“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.’
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. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me. Whoever receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever receives a righteous man because he is righteous will receive a righteous man’s reward. And whoever gives only a cup of cold water to one of these little ones to drink because he is a disciple—amen, I say to you, he will surely not lose his reward.
When Jesus finished giving these commands to his twelve disciples, he went away from that place to teach and to preach in their towns.” (Mt. 10:34-11:1 NABRE)
The message of today’s Gospel is clear: we are called to keep God first in our lives and to actively live out our faith regardless of how our relationship with Him causes others to treat us or to view us.
Jesus teaches that in many cases, our relationship with Him will result in division with others and with the world. This is because we are called by God to live for Him and to follow His commands. This involves living virtuously, striving for holiness, and avoiding sin. Yet, in this fallen and drastically distorted world, which promotes and celebrates sin as something to be embraced and regarded as the norm, Christians are often looked down on and despised for not conforming to its ways.
Jesus, however, summons us to follow Him and reminds us not to place anything or anyone before Him. If pursuing the Lord above all else causes difficulties in our lives and division with others, we are called to respond to this by faithfully taking up our cross and keeping our focus on finding life and peace in Jesus, and not in anything else.
We are called by God to live out our faith by loving and serving others, by growing in holiness and virtue through His grace, and by sharing Jesus’ love with the world by being His light.
If we put anyone or anything before Jesus, and if the way we live out our life does not reflect Him, then we have failed to take up our cross and follow the Lord. Only by denying ourselves and the ways of the world, can we truly accept Jesus and receive eternal life through Him and with Him. May we always keep the Lord first and foremost in our lives and may our lives truly reflect this!
“I have told you this so that you might have peace in me. In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world.” (Jn. 16:33)
“What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life?” (Mt. 16:26)
“Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect.” (Rm. 12:2)
Regrettably, there is neither a mandate for a mere relationship with our Savior nor one that encourages placing Him merely first in our lives. Both our Salvation and our unique Sainthood require that we become the embodiment of our Savior, fully sharing in Jesus' Sonship as blood Sons of our Father. I was once advised in contemplation of our God that even Satan has a very "personal relationship" with our Savior, it just happens to be just all bad. Of what use is that to us. These are both very protestant expressions of a regard for what should have been instead our individual surrender to becoming mutually bound in Communion with our God. desiring only to attend and serve His Person, His needs, and His desires alone, for His sake alone. This is the Catholic understanding of what should be our mutual union with God. Note that for one of these dispositions, our embodiment of the consummately selfless disposition of our Savior with respect to our Father is always required. No exceptions. The dispositions cited in this post, although they can eventually lead, as in my own case, to other dispositions that have the capacity to result in our Sainthood, in themselves these have none if any honest reading of New or Old Testament Scripture are employed in the evaluation.