Third Sunday in Lent AD 2024
Jesus said that “every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and a house divided against a house falleth,” in order to show that in casting out evil spirits, He is not doing the work of the devil, but of God. But these words have a universal meaning, which we too must seriously consider.
Not only every kingdom, but every country, if it’s divided within, is doomed to perish. All empires throughout the history have collapsed mainly under their own weight, and that weight is not so much territorial size as internal corruption, even rot. When the leaders of a country lose the respect and authority in the eyes of their people, then everyone will eventually give up on morality as well as the maintenance and protection of their country. And if a nation loses its will to protect its country, it is a piece of cake for foreign enemies to destroy that country and its people.
The same applies to Christendom and the Church: there is nothing more scandalous than asserting on the one hand that we all worship the same God and preach the same Christ, we even partake of the same Body and Blood of Christ in the Holy Communion, but we have no communion with each other, and we treat our brothers and sisters with arrogance or even hostility and disdain. Such a division of Christendom is the biggest obstacle that causes many people to reject the gospel of Jesus Christ.
An internally divided individual is also doomed. If our real life is in stark contrast to what we claim to believe, then, to use the words of the prophet Jeremiah, we are walking “backward, and not forward” – not the stairway to heaven, but the highway to hell.
The only thing that can truly help and save us – both as a country, as a church and as individuals – is to put our hope in God and follow Him. St. Paul writes: “Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; and walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us.” And Jesus Himself exhorts and encourages us: “Blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.”