Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division.
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.” (Lk 12:49-53)
You won’t find this saying of Jesus on any Hallmark greeting card! Why would any Christian community have saved this particular saying of Jesus? It must have reflected the real lived experience of the members of that community. Many early Christians lost their families of origin when they joined this “cult” called The Way. Early Christians had to be family to one another . . . the Christian community was the only family they had left. Perhaps that’s why we still use family terms for one another in the church: sister, brother, mother, and father. The church is the family where everyone belongs, no matter what. Saint Laura Montoya (better known as La Madre Laura) is the first Colombian to be canonized. She founded a religious community and worked with the indigenous peoples. She died on October 21, 1949. Her shrine is in Medellín, Colombia.
