Do not think that I have come to establish peace on earth. I have come to cause division. There has never been any contention that Jesus Christ is the Prince of Peace to whom the prophet Isaiah alluded in his prophecy (cf. Isaiah 9:5-6). For as St. Paul reminds us, it is in Jesus Christ that the reconciliation, both between man and man as well as between man and God is attained (cf. Ephesians 2:11-22). Moreover, as Jesus was getting ready to take leave of his disciples, he bequeathed upon them his peace as his departing gift (cf. John 14:27a). It was Christ’s peace that was to fill the void that his going away would create. But even as we rejoice in Christ’s gift of peace to us, we should be careful to always keep in mind his rejoinder to the disciples that the peace he was bequeathing them is not of this world (cf. John 14:27b). If we don’t, then the words of Jesus which we have heard in today’s Gospel Reading might come to us as a shocker. At any rate, Jesus words that we hear in today’s reading are not anything new. The priest Simeon had already spoken them during Jesus’ presentation in the temple (cf. Luke 2:33-34). What should we make, then, of Jesus’ words that he has come not to bring peace but rather to cause division? How can we reconcile the above words of his with the fact that he his birth was announced as ushering in the era of peace (cf. Luke 2:1-14)?
Jesus spoke the above words in the backdrop of the sending of the disciples on mission (in the Gospel according to Matthew, the words form part of the instructions that Jesus gives to the twelve during their commissioning [cf. Matthew chapter 10]). After being with Jesus for some time in order to watch and learn, time had come for the twelve to put to practice what they had learnt. Although the twelve were partners with Jesus, up until now they had only watched from the sidelines as Jesus ministered to the people. But now time had come for them to be part of the action. Unfortunately for them, they were going to be on their own. Being their maiden mission, this was going to be the make or break moment for the disciples. Jesus knew as much and in his commissioning speech, he made sure that the twelve were aware of what was awaiting them in mission. The twelve had to know that the message they had been charged with proclaiming was not going to be welcome by everyone since it was a message that was not only going to challenge its hearers but was also going to demand something from them (conversion of lives, that is, the re-alignment of people’s lives with the will of the Father).  Their message was going to challenge the status quo even as it champions change of lifestyle, attitudes and behaviors. It is this nature of the message that would end up exposing the messengers to ridicule, rejection, and even persecution from some quarters.
Jesus was not boasting about the division that his presence would cause in households. I believe the thought of a family breaking up on account of his message hurt him the most. If it was left to him, he would have wished that an entire household accept his message and gets converted. However, he was also a realist. He already had the experience of being rejected in some quarters. Until the blazing fire of the Holy Spirit sweeps over the earth and changes the hearts of people, the divisions would continue. It was a fact that distressed him, but there was nothing he could do. He had to wait until his own baptism (death) before the entire world becomes ready for the baptism by the Holy Spirit whom he will send. Even his followers who are charged with spreading this baptismal fire would be subjected to the same treatment as him. Until the entire world is baptized with the Holy Spirit, those who proclaim the message will be treated as the prophets of old were treated.