Fear is a deadly and potent thing, for it can incite people to do things that are evil and unjust. The king of Egypt was frightened of the Israelites. They had been in Egypt a long time, but now their numbers had grown and they were prospering. In our own time, many are frightened by immigrants or refugees, for they think that these groups will take away what they have. The king enslaved them and made their lives miserable, later on he will try to reduce their numbers by killing their newborn males. But he only brings about the destruction of his kingdom. We have to be so careful that fear does not govern our own thoughts and actions. For those who walk in love - with God - there is no reason to fear and no excuse to be unjust.

Jesus does not bring a literal sword and he is not preaching violence. He speaks of the sword of division. He did not come just to make everyone feel good or to give his blessing to the way things are, but to change the world and to change human beings. He proclaimed and taught justice and mercy, care for the poor and the weak, nonviolence, generosity, equality, forgiveness, and inclusiveness. These things upset the powers that controlled society then and they continue to do so today. When we proclaim and practise the same things we will find ourselves at odds with others too, even sometimes with friends and family.