Mt 10: 37-42
Dear Friends, Today’s gospel concludes Jesus’ teaching on mission. It is clear that if we are going to walk with Jesus, we have a price to pay. Sacrifice and suffering are part of the journey. This is the way to life and freedom in the scheme of the gospel. The gospel law of love means that persons who seek only themselves are bound for ruin. Our salvation is found in moving out of ourselves in service and reconciliation. With the perennial challenge for racial justice, with drugs feeding the scourge of gangs and gun violence, with intensifying threat of climate change and just check your favorite media for the rest of our always growing chaos, we find ourselves on the edge of our calamity. Amazingly, the most realistic answer to our crisis is the call to a self-sacrificing witness proclaimed in today’s gospel.
In this first mission, and all missions to follow, the priority is to be a witness, the personal integrity of the lives of the proclaimers. The message is always filtered through this personal commitment to Jesus. In our day, Pope Francis has made this truth a major part of his exhortation, The Joy of the Gospel: “I dream of a ‘missionary option,’ that is, a missionary impulse capable of transforming everything, so that the Church’s customs, ways of doing things, time and schedule, language and structures can be suitably channeled for the evangelization of today’s world rather than for her self-preservation” (#27).
Today’s seemingly severe words of Jesus about family are simply an invitation to put everything in order. When we love God first, not only do we love our family more, this love is more selfless and life-giving. This love is free of deception and illusion. I like to reflect about our encounter with God’s will with this example. Each morning we wake up with a short note from God awaiting us on this imaginary table next to our bed. This divine text is our to-do list for the day. The top priorities are our relationships and our responsibilities. Each of the tasks for responsibilities and relationships identifies some people who our marvelous gifts from God. Likewise, they present some people who are the cross that Jesus is talking about: “Whoever does not take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.” (Mt 10:38) Each of us in the journey of life has created a network of folks of all different kinds who need our love and service. These specific persons are the clearest expression of God’s will for us.
The discipleship Jesus calls for enriches and expands our vision of the world. Our daily responsibilities of family, work, communal and social obligations open up to new horizons when we walk with Jesus. We are invited beyond the surface and outside the narrow limits of our selfishness. We are called to enter into the depths of life where we meet the wonder of God’s love in the ordinary flow of life. Our task is to cross the “T” s and dot the “I” s to bring love to the concrete circumstances of our day.
Jesus makes it clear. We need sacrifice and deeper reflection to transform our lives with our families and our communal and professional responsibilities. This same sacrificial effort opens up how we relate to our neighbors including how we face the challenge of a world suffering that is immediately related to the indulgence of our lifestyle. Our consumer culture is always seeking to expand our desires. We are on the edge of destroying our planet. God’s will is clear. Enough already!
Today’s gospel tells us those who seek themselves are on the road to self-destruction. Our relationship with God, with our loved ones, with our life situation only finds life through self-giving.
“Anyone who does not take his cross and follow in my footsteps is not worthy of me. Anyone who finds his life will lose it; anyone who loses his life for my sake will find it.” Mt 10: 38-39
Jesus of the gospels is clear. The way to life is through sacrifice, self-denial and our daily cross. Our great and continuing temptation is to create a new Jesus in our own image that frees us from the clarity and immediacy of this potent message.
In this first mission, and all missions to follow, the priority is to be a witness, the personal integrity of the lives of the proclaimers. The message is always filtered through this personal commitment to Jesus. In our day, Pope Francis has made this truth a major part of his exhortation, The Joy of the Gospel: “I dream of a ‘missionary option,’ that is, a missionary impulse capable of transforming everything, so that the Church’s customs, ways of doing things, time and schedule, language and structures can be suitably channeled for the evangelization of today’s world rather than for her self-preservation” (#27).
Today’s seemingly severe words of Jesus about family are simply an invitation to put everything in order. When we love God first, not only do we love our family more, this love is more selfless and life-giving. This love is free of deception and illusion. I like to reflect about our encounter with God’s will with this example. Each morning we wake up with a short note from God awaiting us on this imaginary table next to our bed. This divine text is our to-do list for the day. The top priorities are our relationships and our responsibilities. Each of the tasks for responsibilities and relationships identifies some people who our marvelous gifts from God. Likewise, they present some people who are the cross that Jesus is talking about: “Whoever does not take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.” (Mt 10:38) Each of us in the journey of life has created a network of folks of all different kinds who need our love and service. These specific persons are the clearest expression of God’s will for us.
The discipleship Jesus calls for enriches and expands our vision of the world. Our daily responsibilities of family, work, communal and social obligations open up to new horizons when we walk with Jesus. We are invited beyond the surface and outside the narrow limits of our selfishness. We are called to enter into the depths of life where we meet the wonder of God’s love in the ordinary flow of life. Our task is to cross the “T” s and dot the “I” s to bring love to the concrete circumstances of our day.
Jesus makes it clear. We need sacrifice and deeper reflection to transform our lives with our families and our communal and professional responsibilities. This same sacrificial effort opens up how we relate to our neighbors including how we face the challenge of a world suffering that is immediately related to the indulgence of our lifestyle. Our consumer culture is always seeking to expand our desires. We are on the edge of destroying our planet. God’s will is clear. Enough already!
Today’s gospel tells us those who seek themselves are on the road to self-destruction. Our relationship with God, with our loved ones, with our life situation only finds life through self-giving.
“Anyone who does not take his cross and follow in my footsteps is not worthy of me. Anyone who finds his life will lose it; anyone who loses his life for my sake will find it.” Mt 10: 38-39
Jesus of the gospels is clear. The way to life is through sacrifice, self-denial and our daily cross. Our great and continuing temptation is to create a new Jesus in our own image that frees us from the clarity and immediacy of this potent message.
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