These days “tension’’ is a word which is in the active vocabulary of most people. We recognize tension at work, tension within a marriage, tension about making ends meet. Tension occurs when forces move in opposite directions. A simple example is a rubber band: pull the ends away from each other and you produce tension. If the tension continues to increase, the rubber band will snap. Jesus warned that his doctrine would bring about tensions which would end in divisions, even within families. In the family of the Church there is tension, especially in many places regarding the liturgy. We ought to be living like a happy family, in unity and peace, but forces are pulling in opposite direction, one wishing to move forward with the restoration of life and the other wanting to go back to earlier forces of evil and division. And so, the question which follows upon Jesus’ opening words, he himself answers. The disciples and we who follow Jesus today would likely want to answer “yes” and believe that Jesus has definitively come only to bring peace. But Jesus’ response appears to say that he has come to bring the opposite of peace—division, even in family relationships. This idea of Jesus brings division is surprising since peace is such an important theme in Luke’s gospel account. But consider the context. Jesus and the disciples are journeying toward Jerusalem, which helps us understand that the peace Jesus brings comes with a cost. It is upon the Cross of hope and forgiveness that the refining of the word and relationships among people take place.