The Divisive Jesus

Jesus said once, "I have come to seek and to save those who are lost." But that's not what he says in this text.

"Gentle Jesus, meek and mild ..."

The sound you hear is people who've actually read the Gospels gagging.

"Gentle Jesus, meek and mild, look upon a little child ..." are the opening lines of one of Charles Wesley's well-known hymns, but for painting a word-picture of Jesus, he could hardly have chosen a less applicable word than "mild," especially in light of today's gospel reading.

How about this instead: "Divisive Jesus, strong and riled ..."?

Okay, maybe "riled" isn't quite the right word for this particular passage either -- we'd be better to rework the phrasing of Wesley's lyrics so that we don't have to rhyme with "child" -- but riled is closer to the truth than mild.

Actually, though, we're more concerned about a word Jesus himself used in this passage as a descriptor of his ministry: division. "Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth?" he asked. "No, I tell you, but rather division!"

Division is a troubling word, and as it happens, divisive talk and actions from...