Do you think I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division;
for henceforth in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three;
they will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother,
mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. (Lk. 12:51-53)
If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children
and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. (Lk. 14:26
He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree.
He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away.
(St. Luke, 1. 51)
"For the Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them. And they went to another village.
And it came to pass, that, as they went in the way, a certain man said unto him, Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest.
And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.
And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.
Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.
And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house.
And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God." (Luke 9:56-62)
Jesus isn't talking people out of following him, he's talking them out of doing it in a half-assed manner. He let's them know up front the high cost of discipleship. It may cost them their families, it may send them into poverty even homelessness, it may even lead to their deaths. But whoever loses their life for his sake will find it. And what good is it to inherit the riches of the Earth and forfeit the Kingdom of God in return?
What are the blessings and comforts of the Earth compared to the blessings of heaven and the wealth and prosperity given by God?
" For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted." (St. Luke 14: 11)
Jesus will raise the lowly and abase the self-righteous so it is up to us to remain humble before an ever present God and Savior. Jesus had the authority to rule over the Earth but instead he taught us, taught us to love our neighbors as ourselves, even our enemies and he taught us that when his teachings were finally accepted by all there would be peace amongst all nations.
And rather than rule with an iron fist as some do, he was our Savior and our servant. The last thing he did before his crucifixion was wash the feet of his disciples. The act of a servant coming from their master taught the Apostles a very important lesson as it should teach us: That the true measure of love comes from sacrifice, and Jesus taught by example that he would sacrifice his air of dignity, his social status, and his very life for us all.
And the cost of discipleship is for us to be willing to do the same, to listen to the spirit when we are called to action or even called to speak or teach. We have to be willing to pay as steep a price as our Savior paid or we cannot say we truly follow the path he set before us or that we mirror his example.
Jesus sought to unite us but knew that we would divide ourselves by faith, nationality, race, gender or anything else under the sun.
But Jesus taught above all else, the one precept that unites all his parables, teachings and narratives, unconditional love is the answer to ever question. It is the only thing strong enough to unite a divided world, to heal a sickened and war weary people, to nourish and strengthen the rich and poor alike.
John and Paul had it right when they said "all you need is love"......The Beatles, not the Apostles btw.
Jesus exemplified love in everything he did and said. His ministry and life story testify to that a million times over and during the span of the 20 centuries that separate his time from ours we see again and again that sinners respond to his message most, because those of us that recognize that we sin in one way or another need Jesus the most. Some of us realize we need the forgiveness of Christ because maybe we know that we will never receive it from another human being and forgiveness, the true, pure and life altering unconditional love of Christ is the most cleansing and most necessary feeling for anyone to have.
I would say do not use your Christianity to speperate yourself from others, instead of being exclusive be inclusive. Do not divide but unite. Be focused in the moment, be aware and it will be the voice of God and of Jesus that you'll hear.
And Jesus responded with love to all the outcasts and sinners of his day. He loved the people no one else would and the people no one else thought were worth loving. The people everyone else treated like trash. And those "sinners" and outcasts from every age since who become familiar with the life and teachings of Jesus respond with an equal amount of love not only to our Savior but in some cases to the rest of humanity. People like Mother Teresa and Dr. Martin Luther King.
Now some may say they don't have it in them to become the type of person who alters history in a major way. I would disagree; know what made Dr. King so famous? When the snafu over Rosa Parks erupted the locals in the area went to the only place they knew to go for help-their local church and talked to the pastor there-Dr. Martin Luther King.
He was an ordinary man who was thrust into extraordinary times and in that pressure he listened to the spirit and the words of Jesus and therefore the one who sent him, and became as extraordinary a man as he was called to be. Though he still had his failings. He did have an Achilles heel, it was just up higher. Still, he moved a generation, a people, a nation to finally live up to their ethos and get closer to the ethos of fundamental truth espoused by Jesus that we have long since aspired to.
And when the spirit calls, if we answer, who can say where that journey will take us. Hope for the best and prepare yourself for the worst and have faith that the life and teachings of Jesus are the only example you'll ever need to follow to be the best human being you are capable of being.