Today, we celebrate the memorial of Saint Francis de Sales, Bishop, and Doctor of the Church. Saint Francis is known for his deep faith and his gentle approach to the religious divisions in his land resulting from the Protestant Reformation.
Saint Francis has a saying: “To be an angel in prayer and a beast in one’s relations with people is to go lame on both legs.” He believed the worst sin was judging someone or gossiping about them. Even if we say we do it out of love, we’re still doing it to look better ourselves. We should be as gentle and forgiving with ourselves as we should be with others.
This brings us to today’s Gospel, where the Scribes saw Jesus’ acts of kindness as works of the devil.
The scribes said of Jesus,
“He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and “By the prince of demons he drives out demons.”
One wonders if such accusations were born out of hatred, ignorance, or a misunderstanding of Jesus and His ministry.
No matter what their motives were, their hatred of Jesus and their heartless religiosity blinded them.
Have you ever been accused of something you did not do? How did you feel or react to such a false accusation?
It can be incomprehensible to be accused of something that you did not commit and may not have had anything to do with. Unfortunately, being falsely accused does happen. You are not alone!
Saint James (1:2-3) “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.”
The Pharisees accused Jesus of casting out demons by the power of demons. Jesus objected to their accusation, saying, “If I cast of demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out?”
Jesus uses such opportunity to teach His disciples or us about unity and brotherhood. We are reminded that we must work together as brothers and sisters. A divided family, a divided parish, a divided community cannot stand. We must avoid anything, knowingly or unknowingly, that would contribute to this “house divided.”
There is no room for anyone in the house of God self-inflicting wounds, divided house.
The Book of Proverbs (12:19) states, “Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue is but for a moment.”
We know that the Church, the body of Christ, has had its own share of in-fighting. We grapple with a tumultuous world, divided among ideological lines and political agendas, liberal, conservative, independent, etc.
As Christ-followers, we need to reevaluate what is dividing us and see if the reasons are for our own agendas or because we are following a leadership different from that of God. Now is the time to come together to stabilize our house and not to let division unsettle it.
Like King David, whom God elevated to the throne as the king of united Israel, we are called to keep God at the center of our lives and actions.
I will conclude with this quote from Saint Augustine “Men go forth to wonder at the height of mountains, the huge waves of the sea, the broad flow of the ocean, the course of the stars-and forget to wonder at themselves. Beware of despairing about yourself: you are commanded to put your trust in God, and not in yourself.”
A house divided against itself cannot stand. Have a wonderful week
