July 13, 2009
Monday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Then a new king, who knew nothing of Joseph, came to power in Egypt. He said to his subjects, "Look how numerous and powerful the Israelite people are growing, more so than we ourselves! Come, let us deal shrewdly with them to stop their increase; otherwise, in time of war they too may join our enemies to fight against us, and so leave our country." Exodus 1:8-10
"Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth. I have come to bring not peace but the sword.” Matthew 10:34
Piety
"Come, let us climb the LORD'S mountain, to the house of the God of Jacob, That he may instruct us in his ways, and we may walk in his paths." For from Zion shall go forth instruction, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. He shall judge between the nations, and impose terms on many peoples. They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; One nation shall not raise the sword against another, nor shall they train for war again. O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the LORD! Isaiah 2:3-5
Study
We can get into quite a fix if we try to interpret Jesus’ words literally. For example, we can read Matthew 5:29-30 and realize that Jesus did not want us cutting off our hands at some doc-in-the-box clinic. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole body thrown into Gehenna. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole body go into Gehenna.
Today is another prime example. People equate Jesus with being the “prince of peace.” That was his Pentecost greeting to the disciples in the locked upper room. So how do we make heads or tails out of today’s reading?
"Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth. I have come to bring not peace but the sword.” Matthew 10:34
First, let’s view the statement in its full context, not by isolating it from the entire message Jesus delivered to us through Matthew.
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. Matthew 10:35-38
The primary message is love – love of Christ. Nothing is to come ahead of that love. Not the love of a parent to a child. Not the love of a child to the parent. Nothing.
These words foretell the harsh treatment that will await the disciples when they truly follow Jesus. Old friends will go away. Even family members will betray them. The only truth is to pick up the cross of capital punishment and follow Jesus. Not just listen to him. But follow his example and path right up Calvary.
According to David Rensberger in his essay on the BUT WHAT ABOUT…? The “Hard Sayings” for Jesus About Nonviolence, “Household conflict, then, resulting from placing loyalty to Christ and to the God he represents above family loyalties, is one way in which Jesus' disciples encounter the cross and lose what is most precious to them, only to find it again more truly.”
So this passage is about where our loyalty is directed or should be directed. The same kind of loyalty the king of Egypt worries about with the children of Israel. He worries that they will outnumber the Egyptians and turn against them in times of war. So, he tries to suppress them with hard work and slavery.
We continue to learn that our Father behaves just the opposite of the Egyptian monarch. Rather than fear us, he gives us our freedom to pursue whatever we desire. And then he plants among us something we will all want to desire when we have a proper relationship to God and to His son.
These disciples, according to Rensberger, are not above their teacher. They should expect to experience the same rejection and punishment that Jesus feels. “The ‘sword’ that Jesus brings is not a sword for his followers to wield but one for them to suffer, as even family members reject them and their newfound commitment.”
He concludes: The fact that Jesus called his disciples to be peacemakers does not automatically guarantee that they will succeed. They are liable to be targets of hostility themselves. The peace that they seek to make may well be denied to them. But at no point does Jesus authorize them to take up arms in retaliation, least of all in carrying out the mission he has given them.
Instead, the vision of Isaiah 2:4 continues to prevail. They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; One nation shall not raise the sword against another, nor shall they train for war again.
Action
Today, as you consider the role of peace in the Bible, pray the Oblates of Saint Benedict prayer and think of a place upon the earth where you want peace to grow. Honduras, Haiti, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, your office, Congress, your family.
Help us to become people of prayer and peace. Though scattered far and wide, help us to be together in the spirit of your love. Give us hearts wide enough to embrace each other as well as those whose lives we touch. Enable us to listen and to learn from each other and those around us each day. May we be models in our homes, neighborhoods, and communities of wise stewardship, dignified human labor, sacred leisure, and reverence for all living things. Above all, O God, may our presence among others be a constant witness of justice, compassion, and hope to all. Amen.
