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This weekend’s Gospel passage features some of the more perplexing words spoken by our Lord. Today, the Prince of Peace asks: “Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division” (Lk 12:51). How is it that the one who is the source of unity and peace can say that he has actively come to divide, to set the world on fire?
The key to understanding this moment lies in the last phrase of Jesus’ rhetorical question: “on the earth.” Our Lord is saying that his ultimate goal is not to “establish social peace in this world and in this life” as John Bergsma, professor of theology at the Franciscan University of Steubenville in Steubenville, Ohio, puts it in his reflections, “The Word of the Lord: Reflections on the Sunday Mass Readings for Year C.” Harmony in this life is passing. Rather, Christ is interested in showing the way to salvation. He is the Way, and to enter the kingdom of heaven we must place our ultimate obedience and fidelity in Christ alone. This stalwart fidelity will necessarily lead to conflict in this life. Many of us have experienced it already. Family members and friends may deride us for adhering to Jesus and his bride, the Church. Some may have had to face outright abandonment in order to follow Jesus.
It is a solace to know that we are not alone in these experiences, however. St. Francis of Assisi faced the ire of his family when he desired to give all for Christ. St. Thomas Aquinas, too, experienced division with his parents as he expressed his vocation to the Dominicans. St. John of the Cross was imprisoned by his own Carmelite community as he strove to call them to conversion. Imagine for a moment if these saints had been deterred from following Jesus totally. We may never have received St. John’s spiritual insights, Aquinas’ wisdom or Francis’ example of life.
The example of the saints is what the author to the Hebrews desires to communicate to us in the second reading. Yes, following Jesus is difficult: It will involve the cross and likely rejection from those who are closest to us. Yet, others have gone before us who have experienced trials similar trials to ours. These holy men and women serve as great witnesses who can intercede for us, inspiring us to “persevere in running the race that lies before us while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the leader and perfecter of faith” (Heb 12:1-2). They took Jesus as their exemplar. He is the one who faced the ultimate rejection from us, being subjected to the cross. We consider his life and the lives of those who follow him, and this helps us to “not grow weary and lose heart” (Heb 12:3) during the struggles of life, especially divisions we may painfully experience from our friends and family.
Our ultimate peace will be found not in this life and on this earth, but in total union to Christ. Bergsma notes in his reflection, “There is a price too high to pay for peace. And that price is infidelity to Christ.” Certainly, we work toward unity in all our relationships, but never at the expense of leaving Jesus and the path he has set for us. As we journey down the path of discipleship, let us take great encouragement that our Lord knows intimately the pain of rejection from those closest to him, and that now he reigns gloriously in heaven. Christ will bring us through the dark night of the cross into the joy of the resurrection. May we never abandon him for the sake of fleeting harmony in this life.
Sunday, Aug. 14
Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time
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