Jesus, a cause of dissension

Jesus in the gospel said that he can be the very cause of dissension and disunity among peoples and even families. We are witnesses to that – from the dissension caused by laws like the reproductive health bill, to dissensions caused by the care for the environment, to dissensions caused among priest regarding reshuffling of assignments. Even in families this can very well happen as it has happened in the past. Examine for example some of the lives of the saints and you will find here and there saints whose beliefs and decisions for Jesus and what they thought then as the best way to serve him, have caused divisions not just in their families but even in society and the church itself – Sta. Barbara, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Francis Xavier and Teresa of Calcutta were not spared. You may even have your own little stories at home – with conflicts arising from decisions triggered by religion – conflicts between husband and wife, between parents and children.


Jesus can be a cause of dissension. Why? Because the call of Jesus if responded to fully can be, as they say, radical, involving sometimes a change of lifestyle, an upsetting of traditions, an unsettling of order, a cutting off from what was formerly esteemed.

So the next time when you decide to be honest in your service, when you decide to forgive somebody your loved one’s consider undeserving, when you decide to leave behind a lucrative but dishonest deal, when you decide to pay justly your employees, when you decide to oppose something which is incompatible with your faith, when you decide to stop lying and say the truth that may be damaging – be prepared. It will not be easy. You might create divisions and dissensions, you may incite conflicts and even outright rebellion, you may loose your friends as some in the past have lost even their lives.
It is not that easy. If following Jesus is as easy as attending masses everyday and saying our novenas, our churches will be full of statues of saints, and all of us here will be probably canonized a year after we die. But it is not that easy. It has never been that easy. We pray for the courage to follow Jesus bravely.