"Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth.
I have come to bring not peace but the sword.
For I have come to set
a man against his father,
a daughter against her mother,
and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;
and one's enemies will be those of his household.”
"Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me,
and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me;
and whoever does not take up his cross
and follow after me is not worthy of me.
Whoever finds his life will lose it,
and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”
“And whoever gives only a cup of cold water
to one of these little ones to drink
because he is a disciple–
amen, I say to you, he will surely not lose his reward."
“Whoever receives you receives me,
and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me”
"Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth.
I have come to bring not peace but the sword. "
The beginning of this reading kind of confused me. Why would Jesus not bring peace but a sword? Why would he set family against family and say our enemies will be those closest to us? I think after some reflection I realized that Jesus did not come to bring peace he came with a “sword”, with the authority from God to light the way. Look around in the world. There is war, there is poverty, mother's killing their babies...there is so much suffering. But there is hope. Jesus came to show us the way. Yes, the world is a scary place, but do not fear because He is with us. There is beauty in our suffering, if not for mistakes how would we learn, our ability for growth is beautiful. Why are the best songs, the ones that we most relate to, always about similar pains or fears we all have felt or share? It’s because it connects us all and we are able to find the beauty in our pain and suffering. There is Hope, that is why we believe, that is where faith comes in and lights up the dark.
"Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me,
and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me;
and whoever does not take up his cross
and follow after me is not worthy of me."
For the second half of the reading my mind went to the 10 commandments specifically the first one “thou shall have no other gods before me”. It begs the question do we put people on pedestals and place them above God? (People like our parents, friends, family, celebrities etc.) I think this can be a tough passage to hear. I know it was for me, but this is how I see it...what am I putting first in my life? Is it my school/academics, my sport, my friends, my family, my job or is it Jesus? What is at the center, who is your number one? If we are not prioritizing our relationship with God, how can we expect to grow in our faith and knowledge of Him? How do we expect Him to know us when we die and await entrance outside the pearly gates? This can be a tough pill to swallow but often the most worthwhile truths are. We must be able to self-reflect and look at ourselves honestly in order to examine our conscience. And we must put in work to our relationship with God in order to know His will. I know for me this is extremely difficult and I have to be patient, forgiving and kind to myself. It helps when I take some time out of my busy day just to talk with Jesus and pray. I know we say we should pray every day, but we can get caught up so easily in the rush of things, just taking a couple minutes out of your day can make all the difference.
My thoughts were searching for a good person to look to as an example and I think that would be Saint Mother Theresa. She can help us as we read about her life and struggles helping so many people. She lived her life giving until it hurt and being the face of Christ for those whom she encountered.
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