Exodus 1:8-14,22 / Matthew 10:34 - 11:1
As if life is already not complicated enough, there is another aspect that we have to deal with.
We have to face changes in life, and as much as change can be for the better, yet not all change is easily accepted. Besides, not all change is for the better.
In the 1st reading, we heard that there is a change in the kingship of Egypt. A new king came into power and he knew nothing of Joseph and the good he did for Egypt.
Consequently, the Israelites were seen as a threat and things for them began to change for the worse.
But the more the Israelites were crushed, the more they increased and spread.
That might sound strange but that is how God shows His power and might in the face of evil, because God is on the side of the weak and the oppressed.
It might also sound more strange when Jesus said this in the gospel: Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth; it is not peace I have come to bring but the sword.
But the sword of God cuts at our arrogance and complacency and cuts away our false sense of security so that we can trust in God's ways in the midst of the changes in life, especially when we see the changes as a threat to us.
Indeed, life is a series of changes with its ups and downs, yet God is unchanging and everlasting in His love for us.
Only in God will our hearts be at rest and be at peace in spite of life's changes.