There are always those events that when they happen, you remember where you were. Well, where were you when Pope John Paul II was shot on May 13, 1981? I was in a classroom at the Fleet Anti-Submarine Warfare Training Center, Pacific in San Diego, CA studying how to fix the AN/SQS-26CX Sonar System. My chief, who was not known to be a practicing Catholic told us that the Pope was shot, and he added “Who would shoot the Pope?”

We later learned that it was a Bulgarian who obviously did not know the story of Our Lady of Fatima.

I remember how much my chief was surprised and again we can say, what kind of world do we live in when the Pope can be shot? When we think along those lines we may miss the point of what our faith is all about, for Jesus Himself was the source of division. Never forget that Jesus as the word of God cuts and divides for the word of God is mighty sword.

As I was preparing to write my homily, I remembered the Gospel of the man born blind and obviously my impressions of the same. But I reread the Gospel and found a line that I never noticed previously: ‘Jesus’ actions caused divisions among the pharisees.’

We can be misled to believe that the pharisees as a unit hated Jesus, but the Catechism of the Catholic Church reminds us that this is not true. Indeed, some pharisees embraced Jesus and others of course rejected Him. We also learn in the same place that when the evangelist John calls them the Jews, he is actually referring to the leaders of the Jews and only those who rejected Christ. He does not mean all Jews then or now.

We can often forget that Jesus by his very existence creates division for He is the word of God, and the word of God is a mighty sword that divides and heals.

Let me give you a thought on this. Do  you know what is the scariest weapon on the street? It is not the gun in any form, it is the machete, a mighty sword that can be used to kill, main or just to threaten. As one Boston Police officer told me, when the machetes come out, those with guns run.

The machete is a device of separation and, as we speak, millions are probably being used throughout the world in many ways, without them you would not enjoy the life you are living. It is used to harvest sugar cane, open coconuts and yes as a weapon on the street. Whenever it is used, it causes one element of something to be separated from another: a limb from a tree, the end of a coconut from the rest forming a cup  of coconut water and it can even sever a limb and destroy. It is the nature of the device. It is always used to divide.

Jesus is the Word of God and will always divide those who seek Him from those who reject Him. That division causes some to separate themselves from a life of sin and others to separate themselves from God. Those who reject God will grow hostile against those who embrace Him. Jesus is always a source of division.

When we think of the Pope John Paul II being shot, we have to think of Pope as a source of division and if the  Pope is a source of division so is Christ’s Church. The world will always hate us, for it has always hated God.

But look more closely, Jesus’ brings healing to one ignored by everyone else. Jesus’ enemies persecute this man born blind in order to win their battle against Christ. They dehumanize him into a tool to be used and then they dismiss him as a sinner while they turn a blind eye to themselves.

The man is healed, not only of blindness, but of his isolation from society and from those leaders who see him as nothing more than an obstacle. You can rest assured the man is welcome now into many communities who want to hear his story of being healed of blindness. This means Jesus also healed him of economic and social isolation.

Those against Jesus have no respect for Him at all nor for the man born blind. They remain blind to the truth, blind to Christ and blind to their own sin and evil. Jesus as the sword of the word of God has fallen and separated the forces of selfishness and death found in the world from the forces of life and healing found in the Kingdom of God.

What does this say for us. Just this week, we learn of Cardinal Burke who warned that policies in this country have become progressively more hostile to Christian civilization. I am recommending a book Disinformation which features the KGB’s tactics against the Church and recognize those same tactics used and still being used is this country against Catholics. I greatly enjoyed the chapter that listed the American columnists carrying water for the KGB against the Church. The list looks quite familiar if you happen to subscribe to one of our local newspapers which has a particularly ant-Catholic reputation.

Cardinal Burke warned Americans to wake up. Yes, that warning needs to be heeded, but, we need to wake up to the fact that the more faithful we are to Christ the more we become a source of division. That is even true in our own Church and in our own community. This is the nature of the presence of Christ, for Christ is the Word of God which is a mighty sword.

Are you ready for division? Are you prepared to have people stand against you in the world and even in your own Church? Are you on the right side of the division. The pharisees were on the wrong side  because they were protecting their own position and power. Are you protecting your journey of holiness or protecting your position and power. That will tell you where you stand. The Word of God is like a powerful machete which always separates the good stuff from the waste. Choose to be what Christ calls you to be and be ready for the division that will be created by the Word of God. separating the good from the waste. Never be surprised when division happens. Be prepared by making sure you are on the correct side of the division.

God bless you,

Fr. Robert J Carr