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The angels said at the birth of Jesus, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” Jesus often greeted his friends by saying “Peace be with you.” The last time he ate with his disciples, he said to them, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you”. We refer to Jesus as the Prince of Peace and God as a peace-maker. We often hear the Gospel called the Gospel of peace. Matthew said Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the children of God.
I know that when I think of Jesus and the Good News I want to think about the peace that flows like a river. I miss our being able to share the peace of God with each other during our worship.
I’m a child of the 60s. Peace and Love. I am passionate about God’s peace and God’s love. I promote non-violence in anyway that I can. That is what I want Jesus to be. Peace and Love.
So when I first read today’s Gospel and read that Jesus said “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword.” my non-violent self was shocked. I didn’t want to hear it. I didn’t want to believe it. But thank goodness for study and wiser people than me who can help me better understand passages like this.
So I’ll share with you what I’ve come to understand about this once troublesome passage.
Right before this passage we read about Jesus commissioning his disciples to go out and spread the good news of God’s Kingdom. He tells them to go in peace and to offer the blessing of God’s peace to those they meet. He also tells them that if the people they meet don’t what to accept that blessing of peace that they should leave and go on to find others that will accept it. Jesus knew, and we know, that some people do not respond well to the Good News of the Gospel. There is a cost to discipleship. Not everyone will respond positively to it or to us when we stand up for it.
We should remember also that Jesus and the disciples were Jews and they were speaking to Jews. The Jewish religion was monotheistic. They believed in one God. Getting to this belief had been a long and hard struggle for them and it was one thing that distinguished them from others. It was important to them. Those who believed in more than one God were considered the enemy.
When Jesus described Himself as God’s Son, he understood that some people would think that he was asking them to worship two Gods, God and God’s Son. He understood that they could interpret this as heresy, against the belief of one God. He also understood that this could easily split families apart —That his followers could be seen as the enemy even in their own family.
Here’s where we get to the sword part. We think of sword’s as weapons, but in the Aramaic language there were two words for big knives that both could be translated as our English word “sword”. One of these big knives was like what we think of as a sword, several feet long and used as a weapon. The other word, which was the word that Matthew used, referred to a large knife that was like a butcher knife used in the kitchen. It was used to cut up meat and to divide it into smaller pieces for cooking and serving.
The people who Jesus was talking to would have understood that he was speaking of a kitchen knife not a weapon. They would have understood that Jesus was speaking about being divided from others when they took a stand for Jesus.
What this gospel passage is saying to us now is that Christian life is not always easy. It may not be the death sentence it used to be. But it can still lead us to difficult situations and require us to make decisions that can divide us from others.
We certainly are living in a divided world right now. Being a follower of Jesus, a disciple, leads us to the path that Jesus took. Being a baptized Christian we are called, at all times, to remember our baptismal vows to resist evil and sin, to spread the Good News, to seek and serve Christ in others, to strive for justice and peace in for all persons and to respect the dignity of every human being.
What would Jesus do today? What would Jesus do to protect others during this pandemic? What would Jesus do during the current protests for racial justice or to stop the wounding of the sin of racism.
There are many “what would Jesus do?” questions. We may need to make decisions that will separate us from our family and loved ones, from our bosses, our neighbors and friends. That is what Jesus told us would happen when he said that he came to bring a sword. Jesus asked us to follow Him even if it means separating us from others who do not yet hear the Good News of God.
For our reflection today:
Have you resisted making difficult decisions that would separate you from others?
Have you made decisions that have separated you from those you love?
