ENCOURAGING CONFLICT

Luke 12:49-56

Lord, Open our hearts and minds by the power of Your Holy Spirit,
that, as the Scriptures are read and Your Word proclaimed,
we may hear with joy what You say to us today. Amen.

Ah, conflict, something we all must face in our lives. For most of us conflict is an unpleasant experience. Most of us seek to avoid it at all costs. Then we hear these words from Jesus, "I have come to bring fire the to earth…they will be divided: father against son, son against father, mother against daughter…" and so forth and so forth.

I wonder, does Jesus ever get tired of being a revolutionary? He is constantly intruding into our quiet, contemplative worship and disturbing our Sabbath rest. Jesus does not turn away from conflict. I think sometimes we live with the fantasy or hopefulness that if we could only be more loving, the world would be a better place. Peace and harmony would break out. If only we could be nice people then love will work out the differences between friends and enemies, in fact, we shouldn't have any enemies.

But is Jesus really telling us something we don't know in this scripture passage. For Jesus, love apparently does not mean that we escape conflict. We simply cannot pretend that conflict doesn't exist. I mean, how many of us have been in a situation where conflict has not occurred. Of course conflict happens. It happens between father and son, mother and daughter, mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. Really, we have all been in those relationships and conflict has been present.

Human beings are conflicted creatures. We are broken and filled with conflicts, conflicts between forces within and outside of ourselves. We long for peace, within ourselves, with other people. We long for a peace that can make us whole.

We are conflicted between what we want to do and what we should do. That dilemma of our conscience often times gets acted out in our everyday dealings with family, friends and sometimes with those strangers we randomly encounter. Sometimes we all want to do just what we want even if it requires ignoring or breaking the law. Most of us face those times when our morals clash with our desires, rules and expectations with our wants. Haven't all of us asked the question of ourselves, "Do the ends justify the means?"

When we face conflict, we can be filled with mixed or ambivalent feelings. We know about those "love-hate relationships." We want to be close, but fear being swallowed up by another. At certain times in our lives, we can feel conflicted between our desire to be united with our family and our desire to be independent from our family. When a traumatic event happens, we want to talk about it and yet are afraid or resist talking about it because it is so painful. When we pass into a new stage of life, we feel the anticipation yet also feel the fear. In times of crisis, we want to be brave in the face of danger but are afraid of being hurt. We are conflicted by a desire to forgive and a desire for revenge. We want to be friends with neighbors, but are also envious of their possessions. We admire people, but are also jealous of them.

Conflict can come in other forms. People who struggle with addictions are often in conflict with themselves and with their addiction. Stress, which seems to be the plague of our times, is other source of conflict. Stress can cause conflicts to become intensified and reach crisis portions in times of decision. Decisions force us to take a side, which can result in a conflict of values; whether to take a new job, to visit aging parents, confront an unhappy or unhealthy family situation. People who cannot make decisions are often said to be in conflict, overwhelmed by too many options, paralyzed by fear, fatigue or despair.

Humans have a wide variety of conflicts. Among all of the creatures on this planet, we seem to have an unlimited capacity of inner conflict, ambivalent emotions and moral dilemmas. Most conflicts we learn to live with. Yet some people can become so paralyzed by inner conflicts that they are overcome with depression or addiction.

Yet many conflicts can be resolved and there are times in a person's life when conflicts are more intense than at other times. Some people are more conflicted by nature than other people. But sooner or later, one of the lessons of adult life is that conflict cannot be avoided or escaped, conflicts are part of life. In varying forms and degrees, conflicts are always with us. They are part of the nature of the human predicament. So there comes a time, when having exhausted all human solutions, we wonder whether peace is possible at all.

As people of faith, usually when we face conflict we turn to God, sensing that a spiritual solution can fulfill our need for inner peace. In fact, religion has focused considerable energy on helping people find inner peace.

Some Christians frame inner peace in very narrow terms. It seems our inner conflicts should boil down to a struggle between our sinful nature and God's law or a simple conflict between God and ourselves. The solution is to "get right with God." If we can do that then we will find peace with God and that peace will spill over into all of our other conflicts.

Another approach is to assume a very monotheistic view of God. That God is an absolute law or standard against which humans have failed. It is a rather simplistic view that all of our conflicts will be resolved when we ascend to faith in God. Salvation will be instantaneous, but will our inner conflicts really be resolved?

I believe, as Christians, we will always continue to struggle with a variety of conflicts as we struggle for peace. Should we be asking the question of whether we could ever find peace or achieve inner peace? Or should we explore the idea that faith sometimes brings more conflict, not less. But that does not necessarily mean that we can't find peace.

I believe that many of us long for peace, a contentment, a wholeness that can calm the restless soul. We long to be at one with God and realize that such inner peace must come from beyond ourselves. Most of us are searching for an inner peace, a peace with God and peace among humanity. And for many of us, these three types of peace are interrelated. Peace in one of these areas, inner peace, peace with God and peace among humanity, contributes to peace in the other areas. I see the three areas as interrelated and they can either mutually reinforce or undermine each other.

Peace is often understood as "an absence of conflict." But I believe Jesus is asking us to look deeper into our understanding of peace. Jesus demands that we look at others with respect. The Christ of the cross tells us God loves us and we should value each other as the sons and daughters of a loving God.

God gives each of us peace in our hearts in a way that allows us to become peacemakers in a world of tumult and uproar. Almost everyone is in favor of peace, but very few are peacemakers. Does Christ come "to give peace" instead of "division"? Of course he does. But Jesus didn't come leisurely walking among us with the gift of peace tucked under his arm. The peace we have was given to us, for our sakes, by the Prince of Peace, who now wants nothing more than for us to be peacemakers.

Peace isn't easy to attain, it usually comes to us only after a struggle. I do not think that we should ever ignore our conflicts, the doubts, the struggles in our lives. I think we ought to deal with our conflicts openly and honestly. And yes, those conflicts can lead to doubt but I believe that doubt is a prerequisite to a genuine faith. Faith without doubt is suspect. I don't think we ever come to a time when we have exhausted all of our doubts.

We all live with conflict, some that can be overcome, some that must be lived with and incorporated into our lives.
Peace comes with deep acceptance that conflict is part of being human. With peace, one realizes that conflict may in fact help us become stronger, to grow, to better know ourselves. Peace comes with deep acceptance of who we are and who we claim God to be.

I am reminded of a story of a young man on a religious quest who travels to a secluded island to visit a monk. The young man asks the monk, "Do you still wrestle with the devil? Not any longer, my child, replied the monk, I have grown old and he has grown old with me. He does not have the strength. I now wrestle with God." "With God!" exclaimed the young man. And you hope to win? "No," answered the monk. "I hope to lose."

Peace; to wrestle with God, yet to know we are fully loved as children of God not matter what conflicts we face in life. Amen.