Allowing Christ to conquer our hearts
Matthew 10:34-37
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. “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not
worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of
me; and whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of
me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake
will find it.
Have you
experienced the divine invasion yet?
Christ wants to conquer each of us like a general invading enemy
territory and establish his kingdom in us.
For most of us this invasion occurs gradually, through the sacraments of
baptism, confession, Communion, etc. For
others, however, the conquest happens with shock and awe, it is dramatic and
decisive. Did you know that Fort Smith’s
own Judge Isaac Parker converted and became Catholic on his deathbed? His wife was a devout Irish Catholic named
Mary O’Toole, who faithfully attended Immaculate Conception Church. You could say Jesus sent a Catholic spy to
infiltrate Judge Parker’s heart like the Trojan Horse, until Jesus could ride
triumphantly into Parker’s life.
Today we celebrate the feast of
Saint Keteri Tekekwitha. Jesus sent
Jesuit missionaries, like modern day Marines, to conquer Keteri’s heart. Finally, Keteri raised the white flag of
surrender and Jesus established his kingdom completely in her. Christ wants to conquer each of us, every
last person on earth.
In the gospel today, we see Jesus
making no bones about his intention to take over each person’s life. General Jesus says, “Do not think I have come
to bring 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.” In other words, once we
pledge allegiance to the conquering Christ, everything else becomes secondary,
even our family ties.
How much of your life have you
surrendered to Christ? It is foolish to
believe Jesus only wants a 10% tithe from us and we can do with the rest of our
life whatever we want. General Jesus
wants to establish his kingdom in every nook and cranny of our hearts. Why?
So he can send us out like Trojan Horses into the world, into the lives
of our family and friends so he can conquer them, too. That’s the real reason you are at Mass this
morning: surrendering more territory to General Jesus. That’s why you visit the sick, that’s why you
pray the rosary, that’s why you help the poor, that’s why you give to the
capital campaign, that’s why you send your children to Catholic schools. You see, Immaculate Conception Church sits
like a great Trojan Horse, resting in the middle of Troy, and while Fort Smith
sleeps, we sneak out of its belly and convert the Judge Isaac Parker’s of 2014.
Christ
wants to conquer each of us, every last person on earth. And you are his spies!
Praised be Jesus
Christ!
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