The Readings
Jeremiah 7:23–28
This command I gave them, “Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people; and walk only in the way that I command you, so that it may be well with you.” Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but, in the stubbornness of their evil will, they walked in their own counsels, and looked backward rather than forward. From the day that your ancestors came out of the land of Egypt until this day, I have persistently sent all my servants the prophets to them, day after day; yet they did not listen to me, or pay attention, but they stiffened their necks. They did worse than their ancestors did.
So you shall speak all these words to them, but they will not listen to you. You shall call to them, but they will not answer you. You shall say to them: This is the nation that did not obey the voice of the Lord their God, and did not accept discipline; truth has perished; it is cut off from their lips.
Luke 11:14–23
Jesus was casting out a demon that was mute; when the demon had gone out, the one who had been mute spoke, and the crowds were amazed. But some of them said, “He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons.” Others, to test him, kept demanding from him a sign from heaven. But he knew what they were thinking and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself becomes a desert, and house falls on house. If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? —for you say that I cast out the demons by Beelzebul. Now if I cast out the demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your exorcists cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out the demons, then the kingdom of God has come to you. When a strong man, fully armed, guards his castle, his property is safe. But when one stronger than he attacks him and overpowers him, he takes away his armor in which he trusted and divides his plunder. Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.”
Reflection by Becky Hansell
All the liturgical readings for today were tough; none felt encouraging or hopeful. Which feels about how the last year has gone. hey all spoke of hardened hearts and hard decisions. It doesn’t feel like my heart has hardened over the last year, especially when I grieve yet another thing that is cancelled or lost. But when I thought more about this I wondered if my lack of capacity has dumbed down (numbed?) my response to other things. If it has subtly pushed me towards a me versus “them” mentality, a less nuanced analysis. Have I hardened my heart to my family when I get frustrated seeing the 1000th dirty dish laying around? Have I hardened my heart when my elected leaders don’t act and do what I want them to do? Have I even hardened my heart against my church when I feel like my church should be doing things differently?
I think we’re all exhausted. I know I am and I don’t even have to worry about job security or my family’s general health. Maybe we’re all just doing the best that we can, and I need to allow for more grace rather than more hardening and digging in. What does it look like to be “with” Jesus right now? I’m not even sure I know. And I know that being “with” Jesus, isn’t an easy journey. But I do know that without him doesn’t feel very good. Jesus tells us in these verses that a kingdom divided will fall. That makes sense to me when I think about each of the communities that I’m part of: my family, neighborhood, church, country. Me versus “them” feels… isolating, frustrating, angry, unproductive, and hopeless. I believe we all have so much more in common than what divides us. I want to live with the hope of Easter, with resurrection and renewal on the horizon. I want to do the work of following Jesus versus the digging in that division demands. Maybe my first step is to want to want to be curious; to want to want to listen. To want to stay in the conversation instead of fuming inside or walking away angry. I know this kind of work is hard, but it also sounds so much rewarding than the alternative.