a reflection from the archives of The Saturday Morning Post
February 18, 2017
A House Divided
“A house divided against itself cannot stand.” --Abraham Lincoln, from a speech given in Springfield, Illinois on June 16, 1858, that launched his unsuccessful campaign against Stephen A. Douglas for the US Senate
In 1968, the Uniform Monday Holiday Act was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson. It moved the celebrations of Memorial Day and Veterans' Day to a specific Monday. (Veterans' Day was later moved back to its original observance date of November 11). The third Monday of February was to be designated as "Presidents' Day" as it would always fall between the birthdates of quite possibly the two greatest Americans to ever hold the office: George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.
It is one of those holidays that, unless you work for the federal government, the US Postal Service, or banks, you're likely to be working. Depending on the State in which you live, as a student you may or may not observe the holiday. The president of my last employer liked to observe the holiday until the business climate and the weather more or less directed that another day would be better suited to offering employees a holiday.
We might want to consider honoring all the accomplishments of our past presidents on this day. That is, we might but more than likely would not. For nearly all of my life, going all the way back to LBJ, the presidency of the United States has been a contentious office; with the person holding it under nearly constant criticism. And at no time in modern history is that more apparent than with the recent occupant of the White House.
For many years now, by nearly every statistical measurement, we are a divided nation. But does this division run deeper than it appeared in 1940? Or 1930? or 1915? Or 1865? Or 1860? Or 1776, or earlier?
Lincoln's reference to a "house divided" in 1858 had biblical references. In the Gospel of Mark 3:25, Jesus states, "And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand", in response to the scribes' claim that "by the prince of the devils he casts out devils." Also, in the Gospel of Matthew 12:25, (KJV): And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto him, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand. Saint Augustine, in his book Confessions (Book 8, Chapter 8) describes his conversion experience as being "a house divided against itself."
In Thomas Paine's 1776 Common Sense, his description of the composition of Monarchy, "this hath all the distinctions of a house divided against itself . . ." and during the War of 1812, a line appeared in a letter from Abigail Adams to Mercy Otis Warren: "... A house divided upon itself - and upon that foundation do our enemies build their hopes of subduing us." Lincoln himself used the "house divided" phrase in another context in 1843. Division on the issues, is as old as our great nation...a tale as old as time itself.
Now, reconsider this: in last week's Message, I wrote: "Whenever we take time out of our busy lives to consider the plight and needs of another or others, we are doing what God has called us to do." I wrote this in the context of assisting my brother while he was in the hospital, or getting a fellow musician who doesn't drive to make it easier getting to his next appointment. But over the week I also came to realize that it's another point of motivation for the organizers who asked immigrants to stay home from work and school last Thursday. It's also a motivator for protestors to gather to demonstrate in their support for a cause.
Christians are called to spread the faith. It's always been that way. But because Christianity is also divided, the message delivered can have strings or stigma, real or imagined, attached to it. When we fell in love with the automobile, those little roadside signs with verses like "the wages of sin is death" popped up alongside the weeds. Those have disappeared, replaced with fewer and further between billboards with more imaginative (and sometimes controversial) messages to consider.
I write here and in my daily "Good Morning, God" messages because of the call to spread the faith. It serves a dual purpose, of course. It started as a vehicle to let friends and family know I'm still alive, kicking, and coping with the status quo. It then evolved into both the occupation or vocation of prayer that we're all called to express, as well as a response to the call to express the faith, and (hopefully) spread it. It's not unlike the parable Jesus tells about the sower and his seed. Some falls where there's a lot of uncaring traffic; it's trampled and nothing grows from it. Some falls where there is already thick growth. It starts to sprout but is quickly choked by everything else there demanding nurturing, and only the strongest survive. But there is some seed that will get to fertile ground and will grow and exceed expectations. That's what I humbly attempt to do.
Conversation can always take turns based on the things we do and experience. My dear wife Diane had a sharp mind but was confounded at times by mathematics. She claimed that mathematics was not an exact science whenever she reached a stumbling point. When I attempted to help her by pointing out an error she didn't see, she would counter that math could not be an exact science because it could not define division by zero. I might have countered today with a discussion of black holes, anti-matter, and other sorts of things that stirs the pot in the scientific community, but are to the rest of us paper tigers, or Don Quixote's windmills. I bring this up because to a growing number of people, the Truth and the Faith has become an unexplainable thing, as impossible to define as division by zero, as useless to them as screen doors on a submarine.
Yes, there are cracks and fissures, flaws and faults in everything we touch. The 'cracks in the stained glass' are being exploited and cause many to abandon the faith. Yet in those moments when we see the brokenness, we are closest to seeing Jesus. I know that is hard to believe, especially until you have a direct and personal experience in brokenness (sometimes more than one). Conversion begins and change takes place when we recognize Christ in the cracks. He sends the Holy Spirit in renewal. Renewal incorporates restoring what is usable and discarding what is not. Cracks and fissures may redevelop over time, and renewal will be called upon again.
The liturgical calendar has brought us once more to the season of Lent. It's the time set aside to look for Christ in the cracks in the stained glass. In doing so, may we persevere to the end seeking the greater truth, the truth that sets us free from division and truly builds and connects us.
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