THIRTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

2 Kings 4: 8-11, 14-16a; Romans 6: 3-4, 8-11; Matthew 10: 37-42

(Rev. Dr. Francis Perry Azah)

Today’s readings show that welcoming has a dual reward: for the welcomed and the “welcomer”. In today’s First Reading, we hear a wonderful story of the “welcomer” receiving a blessing for her reverence and care. Elisha is a holy man, and a childless woman still trusts the Holy One, though barrenness was seen as a kind of curse, and she still hopes. Each year, the prophet would pass her house, and she kept the light on for him in welcome. One time, upon leaving, Elisha asked his servant Gehazi what might be done for her, having been so kind and receptive. He told Elisha that she had no son, and you already know the rest of the story. We are sure that the woman fondling her son within the following year loved that boy whom God had sent.

This Gospel requires us to listen well because, before they head out, Jesus says difficult things about parental and family love. We hear the word “worthy” several times during this reading. To be worthy means something similar to winning or receiving a prize. If I had a son or daughter, I would feel greater love for that gift than I would for God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and our Blessed Mother together. Yet it is not only in the heart that we love God, nor is it in the head; we fully love God by taking a position towards all created gifts, acknowledging them truly as gifts.

We take a position towards everything else, which only makes sense if there is a loving Giver Who not only rewards us, but also “wards” us, guards us, cares for us, and loves us more than any parents could ever love. By treating our lives as a gift, reverencing how God gives and takes, and caring for all with a welcoming spirit, love is truly shown. More importantly, loving God means letting God love us, present us, not only with rewards or prizes, but also by making us more deeply welcoming and welcomed.

In today’s gospel, Jesus teaches those whom he is sending out as messengers of the gospel that they must be driven by the love they bear for him and sustained by the love they receive from others. In other words, preaching the gospel is not just a question of being a channel of God’s love, for a channel flows only in one direction. It is more like being an electrical conduit that receives current to give it out, and gives out current to receive again. The high rate of physical fatigue, mental exhaustion, and spiritual dehydration among church ministers stems from the belief that ministers are there to give care and support to all, without recognizing that ministers themselves also need care and support. But Jesus tells us that His love is not a one-way street; it is a matter of loving and being loved, of giving and receiving.

Today’s gospel reading is the final portion of Matthew Chapter 10, in which Jesus gives his disciples an extended teaching on their mission and ministry. In the first part of the reading, Jesus paints a portrait of the missionary or minister who is worthy of the name “Christian.” “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me.” (Verses 37-38) In other words, the messenger of Christ must be someone whose love for Christ is so strong that love of parents and children (and implicitly, love of spouse or any other close relative) becomes secondary.

Not only the love of family but also the love of oneself becomes secondary. To take up one’s cross and follow Jesus is to sign one’s death warrant because the way of the cross ends up on the Calvary of crucifixion. The only credible or “worthy” messenger of Christ is the person who has found a reason to live and a reason to die, and that reason is Jesus Christ himself. That is why the first part of the reading concludes with the general principle: “Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.” (verse 39)

Jesus makes it clear and simple for us. He loves us completely, giving his life for our freedom from sin and death. His total gift of himself is to win our hearts completely. We know that when we love others in Jesus, everything is in balance. We also know that our faith doesn't work when our love for anyone competes with our love for Jesus. Jesus puts our love in perspective: “Let my love fill your heart. Love me with all your heart, and then I will transform all your love for others.” Jesus invites us to love the way he loves and to carry the cross of love.

We should know that trying to love without self-sacrifice always gets us into trouble. It is too easy to get confused about why we love. And because love often begins with a good bit of "self" entangled in it, we may say: I love the other because the other makes me feel good or happy. And little by little, our love degrades, at its worst, to a point where my relationship with the other becomes mostly selfish, only about my needs or about how much control or influence I can exert over the other. Jesus guides us on a different path, to a true, loving, self-emptying gift of the self for the sake of the other. One of the greatest frustrations of life is trying to pursue happiness by filling, feeding, and taking care of myself alone.

It always leaves me somehow "empty", with a hollow craving for more. We can know this from our life experience: have you ever met a self-centered, happy person? The big irony of life is that my greatest happiness is actually only to be found in what I seem to be my greatest fear - the fear of losing myself, letting myself go to allow God's love in. Only when my heart is filled with Jesus and focused on existing for others do I eventually begin to find myself. God's self-sacrificing love gives me self-esteem, self-confidence, and a true sense of identity. And we can know this from life experience, too: have you ever met a self-forgetful person who freely loves others and is unhappy?