August 13
Beloved families of Good Shepherd,
Peace be with you! This Sunday’s appointed Gospel reading from Luke has always felt somewhat jarring and confusing to me, as though Jesus’ intention in this passage is to break apart families. Jesus says, “Do you think I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division: father against son, and son against father, mother against daughter, and daughter against mother.”
After reflecting more on these strange words of Jesus, my sense is that Jesus is definitely not trying to divide the family unit. Rather, I believe Jesus is imploring us here to prioritize the highest good in life, which is a relationship with the living God. As wonderful and as important our family is for our sense of belonging and well-being, our family members are not the highest good in life—they are not God. Therefore, even though we love our family members, especially our children with great passion and commitment, they cannot be our highest love. The Shema, a Jewish prayer that has been recited since the time of the ancient temple in Jerusalem, inspires us to respect the magnificence of God and to fall in love with the living God above all else. Here are the words of the Shema:
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might.
And these words which I command you this day shall be upon your heart; and you shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.” (Deuteronomy 6:4-7)
One of my favorite Christian mystics, St. Teresa of Avila, says that God will fill us completely with his Love when we let go of everything that is not God. St. Teresa writes in her book, The Interior Castle: “One thing that is certain is that when we empty ourselves of all that is creature, detaching ourselves for love of the Creator, the same God will fill our souls with himself.”
What an amazing promise St. Teresa describes when we place the love of God first in our lives—God will fill our souls with himself! Similarly, Fr. Hendree preaches that when we surrender to God and allow God to infuse our souls with his Love, we can then turn back to our family members and love them even more deeply and unconditionally. This is something I’d really like to work on with my own family.
I hope the first week of school went smoothly for our families. Please join us this Sunday as we grow in our love of God and each other together!
Many Blessings,
Patty