Mission Accomplished

In 1862 there was a battle at Malvern Hill near Richmond.

A Union captain tells in his diary of a heart wrenching incident in that battle.

A young Confederate officer and his small patrol held a key position some distance away.

The Confederate officer was rallying his men and blocking the Union advance.

So, the Union captain called for his veteran sharpshooter, Sgt Driscoll.

He asked him to try to take out that troublesome Confederate officer.

Sgt Driscoll took careful aim and shot.

He brought down his target, and the leaderless rebel troops ran off.

As the Union troops advanced they neared the fallen Confederate, face down in the field.

The captain and Sgt Driscoll checked to see if he was still alive.

Sgt Driscoll turned the body over, and his eyes met those of the young Confederate.

As they recognized each other, the dying young man spoke his last word—Father!

That Civil War took 750,000 lives.

And led to many tragic stories of divided families.

Father against son, mother against daughter, and brother against brother.

These family divisions didn’t necessarily stem from, or even lead to, anger or hatred.

They were the inevitable result of differing beliefs and priorities and choices.

Divided families were most often found in the border states,

Where members moved in both cultures and allegiances were most easily split.

The Georgetown University student body was also deeply split.

Nearly all left to fight—some for the North, and some for the South.

After the war, the returning students helped to choose the colors for the school insignia.

In a spirit of unity and reconciliation they chose Union blue and Confederate gray.

Today, our country is again (or still) deeply divided.

So far, the anger and hatred in our country is mostly contained at verbal warfare.

But deep divisions and civil wars are taking over 100,000 lives in Syria and Libya.

And hundreds are dying in Egypt.

And here at home, as well as abroad, we still have all the age-old divisiveness.

Conflicts that have plagued families since the days of Cain and Abel.

Ranging all the way from simple tension, to domestic violence, to murder.

Amid all that, we come upon today’s Gospel passage.

And Jesus says, Do you think I have come to establish peace on earth?

Our honest answer is probably, Yes, as a matter of fact I did.

And when he goes on to say, No, I tell you—but rather division. 

We might be tempted to respond with, Well then, Mission Accomplished!

Our division is clear from a quick look at the daily news.

Or at the state of our families and our country and the world.

How can we reconcile Jesus’ words of division today

With his many other references to his mission of peace and unity.

At the Last Supper he said, My peace I give to you.

And we repeat that at every Mass.

He prayed to the Father that we might all be one, with him and with each other.

He said a house divided cannot stand.

The Gospels and the Church make many other claims that Jesus brought peace and unity.

We offer each other the sign of peace.

We pray: You came to gather the nations into the peace of God’s kingdom.

You are mighty God and Prince of Peace.

You came to reconcile us to one another and to the Father.

You heal the wounds of sin and division.

Those positive messages reflect Jesus’ ultimate mission--

Bringing reconciliation, unity and peace.
On the other hand, today’s discouraging words on division

Reflect Jesus’ realism concerning our process for claiming that peace.

They reflect his understanding of the human nature he shared with us.

He knew that he was forcing us to make another crucial life decision.

Make another choice; profess a new allegiance.

He knew that we would be like those people in the border states 
With one foot in each of two worlds.
That some would embrace his message and others would not.

There would be tension.

Strong feelings and strong disagreements about the truth of his revelations.

Divisions between those who have accepted his message and those who have not.

The Good News is that Jesus didn't bring only division.
He brought the opportunity for peace and unity.
He completed his ultimate mission.

He reached his goal of reconciling us to the Father.

And establishing the kingdom of heaven here on earth.

When he said, My peace I give to you.

He added that his peace was different from the world’s peace.

His is a deep, abiding, inner peace.

A calming peace that lets us bear the temporary divisions and sufferings of this world.

Because we know that ultimately a better world awaits us.

That better world, that kingdom of heaven on earth, is already here today.

It’s growing and it’s available to everyone who chooses to claim it.

Jesus established it, but has left it to us to continue building it up.

That’s our mission.

To enter the kingdom ourselves.

And to help others enter.

God does not will that even one of us be lost.

So we work to spread his message of true peace and unity.

And try to gently help draw in everyone who stands on the other side of the divide.

And for each new member who embraces the message and enters,

We can repeat—now with all sincerity—Mission Accomplished.

20th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Lk 12:49-53           Read this Scripture @usccb.org