When taken at face value, the words of Jesus can often seem inconsistent, contradictory, or even illogical. In today’s gospel, he states that he has not come to bring peace upon the earth, yet after the Resurrection, peace is exactly what he offers his disciples. A bit further in today’s reading he says, “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”
These statements don’t seem to make complete sense if we merely look at them from a one-dimensional earthly point of view. We must keep in mind that what Jesus offers is something that the world does not have and cannot give. Christ has come to put us in right relationship with God and with one another. This restructuring may be upsetting and involve “the sword,” but it’s ultimate goal is peace. And part of this peace comes from knowing that we are not masters of our own life and that our life does not end when our bodies pass away. If we find this new way of looking at life, through Jesus’ eyes, then we will find life and we will find peace.