Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste and house will fall against house (Luke 11:17).

In today’s Gospel reading, we learn of Jesus’s encounters with the crowd, a crowd who challenges and tests him following his miraculous driving out of demons and evil spirits.  What are Jesus’s motivations, the crowd asks; in whose name does Jesus cast out the evil in the world?  Jesus responds to the crowd, and to us – every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste and house will fall against house (Luke 11:17).  And so it is in our own lives – in our homes, with our families, and in contemporary times and the society in which we live.

As I reflect on today’s Gospel, I find myself constantly drawn to Jesus’s logic on division.  How often is it that we allow our interpersonal relationships to become wounded and scarred because one placed their own needs before the other’s?  And how often does the damage in those relationships multiply when Christian values such as grace, charity, and forgiveness elude us?  This reflection affirms to me how important it is for us to discern the stirrings in our own hearts as we navigate the often-turbulent waters of the relationships in our own lives - to seek unity and solidarity at times when it is most difficult.

But, Jesus didn’t stop there.  Rather, he reminded the crowd, and us, that whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters (Luke, 11:23).  Jesus’s words here resonate with me because they require of us a courageous commitment to the greater good.  They are a reminder that the goodness inherent in our relationships, and our respective houses, is not for us alone but for something greater.  And through it all, we are called to commit ourselves to the greater glory of God, for there is no middle ground, and no room to waffle.  The message is clear, we cannot be for life with Christ if our actions reveal our hearts to be confused on the matter.

I spent some time reflecting on who I am in the crowd that Jesus acknowledges in today’s reading.  How often do I question the motivations of others who do good things?  How might that disposition divide the houses of which I am a part?  As I view today’s Gospel through these lenses, I recall those relationships in my life that may be strained, the effect that this has on those around me, and the reality that the quality of those relationships is always for something greater.  Today’s Gospel teaches us to be bold and fearless, committed to the reality that our collective work is for Him and His Kingdom here on Earth.