Play on God's team

Summer's a great time for playing games, and it's fun if your whole family joins in. Sometimes, you'll be on one team with your mother, while your father and sister are on another. You can't wait to beat the other team!

Teams are fun for games, but when Jesus came to earth, He made some other "teams:" the people who followed Him against the ones who didn't. In this week's Gospel (Luke 12:49-53), He talks about it.

"Do you think I've come to make peace on earth?" Jesus asked, shaking His head. "That won't happen. From now on, families will be divided, two against three, fathers against sons, mothers and daughters against each other."

It's great to play games with your family. When your father loses a turn or your mom makes a home run, you cheer or laugh! You know that your teams are just for fun, and you're really all one family.

Jesus' teams weren't as much fun. When Jesus came, most people didn't believe He was God's Son. If someone in their family followed Jesus, they got angry. Whoever listened to Jesus, they said, was not on their team.

If someone on another team teases you, it hurts. You know it's really your sister, but you think of her "on the other team," and you want your team to win just so she feels as bad as you do.

In the Gospel story, Jesus said that if people followed Him, they were playing on a hard team. He wanted us to be peaceful, but He knew that if we listen to God, others might hurt us sometimes.

After your game is over, your family turns into a family again. You might have cheered your sister and booed your brother, but you know you're really on the same team.

Jesus said the same thing: even if families fight -- even if we think about Jesus differently -- someday, we'll go to heaven and find out we didn't need to. Anyone who loves God, Jesus reminded us, is on the same team!

PRAYER FOR THE WEEK: Jesus, help me remember that there's really only one team, because we're all God's children! Amen.

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