Each day, it seems the world becomes more troubled. The Christian message is one of love and humility, and if all people would simply love as the Gospel calls us to do, there would be world peace in a matter of days. Yet there is a perplexing verse in scripture that seems to belie the promise of peace, uniformity and inclusion which the Gospels convey. Jesus said, “Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.” (Mt 10:34)
As Jesus was being taken away and arrested, Peter cut off Malchus’ ear to defend Jesus. Jesus told Peter: “Put the sword into the sheath; the cup which the Father has given Me, shall I not drink it?”(Jn 18:11) Jesus had to complete His salvific mission, and a physical defense was contrary to this goal. Additionally, there was a much more powerful sword that Jesus wanted Peter to use: one which was required to build His Church, to rescue those who had fallen into darkness and were slaves to their passions. It was not a physical sword; it was the sword of truth.
We know that to be authentic Christians, we must embrace and strive to conform to the immutable teachings of Jesus Christ. Since the earliest days of Christendom, the Church has fought against false notions of what Jesus taught, and the guarantee that His Church would prevail implies that His teachings will be preserved in their fullness and exactness to the end. If this were untrue, then the Church would have ceased to exist long ago.
So why must there be a sword for the Christian? A sword may cause division and conflict, such as the sword that Jesus reveals whenever the teachings of the Gospel run counter to the prevailing moods and whims of the times. Since Jesus walked the earth, there has never been an age that has not experienced this, and its reality is all too clear in our own time.
However, lest we think that the sword of Christ, His sword of truth, has weakened due to the many battles waged against it throughout the centuries, we must remind ourselves the opposite is true. It has been perpetually strengthened precisely in the crucible of trials beset upon it throughout the centuries: the blade, ever sharpened through the blood of martyrs, the councils of the Church, and the exhortations of the Magisterium; the scabbard; decorated and bejeweled by the writings of the saints, the sacred art, cathedrals, and the very foundations of western civilization itself.
It was this sword that the saints brandished. It was this sword for which the blood of the martyrs flowed, who gave their lives to follow Christ and His teachings, which are inseparable from His very being. These people followed Him however contrary, undesirable or absurd they appeared to the worldly sentiments of their times.
Truth is beautiful, inspiring and noble. It is also written in our hearts. This is why we can become disturbed when hearing or reading about Catholic moral principles, because in our consciences the truth corrects us by illuminating those behaviors and perceptions that we need to improve – exchanging tendencies to self-aggrandizement, vice and internal division for those of compassion, virtue and integrity of being.
We ourselves may feel the sword penetrate us inwardly on occasions of hearing the truth. In response, we can humble ourselves and begin anew, or we can well up in pride and become obstinate. The choice is always ours to make.
Christ gave His followers the sword so they would never mistake humility for timidity. The true Christian is a fearless person, because they have access to the sword. This sword was not made with little effort or cost. It was initially forged in Christ’s pain on His way to Calvary, hammered into shape by the thorns and the nails, and fired in the furnace of His love in His agony on the cross. It was quenched in the purity of the immaculate heart of His mother. This sword is invincible, and we must not fear to wield it for the sake of mercy when needed, for it will shine victoriously at the end of the age.
Fred Berretta is a member of St. Matthew Church in Charlotte.