He Who Loves Father and Mother More Than Me Is Not Worthy of Me
Introduction
May the Lord Jesus continue
to inspire you to be His disciple and to serve others in His name.
GOD is gracious. GOD bestows
on us gifts and blessings, not because we deserve them but because GOD loves us
and wants others to experience how loving GOD is through our sharing our gifts with
others. We are sent out as emissaries of GOD, and we must make serving others our
primary mission and focus. And the more we are signs of GOD’s love, the more we
are blessed, not necessarily now, but for all eternity.
Commentary: The passage recounts a brief but significant
encounter between the prophet Elisha and a wealthy woman from Shunem, illustrating
the generous hospitality of the woman towards the prophet Elisha. Recognizing Elisha
as a holy man of God, she willingly invites him to share meals with her family.
Impressed by her hospitality, Elisha wants to express gratitude and inquire if he
can assist her in any way. It is revealed that the woman and her husband are childless,
and Elisha prophesies that she will conceive and bear a son within a year.
This story highlights several themes. Firstly,
it emphasizes the virtue of hospitality and how acts of kindness towards others,
especially those serving God, can result in unexpected blessings. The woman's generosity
and thoughtfulness lead to a prophecy that brings great joy to her life.
Secondly, it reveals Elisha's role as a
prophet, demonstrating his close connection to God and his ability to deliver divine
messages. Through Elisha's prophetic word, the woman's longing for a child is fulfilled,
signifying the power and faithfulness of God.
Overall, this passage showcases the intertwining
of hospitality, faith, and divine intervention, illustrating the potential for divine
blessings that can flow from acts of kindness and the prophet's ministry.
Commentary: It is a portion of a psalm attributed
to Ethan the Ezrahite. The verses highlight the psalmist's declaration of God's
unfailing love, faithfulness, and covenant promises.
In verses 2-3, the psalmist affirms that
God's love endures eternally and that His faithfulness is established in heaven.
The psalmist recalls God's covenant with His chosen servant, David, emphasizing
the divine commitment and the significance of David's role in God's plans.
In verses 16-19, the focus shifts to the
blessedness of those who recognize and honour God's presence in their lives. Those
who acknowledge God's sovereignty and walk in His light are filled with joy, celebrating
His righteousness. The psalmist acknowledges that God is the source of their strength,
glory, and protection. By God's favour, their position is elevated, symbolized by
the mention of exalting their horn, a metaphor for power and honour. Ultimately,
the psalmist acknowledges that the people's shield and king belong to the Lord,
the Holy One of Israel, acknowledging God's ultimate authority and protection.
This passage exalts the steadfast love,
faithfulness, and covenant promises of God, while also emphasizing the blessedness
and joy that come from walking in His presence. It highlights the exalted position
of God's chosen servant, David, and the enduring significance of God's covenant
relationship with His people.
Second Reading: Romans 6:3-4,8-11
When we were baptised we went into the
tomb with Christ, so that we too might live a new life
Commentary: Paul has just explained to us how Christ
is the Second Adam, by his obedience undoing the disobedience of Adam. The reaction
may be, ‘But what has that to do with me? How does it benefit me?’ The answer here
given is that we were baptised into Christ’s death so that we are joined to him
and will be transformed by his resurrection. The Greek baptizo means ‘plunge into’:
we are plunged into Christ’s death. Our life is now Christ’s life, though not yet
transformed like his. Paul coins a whole series of new words beginning with ‘syn-’
(a formation similar to ‘synchronized’ or ‘synthetic’) to show how our life is merged
into Christ’s. The most expressive of all is that we are synphytoi with Christ:
this word is used in medical terminology to express how two parts of a broken bone
grow together again and merge into a bond stronger than the original. By my baptism
into Christ’s death, his death becomes mine. Christ’s story becomes my story. Christ’s
strength becomes my strength. Christ’s body becomes my body. Christ’s risen life
becomes my risen life.
Gospel: Matthew 10:37-42
Anyone who loses his life for my sake will
find it
Commentary: At the end of this collection of sayings
of Jesus about the mission of the Christian apostolate Matthew puts a whole series
of daunting challenges. Luke gives almost all the same sayings, but scattered in
different contexts. The last saying is only in Mark as well. Believing as we do
that the composition of the gospel is inspired, even to the selection and ordering
of the sayings of Jesus, we can see this group of sayings as a series of challenges
not to take up Christianity without serious forethought. There is no such thing
as non-apostolic Christianity, but by becoming Christians we take on a share in
Christ’s own task of spreading the Good News. The challenge is great but the reward
is certain.
First comes a trio of sayings to show the
absolute priority of Christ’s claims, over the closest family ties, over life and
finally over possession of one’s own self. Then comes a quartet of promises of rewards
to those who welcome Christ’s messengers. The envoy is placed equal with the principal:
Christ’s messenger is as Christ, Christ as his Father. Then in detail the reward
for welcome of a prophet, of any upright person, and finally of the Christian in
need.
Reflection: Who or what takes first place in your
life - in your daily thoughts, cares, and concerns? God has put us first in his
thought, care, and concern for our well-being and future. God loved us first and
our love for him is a response to his exceeding kindness and mercy towards us. Even
while we were hopelessly adrift through our own sinful pride, rebellion and unbelief,
he choose to give us his own beloved Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, who laid down his
life for our sake - to set us free from slavery to sin, Satan, and death.
Proof of God's unfailing love for us
There is no greater proof of God's love
for us than the free-will offering of his Son who shed his blood for us on the cross.
His death broke the curse of guilt and condemnation, and won for us pardon and adoption
as beloved sons and daughters of God our Father. Through the victory of his cross
and resurrection, the Lord Jesus offers us abundant new life through the gift and
power of the Holy Spirit who lives within us.
The love of God comes first
The Holy Spirit reveals to us the love
of the eternal Father and the eternal Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, who come to make
their home with us and to unite us in a bond of peace and friendship. That is why
the Lord Jesus commanded his disciples to give him their undivided loyalty and love
above all else. We owe him a debt of gratitude for what he has done for us. The
Lord Jesus gives us the assurance and promise that he will raise up our mortal bodies
to be like his so that we may fully share in his resurrection for all eternity.
God has no equal - that is why we owe the
eternal Father, Son, and Holy Spirit our undivided loyalty, trust, and obedience.
Jesus challenges his disciples to examine who they love first and foremost. A true
disciple loves God above all else and is willing to forsake all for the Lord Jesus
who calls us to follow him. Jesus insists that his disciples give him the loyalty
which is due to God, a loyalty which is higher than spouse or kin. It is possible
that family and friends can become our enemies, if the thought of them keeps us
from doing what we know God wants us to do.
God's compelling love knows no rival
The love of God compels us to choose who
or what will be first in our lives. To place any relationship or anything else above
God is a form of idolatry. We can allow many different things to take control of
our lives and possess us - such as greed and lust for power, possessions, and wealth.
But only God's love can set us free to love as he loves - with mercy, kindness,
goodness, patience, perseverance, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). The first
and great commandment is to love the Lord our God with all of our heart, soul, mind,
and strength (Matthew 22:37). If we pursue the love of God and put his kingdom first
in our lives, then he will give us everything we need to sustain us now and in the
future as well. Who is the Lord and Master of you life?
True love overflows in kindness and mercy
towards others
True love for God compels us to express
charity (merciful deeds of kindness and goodness) towards our neighbors who are
also loved by God because he created each of them in his image and likeness. Mother
Theresa of Calcutta once told a marvelous story about a destitute family who had
nothing to eat for days. When news of their impoverished condition came to the Missionary
Sisters of Charity, Mother Theresa personally went to their home and brought them
some food supplies. The mother of the family immediately divided the food in half
and carried it off. When she returned, Mother Theresa asked her, "Where did
you go?" She gave the simple answer, "To my neighbors, they are hungry
also!" Mother Theresa said, "I was not surprised that she gave - poor
people are really very generous. I was surprised that she knew they were hungry.
As a rule, when we are suffering, we are so focused on ourselves, we have no time
for others."
Jesus declared that any kindness shown,
and any help given to the people of Christ will not lose its reward (Matthew 10:42).
Jesus never refused to give to anyone in need who asked for his help. As his disciples
we are called to be kind and generous as he is. Jesus sets before us the one goal
in life that is worth any sacrifice and that goal is union with God - uniting our
heart, mind, and will with his heart and will for our lives. The reward of a life
given over to God and obeying his voice is God himself - the source of true peace
and joy that lasts forever. Does the love of Jesus Christ compel you to put God
first in all you do (2 Corinthians 5:14)?
Daily Quote from the Early Church Fathers: A well-ordered love, by John Chrysostom (347-407 AD)
"See how great is the impairment to those who have an exaggerated
love for their own life. And how great is the blessing to those who are ready to
give up their lives for a well-ordered love! So, he bids his disciples to be willing
to give up parents, children, natural relationships, kinships, the world and even
their own lives. How onerous are these injunctions! But then he immediately sets
forth the greater blessings of rightly ordered love. Thus, these instructions, Jesus
says, are so far from harming that they in fact are of greatest benefit. It is their
opposites that injure. He then counsels them, as he so often does, in accord with
the very desires that they already possess. Why should you be willing to give up
your life? Only because you love it inordinately. So for the very reason of loving
it ordinately, you will scorn loving it inordinately, and so it will be to your
advantage to the highest degree. You will then in the truest sense love your life.
Jesus does not reason in this way only in the case of the love of parents or children.
He teaches the same with regard to your very life, which is nearest to you of all."
(Excerpt from THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW, HOMILY 35.2)
"Lord, no eye has seen, no ear has
heard, no heart has conceived the things you have prepared for those who love you.
Set us ablaze with the fire of the Holy Spirit, that we may love you in and above
all things and so receive the rewards you have promised us through Christ our Lord.
(From A Christian's Prayer Book) "
The greatest event of your life
“Are you not aware that we who were baptized
into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?”—Romans 6:3
Your Baptism was the greatest event of
your life and the basis for all the other great events in your life. However, many
Christians are not aware of the “radical newness” of their baptismal life and the
“immense, extraordinary richness and responsibility” of Baptism (Lay Members of
Christ’s Faithful People, Pope St. John Paul II, 10, 61).
When we were baptized, we were baptized
into Christ (Rm 6:3). The only experience even remotely like this is pregnancy,
the time when a baby is inside the body of his mother. Imagine you could enter again
into the womb of your mother (see Jn 3:4). What radical changes this would mean
for you! Nevertheless, being baptized into Jesus has much more stupendous ramifications.
Baptized into Jesus, we are in His death, burial, and Resurrection, and have the
saving benefits of these events (Rm 6:3-5). In Jesus, there is no condemnation (Rm
8:1). We are redeemed, forgiven, and chosen (Eph 1:7, 11). We are “a chosen race,
a royal priesthood, a holy nation” (1 Pt 2:9). We spend our lives learning how to
walk, talk, think, feel, work, pray, hear, see, and love in Jesus. We live our Baptisms.
Prayer: Jesus, may I celebrate my baptismal anniversary
annually as a sign of living my Baptism daily. “Whoever loves father or mother,
son or daughter, more than Me is not worthy of Me. He who will not take up his cross
and come after Me is not worthy of Me. He who seeks only himself brings himself
to ruin, whereas he who brings himself to naught for Me discovers who he is.” —Mt
10:37-39. Praise Jesus, risen Lord! Praise You, Lord, for loving the world so much
as to become one of us. Alleluia!
The personal action for today:
What is my number one priority? Do I seek to put GOD first so that I can
serve my family, the people at my work, and the community around me even more generously?
Do I express my gratitude to GOD for the divine graciousness bestowed upon me? What
can I do to make others more aware of GOD’s graciousness?