Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division!”
NL Daily Devotion for Saturday, March 15, 2025
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
Conflict is inevitable. Human beings, as unique individuals, see the world in particular ways, and act accordingly. Jesus calls us to look at the world as God’s gift, and at ourselves as agents of the divine—beloved children of God who, out of gratitude, work for God’s reign of justice, equity, and peace for all of creation. If we answer that call, it immediately puts us into conflict with what the writer of 1 John continually refers to as “the world”—those trappings of human society that try to force us to conform to norms that are absolutely not of God. We are in conflict with economic systems that enrich a small number of individuals while millions go without basic needs. We are in conflict with systems of law that oppress and victimize BIPOC individuals through disproportional incarceration based on laws that unjustly give harsher penalties for the same crimes to said marginalized populations. We are in conflict with social expectations that diminish the value of those in the LGBTQIA+ community, or those with disabilities, or women, or immigrants, or people over 55, or BIPOC folk, or non-Christians, or anyone who doesn’t conform to a narrow understanding of what it means to be “normal.”
When we are confronted with these things, it is our duty and our joy to speak out against them. When we see injustice, it is our duty and our joy to respond by any means available to us. And, yes, this is going to put us into conflict with those around us. We don’t have to be assholes about it. In fact, the most important thing we can do in our immediate circles is to listen to those we disagree with, to have compassion, and to open ourselves to fruitful dialog, rather than wholesale condemnation, which prevents any positive movement. Just because Jesus brings division doesn’t mean we have to go at it like warriors. Division is inevitable if you are a follower of Jesus. How you address that division is where the real work is.
How do I address the injustices I witness on a daily basis?
