In today’s Gospel, Mt 10:
34-11:1, Jesus says to us: “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.” I said to the Lord: “Wow, that statement is
enough to turn everyone away from Christianity and from reading the Bible.” I imagined the Lord saying to me:
“Dorothy
Ann, I know those words are harsh. The
Son of God took on human nature
to save each person from death. To reverse
that sentence of death, which Satan thrust
upon the world by his lies, would entail “the
sword” of grace, violence toward evil, and
the strength
to stand by Truth to follow God’s ways in the face of fierce opposition from
those who are closest to you—family members.
Truth confronts falsehood mainly within
the
family. Choosing my Father’s will, many times, comes in conflict with family members
who insist on a choice that is contrary to what God is asking of a son/daughter, a daughter/
who insist on a choice that is contrary to what God is asking of a son/daughter, a daughter/
son-in-law. Tempers fly even to the point of imprisonment
and bloodshed, lawsuits and
legal wrangling. It happened to me; it will happen
to my disciples. And in today’s world
that is
attempting to destroy the Sacred, division within families—natural, liturgical,
political
and religious—is increasing.
Hold
fast to the faith you have been given!
What a clear message of
what this passage could mean. It made
sense to me. What about you?
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