The Unity and Division of Truth: A Meditation on Luke 12

Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? 

I tell you, Nay; but rather division

Jesus concludes His section of teaching recorded in the 12th chapter of Luke's Gospel with startling words, not least of which are those regarding fire, judgment, and division.  In our time and place these words may seem very unsettling, as I imagine they were to the people who heard Jesus speak them in ancient Palestine.  In our Christmas hymns we often rehearse the glorious words of the Angels at Jesus' birth, which include bidding of peace, joy, and celebration.  How can Jesus then say that He has come not to bring peace, but division, and to set even the members of families against each other?  How is it that the young child Jesus we celebrate as so tender and mild, can now speak of fire and judgment?

Jesus' Advent and Incarnation are indeed joyous events for us, but we must not forget why they occur-- they lead to the Cross, the grave, the Resurrection, the Ascension, and Jesus' return on the Last Day.  What unites all these events, be it their rejoicing or their mourning, their reconciliation or their judgment, is Jesus Himself-- not because Jesus simply did or will do the things He said He would, but because He is the very bedrock and essence of Truth.  He says what He does, and accomplishes what he promises, because He cannot divide the Truth of who He is as God Almighty, eternally begotten Son of the Father, from the Truth which He speaks as the very Word of God made flesh.  As St. John records Jesus' teaching in his Gospel, Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, the only path by which anyone may be reconciled to the Father and given the blessing of the Holy Spirit.  Jesus is the Word of Truth which caused the universe to leap into existence, life to erupt on our world, and created man to hear His Word and live by it.  When mankind fell from that Word, they chose the insanity of death and division over community and life.  They rejected Jesus who is the Word of Law which thundered in the Garden, the Deluge, at Babel, Mt. Sinai, and Mt. Carmel, calling all mankind to repentance for their grievous evil, and bringing judgment down upon the world for refusing to do so.  Yet He is also the Word of Gospel which promised to forgive and have mercy on all who would repent and trust in Him, from the beginning of our time in this world until its end-- a Gospel which in the Old Testament age looked forward to His Vicarious Atonement made upon His Holy Cross, and which those in the New Testament Church age look back upon until His final return.  Down through all the ages of our world, Jesus has always been and shall always be the Eternal Word of Truth which gives existence to all things:  life and fellowship to those who live by Him, and judgment with division to those who reject Him.

This is the division and judgment Jesus speaks of in these darker chapters of Holy Writ.  Because He is Truth, He cannot deny Himself.  He cannot delude Himself like we do, propping up illusions and false systems of thought that attempt to justify our evil which we pursue against our neighbors and our God.  No matter what trappings of human prestige we use to decorate them, Jesus cannot be made to bend to our violations of His Law or Gospel.  As Truth itself, Jesus is not subject to human legislators, governments, or academies; He is not beholden to our self identifications against the Natural Law He wrote into our very existence, and no lie of man can overturn His eternal Truth anymore than a thing created can overturn the principles of its own creation.  Because of this, no lie or delusion of sinful man can endure in His presence, and the judgment which falls upon those who rebel against Him is written in the physics, biology, and chemistry which He used to bring them into being.  Jesus' presence in Palestine nearly 2000 years ago was the imminent presence of eternal Truth among sinful people, and His presence brought with it judgment of their evil, together with the natural division which must occur between those who would receive His Word and those who would reject Him.  Ultimately, this rejection and separation which evil demands against the Truth of God is given its place in the eternal confines of Hell-- a prison to confine all those who would continue forever in their delusions and rebellion against Truth, where they might never again persecute or torment those who live abide in the Truth.

In spite of that division which evil impudently demands in the presence of Truth lest they be resolved and reconciled with their Creator, there is also an unbreakable unity and joy among those who are reconciled to Truth.  Standing humbly in Faith and Repentance before Jesus' Law and Gospel, they receive His grace by faith through the work of His Holy Spirit in His Word and Sacraments.  Theirs is a unity born not of their own doings or working, but of Jesus' Word and Work.  Their confidence is not found in themselves, but in the unassailable Truth that Jesus has paid their price which justice demands by the Law through the shedding of His own most holy blood, and spoken His irrevocable Word of forgiveness, life, and salvation to them by His holy Gospel.  He has washed them by His Word in Holy Baptism, fed them by His Word in His Holy Supper, and restored them every time they fall and return in repentance by His Word in Holy Absolution.  His Word blesses their marriages and families, confirms their confession of the faith, calls and sanctifies some to the Office of the holy ministry, hears their prayers and anoints them in their sickness.  His Word and Spirit creates the community of faith which lives by grace through faith in Him, establishing the one holy Church which will endure forever, in this world and the next.  His Word raises up dead sinners to new lives as saints, marked by their new gifts of living faith, hope, and love.

This unity is something every person born from above by Jesus' Word and Spirit is given freely by grace, and cannot create on their own.  We do not build it through human organizations, bureaucracies, or denominational structures; it is not built by governments more or less pious, nor can it be shattered by them.  This is a unity which is found in Jesus Himself-- created by Him, sustained by Him, and secured by Him forever through His Eternal Word.  Because Jesus cannot be separated from His Word, we know also that His people cannot be separated from Him or from each other so long as they abide in Him.  They find their unity together through Jesus and His Word, experiencing their unity across time and space at every Baptism and every Supper, until we each press into that eternity where our fellowship together and with our Lord is perfected.

Where does Jesus and His Truth find you today?  Has His Law shined upon you to reveal your rebellions, your selfishness, your pride?  Let His Word do its work upon you, to bring you to a true knowledge of yourself as fallen, broken, and in desperate need of His redemption.  Has His Gospel poured over you with the promise of His forgiveness and life?  Let His Word and Spirit create faith in your heart to trust the truth of Him who is Truth, that you might rise up to live a new life in His eternal fellowship.  Whoever you are and wherever His Word finds you today, let it bring you out of the division and judgment of your own personal evil, and into the blessed company of all His Prophets and Apostles, Saints and Martyrs, and all His holy Angels, where His Truth binds His people and all His restored creation together in perfect love forever.  Hear Him.  Repent, believe, and live.  Amen.