Dear Parish Family,

Besides the Gospel stories that have impressed upon our minds, the artistic renderings of Jesus have mostly favored a gentle Jesus. The images of the Good Shepherd, Sacred Heart and Jesus surrounded by children adorn our homes and churches. Our favorite images of Jesus are peaceful images. In stark contract, how do we make sense when Jesus says his coming will establish division and he desires to set our world ablaze? Have we perhaps misunderstood Jesus’ message? Are we wrong to say that Jesus is the Prince of Peace? We are not. Jesus will bring peace. But his peace will not be complete until the last day when Jesus establishes God’s kingdom. Before that time, the role of peace must be more carefully considered.

When we comply with Jesus reaching peace is not constantly ‘peaceful’. True peace is more than the lack of hostility. It is a life that is improved goodness and also justice. As long as we reside in a world where injustice as well as evil are present, opposing that wicked and also injustice is essential. Opposing evil is barely tranquil. Jesus does indeed call us to peace, however getting to peace is frequently troubling and unpleasant.

As we try to make sense of Jesus' words in the gospel, an important distinction should be kept in mind: the distinction between keeping the peace and also serving the peace. Christians are called not to maintain the peace however to serve the peace. If we make maintaining the tranquility our highest priority, we will certainly never ever permit ourselves to disturb or interrupt anyone. We will certainly constantly be inclined to maintain the status quo and also scared to rock the boat. Such an approach runs the risk of covering over the oppression as well as wickedness that are present among us. When it tolerates wicked, maintaining the tranquility is contrary to God's kingdom. If we make keeping the peace our highest priority, we will never permit ourselves to say that a particular relationship is abusive, and we need to change it. We will never face the reality that our marriage is destructive and must seek a remedy. If keeping the peace is our highest priority, we will never have the courage to confront a family member about his or her alcoholism or speak out about verbal or sexual abuse in the workplace. It was a misguided desire to keep the peace that led certain bishops in our church to cover over the sexual abuse of children. We suffer to this day from their decision to keep things quiet.

We are not called to keep the peace. We are called to serve the peace. Now of course this does not mean that making people angry is somehow valuable in itself. Upsetting people is often unwise and counterproductive. But in a world where evil exists, opposition and confrontation are sometimes necessary to serve the peace. We might be called to serve the peace by marching against an unjust law or an unjust war. We might be called to serve the peace by standing against someone in authority who ignores the rights of another. We might be called to serve the peace by speaking the truth in our family, in our workplace, or in our church–even if speaking the truth makes waves and risks division. When we can, with prudence and strength, oppose the evil that surrounds us, we will be serving the peace. Our efforts to confront evil are, of course, playing with fire. Let our ‘fire’ be one of courage, adherence to the Gospel values upholding the dignity of every human person, protection of life and reverence for God. This fire will renew the face of the Earth.