Monday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time
We are used to hearing Jesus speak harsh and brutal truths towards his day’s religious and political establishment. We are not always used to, or we purposefully gloss over, the harsh and challenging truths directed to us. Today we have such a time.
It is not easy to hear these words, “I have come to bring not peace but the sword.” Isn’t Jesus the all-loving, all caring man who accepts all things and all people no matter what? Primarily, yes, however, Jesus demands that we make a choice that will set us at odds with those around us. He loves each of us unconditionally but requires us who wish to inherit the life he desires to give us. In those demands comes both blessings for the faithful and consequences for the unfaithful.
To lead an authentic Christian life means to be at odds with the world, to hold moral and spiritual positions that will bring condemnation and, at times, violence. It means battling, with a sword of loving truth, the false teachings of our day, recognizing that we MUST take up this call. We must be willing to reject even intimate relationships with family, with friends, with success when they run counter to this life and to reject it means the sword may come to us, “and whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me.”
So, be courageous, take up the sword of loving truth, and battle for the true King so that you may be worthy of Him.
Reflection by Fr. Etienne Huard, OSB
Posted in Articles for Ordinary Time, Daily Reflections