I Have Not Come to Bring Peace, But the Sword

A meditation preached at Kintore College by Fr. Eric Nicolai on July 17, 2023.

Matthew 10:34–11:1: Jesus said to his Apostles: “Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth. I have come to bring not peace but the sword. For I have come to set/ a man against his father,/a daughter against her mother,/ and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;/ and one’s enemies will be those of his household.

We think of the Lord as the king of peace. Peace on earth and goodwill to men. He heals and brings calm, after the agitation created by the devil.

But then these strange words that seem like there was a typo in the transcription. What does this really mean?

Thumbnail: Joseph John Rosenthal, The raising of the Flag at Iwo Jima, February 19, 1945.

Music: Carlos Gardel, Soledad, arranged for guitar by Bert Alink. Public domain.