Jesus is a sign of contradiction in the world. The history reveals that the person of Jesus has been opposed from the beginning so also his followers. The opposition is manifested in the crucifixion of Jesus and suffering of persecutions of his followers. Such oppositions sound weird and frightening but Jesus assures us that we will overcome everything at the end. The readings of the day contain tones of mixed feelings: on the one side warning of impending divisions and persecutions for the followers, and on the other side assurance of strength and faith in Christ in the midst of every ordeal.
The gospel presents a tone of warning for the followers of Jesus that he is going to bring division in the family. Oh, what a sordid fact of being Christ's followers! Jesus indeed brings division in the sense that within the family there will be some who will not accept Christ but oppose him. This rejection and opposition will bring division in the family. This also reflects the situation of the early Church which was undergoing torturous persecutions due to Christ even by the family members because the family lost privileges by the roman emperor sometimes due to one member who accepted Christ.
The first reading instills assurance of strength. The strength to stand against everything that comes from God and St. Paul prays for the Christians for strength and faith.
Dear friends, we may not experience fierce persecutions like the early Church but we can do experience opposing forces in our daily lives as followers of Christ. Our daily life that we live can be influenced by forces of greed, enmity, wrangle and so on they are contrary to what Jesus teaches. Thus, they become opposing and challenging forces as followers of Christ. We need strength and faith to withstand them which come from God. If we are attached to God, we can withstand every opposing force but if we are away from Christ we can't withstand opposing forces. Let's pray that God may help us to remain His faithful followers till the end of our lives.
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