Whoever does not gather with me scatters
“Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste and house will fall against house." That would happen to Satan if he were stupid enough to fight himself, which he is not. But that can happen to us humans for we are fickler and more changeable with passing moods, and if we do not persist in pursuing what we know to be the right course of action, and instead keep falling back into our well-trodden but erroneous paths. Jesus warns us further in today's gospel reading that an evil spirit that has been cast out of a person brings seven others if it finds the house well swept and clean, and the condition of a person is made worse than before.
The good news is that despite our waywardness, we are firmly anchored if we choose to face life's challenges in union with Christ. To try to go about life's journey without him is utter folly, for he has told us that “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters”.
The Pharisees thought they were working for God, but because they tried to work in opposition to Christ, in fact they were scattering. In the same way, the people of Galatia who annoyed Paul so much by their insistence on the observation of the Mosaic law, attempted to attain salvation by their own efforts. Paul who had learnt the futility of that from personal experience insisted that like Abraham who lived before the Mosaic Law, we are justified by faith in God, not by our works.
We learn from today’s readings, that the many good things we undertaken must be preceded by careful discernment whether they are done in obedience to God’s will. At every stage, we need to discern whether we are gathering with Christ, or else we scatter.
