My Dear Brothers and Sisters,
As we recalled three weeks ago, Jesus taught the disciples how to pray and taught us to ask and told us that we shall receive. Then last week, Jesus assured us that faithful servants will be rewarded.
Today, however, everything changes. Today we learn the kindly Jesus has come to unexpectedly and very surprisingly upset the status quo. We are told that Jesus is not about bringing a peaceful life. His message instead will cause division.
Jesus asks us to choose and make the really difficult decisions: As Jeremiah’s prophecy pointed out that Judah had a choice to make. Choose to follow God and forget glory, or fight for glory and be destroyed forever. Thus, we too must choose either God and God’s way, or our way and what we think best. And the Gospel of Luke puts Jesus in the same context. There is a spiritual war, and Jesus is telling us to make a choice. We must choose what God wants or what we want.
Therefore there is no wonder that we sometimes don’t have peace and harmony within a family. Some parents may expect to keep traditions and religions, while their children may want to make revolution. Parents may want to keep God’s commandments, but their children may want to be free. Parents and children can have very different points of view on many things, even their way of life … This division that will, of course, come is not because Jesus created division. The division is because many of us still choose ourselves and what we want over what God wants for us.
Thus, what should we do? The best way or the only way is to choose God, because choosing God might bring division, but choosing God also brings salvation. We who have been Catholics for many years, should confirm our faith in Jesus again – that Jesus is our way, our life and our truth.
May God bless and keep us as an apple of His eyes.
With love,
Fr. Thuong Hoai Nguyen