Jesus said to his disciples, «Do not think that I have come to establish peace on earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father and daughter against her mother; a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. Each one will have as enemies those of one's own family.
»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 come after me is not worthy of me. One who wants to benefit from his life will lose it; one who loses his life for my sake will find it. Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes him who sent me. The one who welcomes a prophet as a prophet will receive the reward of a prophet; the one who welcomes a just man because he is a just man will receive the reward of a just man. And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones, because he is a disciple of mine, I assure you, he will not go unrewarded».
When Jesus had finished giving his twelve disciples these instructions, He went on from there to teach and to proclaim his message in their towns.
Source: http://evangeli.net/gospel/
Analysis
Today's passage is both a message of encouragement and also a very stern warning for all peoples of the earth. This passage is part of a series on the mission of Jesus and what we must do if we wish to follow Him. The passage opens with Jesus claiming that He is here not to bring peace, but to bring a sword. Because of Him, families will be torn apart as He claims. Jesus then continues by saying that anyone who loves their family more than they love Jesus is unworthy of following Him. He then says that if we do not take up our cross and follow Jesus, we are unworthy as well. One who keeps their life shall lose it, and if we lose ours because of Christ, we shall regain it. They who welcomes a prophet, a just man, or Jesus' disciples as they are shall go with their rewards. And if we give even a cup of water to the little ones, we too shall not go unrewarded.
Why did Jesus claim that He is not here to bring peace? Perhaps He has cancelled all of the other verses that teaches us to love each other and our enemies, and to pray for those who persecuted us? Of course not, this message is actually a stern warning from Jesus. What He means is not that His message is of the sword, but the consequences of Him delivering the message is of the sword, what does it mean? Simply put, Jesus brings the truth, and the truth will inevitably cause conflict, because they conflict with people who are not aligned with the truth. Jesus emphasizes the scale of this conflict to even reach cores of families.
Families may seem a group of people who would accept each other, but in the end the relationship of the family is mostly held together by the blood that the family shares. As such, a truth bearer would even come into conflict with their family, because to know the truth involves a very personal experience. This is experience can not be shared like blood, as such, a conflict between the truth bearer and their society is inevitable. As such, Jesus gives a harsh reminder, if we wish to follow Jesus, that is to serve the truth, we must sacrifice everything, and be ready to take up the cross, that is to suffer. And when I said everything, this includes family and loved ones. As such, if we are still attached to even our parents, siblings, or family, it's better for us not to follow Jesus at all. This is the rationale behind Catholic priests not marrying and living somewhat in solitude.
The message of following Christ continues with the paradox of gaining life and losing it. If we wish to keep our life, that is being attached to our life and not willing to risk it for the truth, we will lose it. Meanwhile, if we lose our life, that is we sacrificed everything and lost everything because of Christ, we will someday regain it. To welcome a truth bearer is equal to welcoming Christ, as Christ is the ultimate truth bearer, and they hold the same goals and visions as Christ, and to welcome Christ is to welcome God, the supreme consciousness, source of all being. Obtaining our rewards because we welcome righteous people is because to welcome them means to welcome the truth. The truth is of our salvation, as such, our reward is salvation and eternal life itself. And that is the meaning of today's passage, a harsh reminder for us who wish to follow Christ, in the mission of salvation. I believe that is all I have to say, have a nice day and see you tomorrow.
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