up on a utility pole during an electrical storm? What do you do if you slip in the rain and end up hanging by your safety cord?
Think about it. After you pray, wouldn’t you….try to stabilize yourself—get right-side up or at least able to hold on to the pole until help would come?
Yes—keep your eyes on the prize, the goal. Out in the storm, the prize would be physical safety. In a family or other conflict about a matter of faith, what would give you stability and spiritual safety?
Keep your eyes on the prize(Jesus) and persevere. What did Jesus do? He did not always face conflict head on. Sometimes, he slipped away in the crowd. Mostly he did face it—with all of God’s love and human love, he climbed up the telephone pole. Maybe he healed. Maybe he debated and challenged. Maybe he cast out demons. Maybe he taught. Whatever he did, he did it with the internal peace that comes from working from love and obedience, not power or fear.
Thoughts to ponder from Thomas Merton:
“Sometimes it may be necessary for us to go against social norms in order to obey real norms of objective good on the direct word of God. For when the norms of conduct in a society become arbitrary, capricious, and pragmatic there is great danger that one will passively enter into injustice and evil, refuse to listen to God’s pre-emptory command.
In times like ours, it is more than ever necessary for the individual to train himself, or be trained, according to objective norms of good, and learn to distinguish these from the purely pragmatic norms current in his society. Thus he will come to know the difference between the ‘ways of God and the ways of Satan.’ We cannot trust our society to tell us this difference.” (From Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander, p 114-115.
Prayer:
As the song “Peace Be Still” says:
Master, the tempest is raging
The billows are tossing high
The sky is o’er shadowed with blackness
No shelter or help is nigh
Conflict and media can confuse or intimidate me. Sometimes I am hanging upside down from a utility pole. Say to my soul, “Peace, be still” that I may know Truth, speak it or listen to it and obey, thus bringing the Fire of Divine Love on the earth. Lead me, guide me, Lord.
