Unity or Division?
Several years ago, there was a celebration of the 25th anniversary of the collapse of the Communist system in Poland. The famous “Solidarity” people’s movement was instrumental in dismantling Communism and returning freedom to Poland. To the surprise of many, instead of a single state-organized celebration, there were three different ones. This happened because many people from the former “Solidarity” movement did not identify themselves with the policies of the new democratic government because it did not represent the values they were fighting for. As a result of that division, some people seemed to be scandalized by the lack of unity in celebrating the anniversary of such an important event. They expected complete unity in the nation. This same complaint has been voiced in the United States for many years: our country is deeply divided.
It is true that unity is an important value in society: among colleagues, among friends and family members. However, there is something that is more valuable than unity. What is this? The truth. Therefore, we can understand why some members of the “Solidarity” movement did not want to be unified with those who they felt betrayed the movement. In fact, if they stayed true to their values, they were morally obliged not to unify with those who opposed them. One cannot unify conflicting values!
For example, if you are against the killing of unborn children, you cannot compromise your values with those who are in favor of it and allow for even one child to be aborted. In the same way, how can you be unified with someone who allows for atrocities of clear injustice? We must be ready for a realistic and ununified view of life. This realism tells us that there will never be complete unity, whether in the USA, Poland, or anywhere in the world until the end of time.
In this Sunday Gospel Jesus indicates clearly that he did not “come to establish peace on the earth … but rather division.” He could seriously frighten us by His terrifying prediction: “From now on a household of five will be divided, three against two and two against three; a father will be divided against his son and a son against his father, a mother against her daughter and a daughter against her mother, a mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.”
However, these menacing words do not mean that God does not like unity and supports division. Just the opposite is true. He himself is a perfect Unity of Three Persons, One God. We could say that unity is the unity of values.
Division is a sign of the lack of truth, and since the Gospel is the truth, everything that does not come from the Gospel directly or indirectly must be a lie. There is no possibility to marry a truth and a lie, the Gospel way of living and the world’s way of living. So, division is an uncomfortable but necessary state of life for those who cling to the values of the Gospel. When a person does not experience this division, this is a clear sign that he or she is devoured by the world and its values. The word of God, the Gospel, according to the Letter to the Hebrews, is living and effective, sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating even between soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart” (Heb 4:12). If division among members of a close family is a result of the fundamental disagreement about values (and not about egoistic goals), even though it is painful and disruptive, it could be inevitable and even necessary – that is the only possible option.
Brothers and Sisters,
Let us look for and excel in the real values, the values that are the solid base for unity and not be satisfied by facades of unity in our families, our society and our nation.
Fr. Mark Jurzyk