“mother against daughter and daughter against mother;” (Luke 12:53)

by Shiu Lan 2016-08-14

Shiu Lan 2016-08-14

Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Jeremiah 38:4-6, 8-10
In those days, the princes said to the king: “Jeremiah ought to be put to death; he is demoralizing the soldiers who are left in this city, and all the people, by speaking such things to them; he is not interested in the welfare of our people, but in their ruin.” King Zedekiah answered: “He is in your power”; for the king could do nothing with them. And so they took Jeremiah and threw him into the cistern of Prince Malchiah, which was in the quarters of the guard, letting him down with ropes. There was no water in the cistern, only mud, and Jeremiah sank into the mud. Ebed-melech, a court official, went there from the palace and said to him: “My lord king, these men have been at fault in all they have done to the prophet Jeremiah, casting him into the cistern. He will die of famine on the spot, for there is no more food in the city.” Then the king ordered Ebed-melech the Cushite to take three men along with him, and draw the prophet Jeremiah out of the cistern before he should die.

Hebrews 12:1-4
Brothers and sisters: Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, 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 perfecter of faith. For the sake of the joy that lay before him he endured the cross, despising its shame, and has taken his seat at the right of the throne of God. Consider how he endured such opposition from sinners, in order that you may not grow weary and lose heart. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood.

Luke 12:49-53
Jesus said to his disciples: “I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing! There is a baptism with which I must be baptized, and how great is my anguish until it is accomplished! Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. From now on a household of five will be divided, three against two and two against three; a father will be divided against his son and a son against his father, a mother against her daughter and a daughter against her mother, a mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.”

In this Sunday's Gospel Reading, we hear Jesus speak about family discord that might arise from following Him.

Why is this so? Did he not tell us in the earlier part of Luke Chapter 12 about God's providence for us, (“The hairs of your head have all been counted” Luke 12:7) and indeed for all of His creation (“Notice how the flowers grow. They do not toil or spin.” Luke 12:27)? Why did Jesus foretell family discord when one decides to follow him?

If we look at family conflicts, we can see that they almost always arise from a love relationship being challenged, such as a husband finding that getting along with the mother-in-law is not easy even after many years of marriage because the latter may still feel he has taken the daughter away from her. Or the children may feel neglected and may even harbor a grudge against parents who focus too much on their careers, worldly success and riches and not spending enough time with them.

Likewise, if one has a vocation to the religious life, or has been called to be more involved with the church, it may not be easy to gain family support. In fact, such a call to serve may well become a source of conflict, i.e. “mother against daughter and daughter against mother” (Luke 12:53), just as Jesus has predicted. It is our human nature to focus first on tangible things that we can see and feel in this life. It is only with the eyes of faith that we can envision things that are eternal, the “unfailing treasure” (Luke 12: 32) in heaven promised by God. When not everyone in the family has the same vision of faith, conflict arises.

With faith, we shall overcome the family discord that Jesus has warned us ahead of time. Let us be encouraged by St. Paul's words in the Second Reading that we should “look to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith” and “run with perseverance the race that is set before us” (Hebrews 12:1-2) in our earthly journey.

Shiu Lan

Shiu Lan is your Catholic neighbour with a simple faith and likes praying the Rosary. With a B.Sc from the University of Hong Kong, she worked in Information Technology and Project Management before working with joy at home.

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“mother against daughter and daughter against mother;” (Luke 12:53)

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