13th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year A: All the Gospel in a Glass of Water!

All the Gospel in a Glass of Water!

“He will not lose his reward.”
Matthew 10:37–42

This Sunday’s Gospel concludes the apostolic discourse, or mission discourse, of Matthew 10. It is a discourse that concerns every Christian: through baptism, each person becomes a disciple of Jesus, his apostle and missionary.

The Gospel passage (Matthew 10:37–42) is divided into two distinct parts. The first presents the conditions and demands for being disciples and apostles of Jesus:

Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me;
Whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me;
Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me.
Whoever keeps their life for themselves will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.

These are perhaps the harshest words in the Gospel. They are like the “duties” of a disciple of Jesus. We know them well, both because they recur often and because of their starkness.
The second part of the passage is more consoling. It presents his “privileges”:

Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.
Whoever welcomes a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward;
Whoever welcomes a righteous person because he is righteous will receive a righteous person’s reward.
Whoever gives even a single cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is a disciple, truly I tell you, will not lose his reward.

1. IDENTITY: Who do I want to be?

The first word I would like to underline is the pronoun “whoever”, which occurs ten times in the text. It reminds us that life is made up of choices. Who do I want to be? In which of the alternatives presented by Jesus do I find myself? Among those who are worthy of him? Among those who risk their lives for him? Among those who welcome him?

2. RADICALITY: Am I worthy of him?

The conditions for being disciples of Jesus are certainly demanding. Jesus makes it clear three times: “Whoever… whoever… whoever… is not worthy of me!” He wants, indeed he demands, first place in our affections and plans. No rabbi had ever made such claims. Yet only a great passion for Christ and total dedication to the Kingdom of God can sustain a life of radical commitment to building a new humanity.

In these few verses, the first-person pronoun and possessive adjective recur repeatedly. Someone who did not know him might judge him to be a megalomaniac and would naturally ask him, as the Jews did: “Who do you think you are?” (John 8:53). He would reply: “Exactly what I have been telling you” (John 8:25).

He claims for himself the love reserved for God alone: “Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your strength” (Deuteronomy 6:4–5). Jesus does not call into question love for father, mother, son or daughter; rather, he challenges us about our priorities: who is the greatest love of your life?

3. WELCOMING: Do I have a welcoming heart?

The verb “to welcome” recurs repeatedly in the text: welcoming the apostle, the prophet, the righteous person and the little one. By welcoming all of them, we welcome Christ and, in him, the Father.

Having a welcoming heart is more necessary today than ever, in a society that closes its doors and erects barriers through selfishness or fear of those who are different. Welcoming is not merely an act of mercy. In the Bible, as well as being an act of reverence for God, it was an occasion for receiving a much-desired blessing, brought by the guest. We remember Abraham before the three unknown travellers: “My lord, if I have found favour in your eyes, do not pass by without stopping at your servant’s home” (Genesis 18:3). The author of the Letter to the Hebrews comments: “Do not forget hospitality; some, by practising it, have welcomed angels without knowing it” (Hebrews 13:2).

In the first reading we find a fine example of welcoming: that of the woman who receives the prophet Elisha: “Let us make a small upper room, built of masonry, and put in it a bed, a table, a chair and a lamp; then, whenever he comes to us, he can stay there” (2 Kings 4).

I like to see here, as in an icon, a symbolic allusion to the essential conditions for welcoming God into our lives. Each of us needs this “small upper room” of the prophet, “built of masonry”, that is, solid and stable, where we can cultivate our inner life and encounter the Lord.

Simplicity and essentials reign there: a bed, a table, a chair and a lamp. The bed reminds us of the need for a healthy balance between activity and rest; the table and chair call to mind reflection; and, finally, the lamp recalls meditation on the Word, “a lamp for our feet” (Psalm 119:105).

4. REWARD: What will my reward be?

Jesus speaks three times of reward. Sacred Scripture speaks of it often, and Jesus too returns to it frequently. Every journey of faith begins with a promise: “Your reward shall be very great” (Genesis 15:1). The apostles do not hesitate to ask Jesus: “Look, we have left everything and followed you; what then will we have?” (Matthew 19:27).

Today, however, we almost feel ashamed to speak of reward in the context of faith, as though it were a betrayal of the gratuitousness of love. Yet our bodily dimension demands its part and, if ignored, ends up seeking it in the immediate gratification of the senses.

How helpful it is to remember the Lord’s promise: every small gesture performed out of love will have its reward. “The whole Gospel is in the Cross, but the whole Gospel is also in a glass of water” (Ermes Ronchi).

Our heart is not “pure”, that is, “of one piece”, but impure and composite. God alone is pure: pure love. The Word of God addresses the human person in all their complexity.

Within us there is the “slave” who fears “punishment”. The Word educates our slave so that he may move from fear to reverential awe of God.

Within us there is the “servant” who works for “wages”, out of self-interest. The Word educates him to move from the mentality of “merit” — the pagan idea of recompense — to that of God’s promise; from the condition of “servant” to that of “friend” (John 15:15).

Finally, within us there is the “child” who acts out of love. The Word educates this child to become ever more aware of the Father’s words in the parable of the prodigal son: “Everything I have is yours”; and to become an adult child, responsible for his brothers and sisters.

Spiritual exercise for the week

One possible twofold exercise for the week could consist in meditating on the eight clauses proposed by this Sunday’s Gospel and committing oneself to build a “small upper room, built of masonry”. In practical terms, what could the bed, the table, the chair and the lamp of that room be in my life?

Fr Manuel João Pereira Correia, MCCJ

GOSPEL REFLECTION
Matthew 10:37-42

The second of the five discourses of Jesus found in the Gospel of Matthew develops the themes related to sending of the disciples to a mission. Today we are offered the concluding passage.

In the first part (vv. 37-39), the demands of discipleship are presented in all their harshness. Radical and unprecedented renouncements are required. To make matters worse, each of them is accompanied by a severe and drastic statement, marked like a refrain, “is not worthy of me!” No rabbi has ever claimed so much to those who followed him. Perhaps for this, one day the Jews have asked Jesus: “Who do you claim to be?”(Jn 8:52).

Above all, he demands from his disciple the radical departure even from the more intimate and natural affections, such as love for parents and for the children.

His request is placed in the context of the paradoxical images used in the last part of the discourse. He has just said that he did not come to bring peace, but a sword (Mt 10:34).

After having declared the peacemakers blessed (Mt 5:9); and having invited to love the enemies (Mt 6:44), Jesus certainly cannot incite physical aggression towards the enemies. The sword, that causes division and conflict, is his word, which the author of the Letter to the Hebrews calls “living and effective, sharper than any two-edged sword; it pierces to the division of soul and spirit and judges the intentions of the heart” (Heb 4:12). It is the sword Simeon was referring to in his prophecy made to Mary (Lk 2:35).

Jesus does not intend to deny the Torah of Moses, which commands to honor father and mother. In fact, he has repeatedly stressed the commandment (Mt 15:4). However, he is aware that he came “for the falling and rising of many in Israel, a sign of contradiction; and a sword will pierce your own soul, so that, out of many hearts, thoughts may be revealed” (Lk 2:34-35). He knows that his word will cause misunderstandings, disagreements, and tensions within the same families.

Matthew wrote his Gospel in a time of persecution. The disciples have often had the experience that, to remain faithful to Christ, they had to accept the breaking of ties with the people who matter most. The rabbis had made the decision to expel from the synagogues, to exclude from the chosen people those who consider Jesus the Messiah. They had ordered that those who adhered to the Christian faith, considered heretical, be disowned by their families. The consequences of this exclusion were severe and painful, not only from the emotional point of view but also from the social and economic.

Jesus demands from the disciple the courage to remain without support, without protection, and without material security for the sake of his Gospel. Then, he continues with another request, even more dramatic: the willingness not only to lose it all but also to give up their lives.

The image of the cross refers to the inevitable consequences which go to meet those who want to live according to the dictates of the Gospel: like the Master, he will meet the cross, that is, the hostility of the world. Even if life will not be removed with martyrdom, he must give it in a constant and generous self-sacrifice.

“He came to His own, yet His own did not receive him” (Jn 1:11). It was this man’s response to the hosting request made by God. It is a fate that often touched Jesus (Lk 9:53) and it is the one that awaits the disciples sent by him (Mt 10:14).

In the second part of the passage (vv. 40-42) is a remarkable promise to those who welcome the preachers of the Gospel is reported. “Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes him who sent me” (v. 40). This is not just material hospitality, such as that offered by the woman of Shunem to Elisha, but the reception of the message. The rabbis said: “The envy of a man is like the man himself.” Jesus intends to affirm the authority he conferred to his disciple: in the disciple’s words resound the voice of the Master and, through him, the Father’s.

It is at this point that the theme introduced by the First Reading is resumed. Whoever receives the prophet, for the fact of being a prophet, will receive a prophet’s reward. Even a simple gesture of love as to offer a cup of cold water to a disciple, though small, with no appearance, no prestigious titles, will not remain unrewarded.

Not everyone has received from God the same qualities and the same gifts. However, in different ways, but with the same generosity, every true believer is called to give his/her contribution and support for those who dedicate themselves directly to the proclamation of the Word of God. Even before the material help, these persons need to hear that their efforts are appreciated by the brothers and sisters in the faith and that their message is assimilated.

This reception is to be revealed in a special way to those who have renounced to having a “home,” to build a family, not to escape, to live isolated and far from the world but to belong to every family, to be fully available to Christ and the brothers and sisters. How is their service estimated? How are they inserted in our community? Does each family consider them members or consider them strangers? How is gratitude manifested towards the work they generously perform?

READ:  Jesus assures a reward for generous giving in the name of God.  Dying with Christ results in sharing in his Resurrection as well.

REFLECT:  The worldly wisdom tells us to be cautious about giving and giving up.  “A bird in hand is worth two in the bush,” it advices.  But the Gospel invitation goes against the worldly grain.  For the Gospel encourages us to give up what we have now to find what God has in store for us.  It requires courage and faith.  Do I dare?

PRAY:  Lord, give me the courage to love you beyond everything and to give up everything for the sheer gift of having you.

ACT:  Express your faith in your dealings with others.  The little ones are all members of the community.  Teach each one with compassion.

Fernando Armellini
Italian missionary and biblical scholar