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Sacred Scriptures/Liturgy- Commentary on Sunday's Readings |
I have come to bring division to
the earth
20th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa, OFMCap, Pontifical Household Preacher
www.zenit.org
Jeremiah 38:4-6, 8-10; Hebrews
12:1-4; Luke 12:49-57
This Sunday’s Gospel reading contains some of the most provocative
words ever spoken by Jesus: "Do you think that I have come to
establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division.
From now on a household of five will be divided, three against two
and two against three; a father will be divided against his son and
a son against his father, a mother against her daughter and a
daughter against her mother, a mother-in-law against her
daughter-in-law and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law."
And to think that the person who pronounced these words was the same
whose birth was greeted by the words: "Peace on earth to men of good
will," and that during his life he proclaimed: "Blessed are the
peacemakers." The same person, when he was arrested, commanded Peter
to "Put your sword back into its sheath!" (Matthew 26:52). How do we
explain this contradiction?
It is very simple. It is a matter of seeing which peace and unity
Jesus came to bring and which is the peace and unity he came to take
away. He came to bring the peace and unity of the good, that which
leads to eternal life, and he came to take away the false peace and
unity, which serves only to lull the conscience to sleep and leads
to ruin.
It is not that Jesus came purposefully to bring division and war,
but his coming inevitably brings division and contrast because he
places people before a decision. And, faced with the necessity of
making a decision, we know that human freedom will react in
different ways. Jesus’ word and person will bring to the surface
that which is most hidden in the depths of the human heart. The
elderly Simeon had predicted it, taking the baby Jesus in his arms:
"Behold, this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in
Israel, and to be a sign that will be contradicted so that the
thoughts of many hearts may be revealed" (Luke 2:35).
He himself will be the first victim of this contradiction, the first
to suffer from the "sword" that he came to bring to the earth, he
will give his life on account of it. After him the person most
directly involved in this drama is Mary his mother, of whom Simeon
says: "A sword will also pierce your soul."
Jesus himself distinguishes the two types of peace. He says to the
apostles: "Peace I leave you, my peace I give to you; not as the
world gives peace do I give peace to you. Do not let your heart be
troubled and do not be afraid" (John 14:27). After having destroyed
with his death the false peace and solidarity of the human race in
evil and sin, he inaugurates the new peace and unity that is the
fruit of the Holy Spirit. This is the peace that he offers to the
disciples on Easter night, saying "Peace be with you!"
Jesus says that this "division" can also work its way into the
family: between father and son, mother and daughter, brother and
sister, daughter-in-law and mother-in-law. And, unfortunately, we
know that this is sometimes painfully true. The person who has found
the Lord and seriously wants to follow him often finds himself in
the difficult situation of having to choose: Either make those at
home happy and neglect God and religious practice or follow the
latter and put himself in conflict with his own, who give him
trouble for every little thing he does for God and piety.
But the contrast penetrates even deeper, within the person himself,
and it becomes a struggle between flesh and spirit, between the call
to egoism and sensuality, and that of conscience. The division and
conflict begin inside of us. Paul illustrated this marvelously: "For
the flesh has desires against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the
flesh; these are opposed to each other, so that you may not do what
you want" (Galatians 5:17).
Man is attached to his little peace and freedom, even if it is
precarious and illusory, and this image of Jesus who comes to bring
disruption carries the risk of making us indisposed toward Christ,
considering him as an enemy of our tranquility. It is necessary to
overcome this impression and realize that this too is Jesus’ love,
perhaps the most pure and genuine love.
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