Once I knew a young man who grew up on the streets in Newark. His family disintegrated when he was a little boy and he was shuttled from aunt to uncle to grandparents, never feeling really wanted or loved.
He was angry and always in trouble. His only solace came from his friends whom he called “his brothers” He told me once that he was willing to die for them.
After years of chaos through God’s grace he came to his senses in the back seat of a police squad car and decided to change his life around.
He got involved in his church and somehow got admitted to Catholic U. As graduation approached all he talked about was wanting to introduce me to his friends.
Truth be told no one came, none of his family and none of his so called brothers, not one.
I ran around and got some kids and we were the only ones screaming for him when he got his diploma.
His friends refused to come because they said he was different he had changed. Obviously he had changed, changed for the good.
and Jesus said...
Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth?
No, I tell you, but rather division.
There was a man I knew who worked in a marketing firm.
His whole office was excited about a conference they were all attending. They were especially excited about the evening activities they were planning.
When it came time to go to the “gentlemen’s club” and that’s an oxymoron if there there was one....
He simply said “I’m going to say back and relax tonight. His co-workers were not happy.
When he got back into the office he was called in by his boss who said that his co-workers were complaining about his work ethic at the conference and that he was not a team player.
All that man did was follow his conscience and refuse to join in the evening activities.
And Jesus said
Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth?
No, I tell you, but rather division.
There was a lady who worked in an office which was abuzz because the boss was going away.
The ladies all planned to go work as usual but spend the whole day shopping on the internet instead of working. The woman who kept on task and chose to do the right thing was ostracized and made to feel so uncomfortable that she quit.
Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth?
No, I tell you, but rather division.
A young man was helping a contractor during the summer it seemed whenever they finished a job there were tons of materials left over and all of it was gathered up and taken to his co-workers house.
When inquired about all of the extra materials his co-worker said I always tell them I need almost double of what I do need and then I keep the excess. Then he offered the kid some tools but when he refused the stolen tools and the rest of the summer was not pleasant.
Even though he was a great worker needless to say he didn’t get the job the next summer.
I could go on and on and on but you get the point.
All of these people chose to do the right thing.
All of these people followed their conscience and all of them suffered for it.
Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth?
No, I tell you, but rather division.
When we hear those words they just don’t make sense to us.
Jesus doesn’t want to create division but he wants us to clearly understand that when we follow him, when we try to realize God’s will in our lives, we can be pretty sure that there will be consequences and sometimes difficult consequences.
Because Jesus chose to follow His Father’s will,
because he refused to be the type of political messiah that Judas wanted him to be,
Judas betrayed him and he was executed on the cross.
Being ostracized, or shunned, being made fun of or not hired again are all painful experiences but they are all possibilities which we should realize can happen if we are true to ourselves and true to God’s will.
The Gospel today reminds us about the cost of discipleship.
I once had an old priest say to me Robert if you find being a Catholic and being a priest and being a friar easy, maybe you’re not doing a good job at any of them.
Let’s pray that we can be willing to pay the cost of discipleship even when it hurts.
Let’s pray that both we and our children and our grandchildren will have the courage to do the right thing even if it means being misunderstood or shoved away.
For Jesus said
Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth?
No, I tell you, but rather division.
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