Loyalty That Divides!

Monday, July 14, 2025

Ex 1:8-14, 22; Mt 10:34-11:1

Today’s Gospel invites us to reflect on loyalty that divides. 

It is shocking to see that Jesus, the Prince of Peace, says, ‘I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.’ How can we understand Jesus’ statement? 

In essence, Jesus is talking about a ‘different kind’ of peace and sword. 

The kind of peace that Jesus promises, we experience as a sword because it does not allow us to keep our idols (wealth and money) and stay in our comfort zones. It demands that we let go of false attachments, relationships, cravings for wealth, and obsessions with self-interest because they hinder our efforts to be Jesus’ disciples. Peace is what we enjoy when we align with God’s will. 

The kind of sword that Jesus promises to bring does not intend to create chaos but to divide truth from falsehood, allegiance from compromise, and light from darkness. This sword appears to divide us because true loyalty to Jesus is to affirm ‘Jesus First’ and to walk away from anything that draws us away from him. In sum, it cuts between what is of Christ and what is not. We must belong to Christ to avoid the sword. 

Did Jesus embrace the different kind of peace and sword?

Yes, Jesus suffered for his loyal love for his Father. He was rejected by his own people, betrayed by his friends, and crucified by those he came to save. We are called to follow one who has shown us the way by knowing the pain of loyalty. 

Just as light can blind us, loyalty to Jesus can divide us too.

Let us pray that we may honor Jesus through our undivided loyalty to him. 

Fr. Dhinakaran Savariyar