***
Gospel: Matthew 10: 37-42
Jesus said to his apostles:
“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 his cross
and follow after me is not worthy of me.
Whoever finds his life will lose it,
and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
“Whoever receives you receives me,
and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.
Whoever receives a prophet because he is a prophet
will receive a prophet’s reward,
and whoever receives a righteous man
because he is a righteous man
will receive a righteous man’s reward.
And whoever gives only a cup of cold water
to one of these little ones to drink
because the little one is a disciple—
amen, I say to you, he will surely not lose his reward.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
***
***
At first glance, these may be the most difficult words ever spoken by Jesus:
Whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me.
When these words were first spoken, the disciples must’ve been horrified. They knew in a very graphic way what the cost of carrying a cross would be. Crucifixion was a brutal method of execution.
So, what does Jesus mean?
Is he inviting us to suffer? Is he adding extra burdens to our shoulders?
***
No.
There’s only one cross that every Christian must carry:
That clumsy, awkward, often hard to carry cross called life.
We might re-phrase Jesus’ words to these: Whoever does not take up his ‘life’ and follow after me is not worthy of me.
***
So many of us have heavy crosses to bear: children to provide for, difficult or stressful jobs, an illness, or grief in our hearts.
For some, there’s the added pressure of keeping the fire kindled in your marriage, concerns about finances, maintaining sobriety, caring for an aging loved one, and certainly, our best attempt to grow in our relationship with God.
Life’s demands have already placed plenty of weight on our shoulders.
We simply can’t shrug it off.
That’s the cross.
Be faithful to the tasks that God has given you to do. Do them humbly. Do them all out of love.
***
If you’re a parent, then shower your children generously with affection. If you have a job, then work hard, work honestly, and work without complaint.
If you’re in recovery, then continue walking the road of sobriety. If you’re burdened with an illness, then bear it in hope. If you’re caring for someone who’s sick or aging, then do so tenderly.
Whatever you do, do for the glory of God.
***
What aspect of my life do I find hard to carry? Or what weighs me down?
***
“Come to me, all you who are heavy burdened,” Jesus says, “and I will give you rest. For my yoke is easy, and my burden, light.”
With every cross we bear, the Lord is always there to help. This is why he instructs us to join our lives to his. He enables us to weather every storm – and to do so in peace.
***
The second half of the Gospel pertains to our neighbor.
“Whoever gives a cup of cold water to one of these little ones, will surely not lose his reward,” Jesus says.
We should always be aware of the burdens other people carry, seeking to lighten their load with charity… or, as Jesus says in today’s Gospel, by giving them a “cup of water.”
This idea of charity is at the heart of our parish identity.
I think about all of you who visit the sick and homebound; who bring communion to those in assisted living; who prepare food in our soup kitchen; who bake for our café; who welcome new parishioners; and who teach in our faith formation program.
And, of course, we all intercede for our neighbor at Mass. In these, and in many other ways, we offer each other a “cup of water,” refreshment along the path of life.
***
“Whoever does not take up his life and follow after me is not worthy of me,” the Lord says.
Whatever joys or sorrows we carry this week, we join them to Jesus. As our vision statement reminds us: “We are all generations journeying together with Jesus to satisfy our hungry hearts. Come and see!”
***
***
Image credits: (1) Caitebug.me (2) Heaven4Sure (3) Crossroads church
Father Kevin, thank you for this. I just finished a reflection by retired Paterson priest Ken Lasch. Here is a part of it. You do this very well and I very much appreciate your reflections for they make me think and help me to become more comfortable with mystery.
Thank you.
*******
“How do we as disciples of Christ translate his message into our thinking and way of life? Wait a minute! Before you answer that, know that Christianity is a demanding tradition. Jesus said elsewhere: “If anyone wants to come after me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily and follow me.” [Luke 9:23] But he also said love your neighbor as yourself and do good to those who persecute you.
We are challenged to drill down into the word of God and the long tradition of Christianity, to ponder them through the lives of saints and martyrs and the lens of human experience and take them to prayer and then act in good conscience.
It is the responsibility of the homilist to break open the Word of God, to call attention to the significant issues of the day. It is not the responsibility of the homilist to tell congregants what to think but to get congregants to think – to challenge them to think with Christ not to think for Christ; to challenge congregants but not hassle them.”
Thanks so much, Jim. Means a lot. Bringing you and Linda to the altar this morning. 🙏