(1).jpg)
By Emily D’ Sylva,
First Reading 2 Kgs 4:8-11. 14-16
Second Reading Rom 6:3-4. 8-11
Gospel Mt 10:37-42
The Gospel for today can be a difficult one to hear. We are confronted with the cost of Discipleship, but also comforted by the promise of God’s providence and care.
“Anyone who prefers father or mother to me is not worthy of me. Anyone who prefers son or daughter to me is not worthy of me. Anyone who does not take his cross and follow in my footsteps is not worthy of me.” Though it is important to place this passage in the context in which it sits and the time it was written, it still challenges us to place our discipleship before our loyalty to family and even before our own lives. For some early Christians, there was the very real choice to be made between following their faith and remaining loyal to family. Perhaps, this is not something that was just true for the early Christians; it can be relevant in today’s modern society as well. The news on the media about the persecution of Christians across the world is rather disturbing. Statistics show that every day, 13 Christians worldwide are killed because of their faith. Every day, 12 churches or Christian buildings are attacked. And every day, 12 Christians are unjustly arrested or imprisoned, and another 5 are abducted. (Open Doors- Christianity Today)
(1).jpg)
A couple of years ago, a young man joined our RCIA sessions to pursue his long time desire of being baptised in the Catholic Church. It was only towards the end of our time together, just before our Easter celebrations, that I realized that he had made this decision much against the wishes of his elderly parents. He shared with us the challenges he faced all along his time of discernment and preparation and the desertion and the ridicule he experienced, especially at big family gatherings. When everyone else thought he had lost it… deep inside he knew he had found what he was yearning for all along. It was a great testament of faith and witnessing to all who heard his story. He had paid a cost, but had indeed earned a greater reward!
(1).jpg)
Could I say that my bonds of love and of family are stronger than the bonds of discipleship? Perhaps not… Discipleship demands more. As disciples, we can no longer put ourselves first. We are called to be more willing to spend ourselves and to be spent, to serve others in the day-to-day unfolding of life.
God promises that if we lose our lives in this way, we will really gain them. If we are unselfish in the way we share ourselves with others, we will be enriched through our generosity. If we spend ourselves and are spent in our service of others, we will be filled with blessings unimaginable.
At the end of the chapter, after being challenged by the difficulties a disciple must face, Jesus assures us that even the smallest act of welcoming the disciple will be rewarded. Here we see echoes
(1).jpg)
of other parts of the Gospel of Matthew: the Beatitudes, with its blessings on the poor and humble of heart; the welcome of children, the ‘little ones’ of the kingdom, (Jesus even describes the disciples as ‘little ones’) reminds us that whatever we do for the least in the world we do for Jesus... All this implies a new kind of family, not based on human ties and bonds, but on God’s embrace of Jesus, and our ‘Yes’ to Him as disciples . Jesus says that In the words of the Psalm for today, let us sing the goodness of the Lord, may we find our joy everyday… in His name… for it is the Lord, who is the glory of our strength and by His favour we are exalted!
(2).jpg)
