Chaos in the call to conversion

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today confirm that the chaos that we experience is connected to the conflict between the will and way of God and our self serving actions.

Apparent chaos

The Prophet Isaiah calls the religious leaders of Israel to a conversion that replaces lip service to God with life service for the people of God.

* [1:10–17] A powerful indictment of the religious hypocrisy of rulers and others who neglect just judgment and oppress the weaker members, yet believe they can please God with sacrifices and other external forms of worship. The long list of observances suggests the Lord’s tedium with such attempts. Sodom…Gomorrah: the names are picked up from v. 9, but now to emphasize their wickedness rather than the good fortune of escaping total destruction.

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus warning that the decision to follow Him would generate division is an experience that the Evangelist had known in the expulsion of Jewish Christians from the synagogues.

* [10:39] One who denies Jesus in order to save one’s earthly life will be condemned to everlasting destruction; loss of earthly life for Jesus’ sake will be rewarded by everlasting life in the kingdom.

Cadice Tucci notes that the decision to follow Jesus, at any time, just might lead to being in opposition to those near and dear to us.

I remember Jesus, who was raised in the knowledge of Moses and the poetic verse of the prophets, is himself prophet, the new Moses, the New Creation, and IS the world that might be. He is HOPE! Nonetheless, in a harsh and somewhat troubling way Jesus uses language that opens eyes to what it may take and what might happen to bring about the fullness of life, a new world, the Reign of God. Is Jesus taking up arms in saying he comes to bring not peace but the sword? I read that metaphorically.  
Jesus is addressing his Apostles giving them their commands as they are sent forth with what to expect. Expect chaos! Expect judgement and hope. What they preach may be distressing. Inner peace may be disquieted. Even family members may have their fervent differences of opinions.

Don Schwager addresses the nature of the peace of Jesus in the words of John Chrysostom (347-407 AD).

"What sort of peace is it that Jesus asks them to pronounce upon entering each house? And what kind of peace is it of which the angels sing, 'Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace'? And if Jesus came not to bring peace, why did all the prophets publish peace as good news? Because this more than anything is peace: when the disease is removed. This is peace: when the cancer is cut away. Only with such radical surgery is it possible for heaven to be reunited to earth. Only in this way does the physician preserve the healthy tissue of the body. The incurable part must be amputated. Only in this way does the military commander preserve the peace: by cutting off those in rebellion. Thus it was also in the case of the tower of Babel, that their evil peace was ended by their good discord. Peace therefore was accomplished. (excerpt from THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW, HOMILY 35.1)

The Word Among Us Meditation on Psalm 50:8-9, 16-17, 21, 23 shares that sometimes we have ignored the Spirit’s nudges for so long that we don’t even notice them anymore. We are not even aware of our sins. That’s why the Spirit sometimes mercifully makes us aware of our sins by “drawing them up” right before our eyes (Psalm 50:21).

Your divine Doctor is reaching out to you all the time. He is constantly pointing you toward salvation. So welcome those moments when the you feel a sense of godly guilt or conviction of sin. Behind every call to repentance lies God’s tender love. Those moments are special times of grace as we allow Jesus to heal us and set us free.

Friar Jude Winkler comments that Isaiah compares the leadership of Israel to Princes of Sodom and Rulers of Gomorrah because of the inconsistency between their actions in the Temple and the way they live outside. The Gospel of Matthew is dated to about a decade after the expulsion of Jewish Christians from the Temple and synagogues. This family division was very close to the community taught by Matthew. Our participation in the work of conversion today may be in material and spiritual support of those modern prophets who proclaim the message of conversion.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, reflects on the difficulty of social change. Without the nondual mind, it’s almost impossible for us to find another way of doing politics. Grounding social action in contemplative consciousness is not a luxury for a few but a cultural necessity.

There’s no seeking of power over in the Trinity, but only power with—giving away and humbly receiving. This should have changed all Christian relationships: in churches, marriage, culture, and even international relations. Isaiah tried to teach such servanthood to Israel in the classic four “servant songs.” [1] But Hebrew history preceded what Christianity repeated: both traditions preferred kings, wars, and empires instead of suffering servanthood or leveling love.

The echo of the texts today that resonates with the thoughts of Father Richard if we actually surrendered to the inner Trinitarian flow and let it be our primary teacher, our view of politics and authority would utterly change.
References

(n.d.). Isaiah, chapter 1 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved July 16, 2018, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/isaiah/1 

(n.d.). Matthew, chapter 10 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved July 16, 2018, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/matthew/10

(n.d.). Online Ministries Home Page - Creighton University. Retrieved July 16, 2018, from http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/preparing.html

(n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved July 16, 2018, from http://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/

(n.d.). 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Mass Readings and Catholic Daily .... Retrieved July 16, 2018, from https://wau.org/meditations/

(n.d.). Daily Meditations Archive - Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved July 16, 2018, from https://cac.org/richard-rohr/daily-meditations/daily-meditations-archive/