How can we understand it when Jesus, the Prince of Peace, says, “Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division!”? What do we make of Jesus proclaiming that households will be divided because of him; that parents and children will be at odds? While some of the wits around us have used the pun of Know Jesus — Know Peace; No Jesus — No Peace, it seems that Jesus would have said Know Jesus — No Peace.

Jesus was aware of those around him who resisted the Roman occupation with violence and murder. He would have also known people who were willing to do anything to get along with the Romans. And, I am sure, there must have been those who just tried their best to ignore all this political talk and maneuvering and wanted to just get on with their lives. While Jesus seems to never sanction the use of force and violence, he also did not embrace either of the other ways to find peace. For Jesus there could be no peace without justice and mercy.

Jesus’ whole life can be seen as a parable about what it means to stand up to oppression. It didn’t matter to Jesus if the oppression was political, financial, or religious and often it was all three rolled into one. He could have spent his life wandering the hills of Galilee teaching and healing. He could have stayed away from the temple authorities and the Roman occupation forces. Or he even could have stayed with Mary and Joseph taking care of daily business. But that was not what he chose to do. Against all advice of family and friends, he turned his face to Jerusalem and went to face the oppressors.

Jesus didn’t take an army with him but he went to call out the temple and Roman authorities for what they were: oppressors of the poor and needy. The Roman lash was terrible but no more destructive than the Roman tax. In the face of this oppression, the temple authorities did nothing to ease their own demands for the tithe. Instead of being the ones who spoke up for the poor, they added their own load to the burden the poor were forced to carry.

The Pax Romana, the Roman Peace, was based on brutal violence. If a disturbance breaks out among a group of people the way the Romans kept peace was to quickly and decisively put an end to the trouble. The only question was whether it was better to kill them all then or herd them up and crucify them later. Was it better to make the crowd cower with swift violence or better to let them see the trouble makers suffer slowly? Jesus knew that this peace was not really peace. It was violent hatred that did not count people as being of value. The way for the temple authorities to achieve peace was to cooperate with the Romans so that the temple trade was not disturbed and they could still receive the sacrifices, gifts, and tithes of the people. Jesus would confront both parties with the strongest weapon of all: truth. He presented himself to them and all could see them for what they truly were.

So why do we, Jesus’ disciples, find it so hard to take a stand for what we believe in? The violence is all around us with school shootings coming so often that we have to identify which one we are talking about. The victims and perpetrators of acts of violence are getting younger and younger. Random shootings happen so often we have a special term for them, calling them drive-bys, and they are as common as the drive-thru windows at the fast food chains. Movies, television, and video games are full of the most graphic violence. Somehow we don’t see how it is creating a culture of violence, and so we remain silent. And our children die around us.

There are those who say there are not enough studies to convince them that violence on TV and in video games produces a culture of violence but by the time the researchers have studied the effects of hours of daily violence on young people over ten year’s time, it will be too late. You couldn’t find a more effective way to brainwash someone than to get them to play games constantly that reward them for a certain behavior. That is what we are subjecting our children to in the most graphic, realistic forms.

At the very least, we need to insert some balance into the lives of the young people who have been entrusted to our care by God. We need to let them hear us state our belief in a God of love and a Savior who turned his back on violence as a means of solving problems. We need to stop worrying about whether or not our children like us as friends and see to it that they respect us as adults. This should be done not by being mean and oppressive to them but by spending time with them and talking with them about the really important issues in life. We need to take a stand.

Jesus still calls his disciples to follow, sometimes, right to Jerusalem and the very seat of power. Whatever authority brings oppression to those who are least able to defend themselves, Jesus marches to face them and he calls us to go with him. Whether it is religious folk sitting in judgment on others or government officials loading unfair tax burdens on the poor, it is still oppression. Whether it is government officials drawing large salaries and having wonderful healthcare while denying it to others or religious folks saying how much God loves them and hates others, it is still oppression. Whatever form it takes, Jesus will be at the forefront leading the march to stand against such abuse and oppression.

Jesus calls us to take our place, to choose our side. He knows that not everyone will choose wisely. There will be those who choose, for whatever reason, to side with the oppressors. But decisions must be made. Stands must be taken. Peace that ignores oppression is no peace at all.