Brief synopsis of the readings: From the book of the prophet Jeremiah we find Jeremiah in grave danger. King Zedekiah allowed the princes to throw Jeremiah into a cistern where he was left to die. But at the request of a court official he was rescued in time. In Luke’s Gospel Jesus warns his disciples that he will divide people, even in families. “I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing!”

Let’s face it: listening to the words of Jesus can be complicated. Sometimes he tells his followers to be meek and lowly (Matthew 5:5) and other times let our light shine (Matthew 5:16). In John 11:25 he tells us that anyone who believes in him will never die; in Matthew 25:31ff tells us that we need to feed the poor and welcome the stranger to enter into paradise. In Matthew 5:17 Jesus tells us that he has come to fulfill the law. But today it appears he appears to be telling us that he didn’t come to establish peace on earth but instead to divide it. He went on to talk about even households and families will be divided by his teaching.

He really said this, but did he mean it? Alas, I think he did. I don’t think his intent was to divide us but I do think he knew that his teachings would not be universally accepted. John’s Gospel was written at the time when Jesus’ disciples were expelled from the Temple for teaching about Jesus. And I think it’s a message we need to recognize from time to time. On the verge of the 20th Century the Disciples of Christ (a Protestant denomination) began to publish a magazine called The Christian Century. It was a time of great optimism and many believed the advances of science would enhance the promotion of Christianity worldwide. The Christian Century (20th) would be joyful and strong. But 15 years into the new Century the world would be at war and virtually all of the countries that began that war identified as Christians.

I don’t want to sound overly harsh or pessimistic but we do need to recognize that proclaiming the message of Jesus calls us to more than universal agreement and we aren’t called to “go along to get along” (ie, pretend to agree with something that violates our values). Politeness has its limits. Of course, we also can’t read this Gospel to be deliberately offensive and use these words as justification.

But we do have to find a way to love one another that transcends those things that divide us, because, frankly, that’s the only way that will bring us together. My best example of this? Abraham Lincoln and his best friend Joshua Speed.

They were both born in Kentucky but met in 1837 when they both lived in Springfield, Illinois. By this time Lincoln had declared his opposition to slavery, while the Speed family owned slaves and when Joshua returned to Kentucky in 1840 he became a slave owner. Abraham and Joshua deeply cared for each other and remained friends for the rest of their lives. But they also knew that neither was going to be able to convince the other to change. In a letter written in 1855 Lincoln said this: “If for this you and I must differ, differ we must.” It goes without saying that disagreements about slavery ended friendships, divided family, and nearly caused the division of the United States. Truthfully, Lincoln and Speed never came to agreement, as President Lincoln was killed in 1865. But during his administration he offered Speed several posts in the government and appointed Speed’s brother James to the post of Attorney General. After President Lincoln’s death the Speed family helped raise money for a Lincoln Memorial in Illinois.

I’m struck by the realization that while they gave up on the idea of persuading each other they did not give up on each other. They saw in each other a good man. And frankly I think we need more of that these days. There’s an adage that people should never discuss religion or politics because it will cause division but I don’t think we do ourselves any favors by pretending there’s no division when there is.

The problem there is we may know very little about the other person’s beliefs. Too often I’ve seen people appear to be listening but are really just rehearsing their next line. One person opposes gay marriage because the Bible prohibits it (Leviticus 18:22) while another believes that gay men and women are also called to marriage and suffer when it is denied them. But both people talk past each other and can’t understand why the other “doesn’t get it.”

Conflicts often arise from our values and these values aren’t wrong. My neighbor is a Jew and I’m a Christian and we both believe we are responding to a call from the same God. I value not only him but his beliefs; we wish each other a Merry Christmas and a Good Hanukkah. Is God going to be angry with me for not trying to convert him? I hope not. I like to think that God is pleased with my treatment of my neighbor. We know we can’t both be right about whether Jesus is the Messiah or not. But a Buddhist would look at us and say we can both be wrong.

I need not say much about how we’ve elevated conflict these days into blood feuds. We’ve somehow convinced ourselves that God will condemn us for believing in evolution but is fine with us voting for candidates who tell us that discrimination based on race or birthplace is demanded of us. Too often these discussion race to see which one will be the first to use the imagery of Nazi Germany to make their point.

At the end of the day we are still our brother’s (and sister’s) keeper and we are commanded to love one another. We are commanded to speak our truth, to listen with a pure heart and continue to love one another. Perhaps our divisions won’t be completely settled until we are in heaven but, you know, that’s not a bad thing.