2020/06/28 — 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time — Year A

First Reading — 2 Kings 4:8-11, 14-16a
Second Reading — Romans 6:3-4, 8-11
Gospel — Matthew 10:37-42



I see two messages in last Sunday's readings. One is in the first part of the gospel and it goes along with the second reading. The other message is in the second part of the gospel, and the first reading illustrates it.


A Prophet’s Reward

Jesus tells us that those who receive us receive him and the Father, and since our baptism makes us prophets, those who receive us will have their reward. The story from Second Kings gives an example. The woman of Shunem was hospitable toward Elisha. She knew he was a man of God, and she wanted to be generous toward him. She wasn’t expecting anything in return. But she received a reward. And it was not just a small token of gratitude. It was probably the greatest thing a woman could hope for in that culture and that time: a baby son.

This reminds us of what Jesus says in the parable of the Judgment of the Gentiles: any good deed done to the least of his brothers is done to him and will obtain eternal blessedness for the benefactor. Not only does this encourage us to imitate the kindness of the woman of Shunem; it also gives us a reason to expect that God will give his reward to everybody who shows kindness to us.



Losing One’s Life for Jesus’ Sake

The second reading begins by reminding us that baptism unites us with the death of Jesus in order that we might also have a share in his new, glorified life. That new life isn’t just for the next life, after we die. St. Paul tells us it has already begun: we must be dead to sin and live for God here and now.

When Jesus tells us we must lose our lives for his sake in order to find them, it means the same thing. There are places where persecution of Christians is so bad that people are literally losing their lives for Christ. But for us, it is more metaphorical. We take up our cross and lose our life when we live the life of holiness to which we are called by our baptism. And if the words about not loving parents or family more than Jesus seem startling, demanding, and almost impossible, let’s remember that love is not a zero-sum game. To love Jesus more does not mean loving parents or family less. And we aren’t talking about emotion. We are talking about a conscious choice. If our family members are somehow leading us into a sinful way of life, we need to refuse to follow their lead. If we don't follow the example of others — whether it's smoking, having another drink, playing a sport, or anything else, sinful or not — they can feel rebuked, and they can resent it. But we mustn't let them draw us into bad behavior. Because we still love them, this can feel like carrying a cross. What Jesus is telling us is simply that we don’t give up our Christian way of holiness even if someone we love wants us to.


Conclusion

We should want to be people who are received as representatives of Jesus, as righteous men and women, so that kindness to us is kindness to God. We don’t let others lead us away from Jesus, we lead them to Jesus.