“Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth?
No I tell you, but rather division”
Today’s Gospel reading is one of those passages that can be taken in many different ways. However, the Church cuts through to the core of the message of what Jesus means, and what is He really saying to the apostles.
Does Jesus want to bring division? In a way, yes. “During his own life on earth, Christ was a sign of contradiction (Lk. 2:34). Our Lord is forewarning his disciples about the contention and division which will accompany the spread of the Gospel (cf. Lk. 6:20; Mt. 10:24).”[i] Jesus knows everyone will not accept the message He brings. Jesus’ message is controversial. Jesus is God and God can only speak the truth. The truth causes separation in the sense that when we hear the truth we must choose. What side will we be on? The truth defines sides, and we must choose a side. As believers in Jesus Christ we give our whole self to what Jesus Christ, the Truth, wants us to do. We choose Truth. We choose Christ. Those that accept Jesus will be different than those who reject Him. This is why Jesus says there will be division among people.
Why does Jesus say there will be division? In a broad context for someone, “When the service of God is taken seriously, it does not offer a comfortable and tranquil life, but often exposes us to risk, struggle and persecution.”[ii] Jesus Himself speaks of the persecution He would face with His baptism. The baptism Jesus is speaking about in the Gospel reading is that of His death on the cross, baptism by blood. Saint John Chrysostom speaks of the risk, struggle, and persecution of the Christian when he writes, “Curses shall necessarily be your lot but they shall not harm you and will simply be a testimony to your constancy. If through fear, however, you fail to show the forcefulness your mission demands, your lot will be much worse, for all will speak evil of you and despise you. That is what being trampled by men’s feet means.”[iii] There is a forcefulness to the mission of Christ, a forcefulness which demands that we not only stay the course but that we assert the forcefulness of the mission with the virtues of Christ, which are meekness, humility, and obedience.
Does Jesus want there to be division? No. In the Gospel of John, Jesus prays that we all may be one.[iv] However, Jesus knows people have free will, and He knows the hearts of man. He knew Judas had the free will to reject Him, and eventually turn Him in. Jesus says He will not bring peace. The peace that Jesus is not bringing is what we call the world’s peace. The peace of the world is actually a “false peace” that promises to make all conflicts go away and all hatred between people go away. The idea of coexisting is in line with the world’s view of peace. This is a false notion of peace that is rooted in relativism. It states that we can all get along because anything goes, we can think and do as we please and everyone is right as long as they are not hurting another person. This is not the peace Jesus came to bring. He means to bring a different kind of peace.
Search: Fear and Fatima
What peace is Jesus talking about? Jesus is talking about the peace that only God can provide. When we truly have the knowledge of peace, we are able to live courageously. Peace can be the absence of conflict, but “it is also the serenity experienced because there is no conflict.”[v] In this case the conflict is not between two people, but between God and man. Jesus wants to bring such a peace in our hearts and souls that it will fire us up to face any challenge in our lives and still have conviction and fortitude to evangelize.
What is Peace as defined by the Church? – Peace is the consequence of justice and the sign of love put into action. Where there is peace, ‘every creature can come to rest in good order’ (Thomas Aquinas). Earthly peace is the image of the peace of Christ, who reconciled heaven and earth. Earthly peace is the image of the peace of Christ, who reconciled heaven and earth. [2304-2305] Peace is more than the absence of war, more than a carefully maintained balance of powers (‘balance of terror”). In a state of peace, people can live securely with their legitimately earned property and freely exchange goods with one another. In peace the dignity and the right of self-determination of individuals and of peoples are respected. In peace human coexistence is characterized by brotherly solidarity.[vi] Yes peace means solidarity, but solidarity in “good order” of which God is the source. Apart from God there cannot be “good order” nor can there be coexistence in the true sense of the word.
We know that someone can bring pain and division on us, but it cannot affect our peace with God. This does not mean that the separation and division does not affect us. “Such sorrowful separations are truly very painful crosses, but they are directed – like Jesus’ own cross – toward the salvation of these very ones who are being abandoned for the sake of his love.”[vii]
Does this Gospel message contradict what Jesus says in other parts of the Gospels?Absolutely not. As stated earlier, the peace Jesus speaks about is that of God’s peace. There will be those that are offered the peace of Christ and accept it, there will be those that are offered the peace of Christ and reject it.. Those that reject it may also desire to destroy it. “Although disconcerting at first glance, this statement [Christ’s words in the Gospel] neither contradicts nor nullifies all that he had said elsewhere; rather it makes it clear that interior peace, the sign of harmony between God and man and hence of adherence to his will, does not exempt us from struggle, or from war against all that is opposed to God’s will or that threatens faith or hinders us in the service of the Lord, whether the obstacles be within us – as our passions, our temptations, our sins – or in our surroundings. In such circumstances the most peaceful of Christians must become a courageous, fearless fighter, afraid of neither danger not persecution, after the example of Jeremiah and, still more, of Christ who fought against sin even to bloodshed and the ignominy of the cross.”[viii]
What if we are not on fire for God? When we do not have our hearts a blazed for God we are setting ourselves up for failure. If we are on fire for God we will have God’s peace. When we resist God’s peace we bring the discord that Jesus speaks about in the gospel reading. “By resisting, through sin, the redeeming work of Christ, we become his opponents. Injustice and error lead to division and war.”[ix]
How do we have peace and fire for Christ to obtain peace? The Our Father Prayer that Jesus teaches us is the perfect example of this. Jesus shows us that praying is first and always the Father’s will. There is no peace unless we are doing the Father’s will: “The first series of petitions carries us toward him, for his own sake: thy name, thy kingdom, thy will! It is characteristic of love to think first of the one whom we love. In none of the three petitions do we mention ourselves; the burning desire, even anguish, of the beloved Son for his Father’s glory seizes us: ‘hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done…’ These three supplications were already answered in the saving sacrifice of Christ, but they are henceforth directed in hope toward their final fulfillment, for God is not yet all in all.”[x] Lastly, Jesus tells us to forgive others trespasses. The world will not understand how a Christian can forgive others who have wronged them especially when the Christian has a legitimate reason to hold a grudge. We let go because then we are the ones bringing the division, but not in the right way. We will be bringing division between ourselves and our neighbor, and more importantly, division between God and ourselves.
[i] Navarre Bible pg. 159-160
[ii] Gabriel, Divine Intimacy vol. III, pg. 214
[iii] From a homily on Matthew by Saint John Chrysostom, bishop
[iv] cf. Jn. 17:21
[v] Hardon, Modern Catholic Dictionary, pg. 411
[vi] YouCat (Youth Catechism); 395
[vii] Gabriel, Divine Intimacy vol. III, pg. 215
[viii] Gabriel, Divine Intimacy vol. III, pg. 214
[ix] Navarre Bible pg. 159-160
[x] CCC 2804