BRETT J. ANDERSON
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Dividing the Kingdom of God

3/8/2018

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Luke 11:14-23 (NRSVCE)
Now he 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.

“Every kingdom divided against itself becomes a desert, and house falls on house.” We’ve been hearing throughout the readings so far this Lent about the importance of communion, about the importance of brotherly love amongst one another. We are meant to be one Body of Christ, united under the headship of Jesus. The true evil, then, is division. This is Satan’s biggest desire. Sow division among the people of God. Sever the bonds between them, and the members of the Body will turn against it. He wants to divide the Kingdom of God, to separate the Body so as to separate man from God. This is what Jesus warns us about when he says “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.” We are to gather like the flock to their shepherd, and if we do not cling to our shepherd we become scattered, which makes us easy targets for the wolves.

Just look at how quick the crowds were to accuse Jesus of working with demons. Their first instinct, after seeing this great miracle, was to separate the shepherd from the flock. This speaks volumes to the level of influence sin has on our lives. We recoil from what is holy, we demonize (pun intended) that which is good, so that we can continue to live our lives as we always have: in sin. We are scattered, and the wolves have taken hold of us. But Christ comes to drive away the wolves, to reunite His flock under His care. As he says to Simon Peter, “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.” (Matthew 16:18) The shepherd unites His flock, and protects it. So long as the flock gathers to him, and is not scattered, it will not be harmed.

This is really the point of the penitential season of Lent. It is good for us to do penance in our own lives, and to focus on our own sin. But we are not merely individuals, we are members of the flock. Lent is a time when the entire people join together in penance, when we focus our efforts, together, on gathering with Christ. More broadly, this is why we have liturgy in general! We worship together, with one voice, we repent together, we do penance together, because we are all one Body. We are individuals as well, and we all have our own sins, our own struggles, and our own personal relationship with Christ, but the individual cannot exist in this relationship except as part of the Body. “Whoever does not gather with me scatters.” Without being united to the Body, you cannot be united to the Head. Without being in the flock, you cannot gather with the shepherd. You will become scattered.

So this Lent is a time for us to focus on strengthening those bonds between each other. For it is only the flock that can truly follow the shepherd.
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    Day 10: The Body Of Christ
    Day 11: Love Your Enemies
    Day 12: "Listen To Him!"
    Day 13: The Golden Rule In Practice
    Day 14: The Way Of Humility
    Day 15: Saved By Service
    Day 16: Lazarus And The Rich Man
    Day 17: Producing Fruits For The Kingdom
    Day 18: Pangs Of Guilt
    Day 19 - Righteous Anger
    Day 1 - Where Is Their God?
    Day 20: Faith In Times Of Doubt
    Day 21: Forgiveness Has Consequences
    Day 22: "Do" So You Can "Teach"
    Day 23: Dividing The Kingdom Of God
    Day 24: Repentance Forgiveness And Faithfulness
    Day 25: What Happens In Lent Should Not Stay In Lent
    Day 26: The Light Drives Out Darkness
    Day 27: Tears For The Damned
    Day 28: The Waters In Ezekiel
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    Day 2 - Make Way For The King
    Day 30: Looking For Love In All The Wrong Places
    Day 31: Jesus Is Offensive
    Day 32: The Ecounter With Christ
    Day 33: Dying To Self To Live For God
    Day 34: The Faith And Love Of St. Joseph
    Day 35: Justice And Honor
    Day 36: Rack Shack And Benny
    Day 37: I Am
    Day 38: Signs For Belief
    Day 39: The Divided Kingdoms
    Day 3 - Living The Gospel
    Day 40: The Passion Of The Christ
    Day 41: Mary's Love For Christ
    Day 42: Dance Of Love
    Day 43: Surely Not I
    Day 44: Judas Gets His Feet Washed
    Day 45: The Power Of Fear
    Day 46: The Story Of Salvation
    Day 4: "Follow Me"
    Day 5: Trial By Desert
    Day 6: Responding To The Least Of These
    Day 7: An Empty Disposition
    Day 8: Spending Lent In Ninevah
    Day 9: The Good Shepherd

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