Thirty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

Say Yes to God Week Four: Saying Yes in a Divided World

Division is a disease. It’s not just at the global or national level either: it can be in our families, marriages, and friendships. Jesus, in the Gospel for this weekend, foretells nation vs. nation, plagues, disasters, betrayal of family members, and a high price for following Him. St. Paul speaks against disorder in a Christian Community in his letter as well. Jesus’ challenge is that we persevere in the face of all of this. What does it look like to persevere, to say “yes” to God in a divided world? Well, there are some pastors, Christian leaders, and Christians that say it should look different from the rest of the world’s handling of division. How would our God, our Father respond? In the Old Testament, God revealed His characteristics as: “gracious and merciful, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness…” (Exodus 34:6) So we should ask ourselves: When I come across someone on the other side of my political views, religious beliefs, or morals, how do I treat that person? If it is anything but graceful, merciful, slow to anger and abundant in love and faithfulness…I may not be demonstrating my “yes” to God in this divided world, and in fact might be feeding the problem. That is not to say we cannot disagree. But it's in how we disagree that sin can enter the picture. How can we be part of infusing our community with God’s character and love as opposed to bickering, slandering, etc. God wants us to be like Him, to be gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and overflowing in love and faithfulness.