Walking with Jesus: 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time

For Sunday, July 2, 2023

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

Jesus came to tell and show that God loves each person every moment of their life. We need to personalize this because we have inflated, delusional and deflated visions of ourselves based upon our life experiences. It comes down to the basic question: Why did God create me? The Old Catechism I learned in parochial grammar school stated: God made me to know Him, to love Him and to serve Him in this world and to be happy with Him in eternity.

Our faith is complex. In the 10th chapter of Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus calls the apostles together and gives them authority over every sickness and disease. Then He sends them out with the mandate: “The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.” [Matthew 10:7] He also predicts the opposition and persecutions this will bring. Why? Because people do what they want and not what they are told. Jesus introduces His message to His followers in today’s gospel: “Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth. I have come to bring not peace but the sword. For I have come to set a man ‘against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and one’s enemies will be those of his household.’” [Matthew 10:34-36] One would expect that God’s plan will bring immediate success and peace. Yet Jesus says “… and whoever does not take up their cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.” [Matthew 10:37] It’s amazing that the first appearance of “cross” in the New Testament refers not to Jesus’ crucifixion, but to the crosses His followers will bear in carrying out the mission He gives them. Our mission will be successful — and maybe not during our lifetime. Jesus’ plan is eternal; it results in heaven — but many want heaven now, on their terms. Do I listen to the Lord and follow His ways? I pray that I do.

The lives of the early prophets are told in the books of Joshua through Kings. Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and the 12 minor prophets appear much later. Today we hear how Elisha is called a “holy man of God” who gratefully accepts the hospitality of an older couple. He asks their needs (verse 13 is not included in today’s quote): “You have lavished all this care on us; what can we do for you? Can we say a good word for you to the king or to the commander of the army?” His servant says the couple is older and childless. So Elisha promises that a son will be born to them the following year. The story of Elisha continues through the 14th chapter, taking many twists and turns and later bringing that promised son back to life. Elisha consistently displays a desire to instill hope in life’s ordinary circumstances, continually acknowledging God’s presence and love.

Paul has been preaching about sin and God’s grace: “Where sin increased, grace overflowed all the more.” [Romans 5:20] The people believed that if God’s grace increased when we sin, perhaps they could continue to sin so that God’s grace would be more evident. But Paul reminds them of the significance of their Baptism: When they were baptized, they died to the power of sin over their lives by their participation in Christ’s death. Sin doesn’t reign over their lives — they are alive, free to serve others with God’s love. Christian life is a life of discipleship. Those who embrace this life must follow the way of Jesus who says, “Whoever does not take up their cross and follow after me is not worthy of Me.” We were born by Baptism into newness of life, a life of grace that leads to eternal life.

Chapter 10 of Matthew’s gospel is the second major discourse of Jesus authorizing and sending missionary disciples. It warns of persecutions and hardship; likewise, all of us will encounter the same in living and sharing God’s love. Romans focuses on the conditions of discipleship and the rewards received. The primary focus is unconditional commitment to Jesus. This has to surpass our loyalty to parents and children. We receive God’s love continually, and we are to share this love unconditionally. It is hard and even dangerous work. We can’t do it halfway ... I can’t love when I feel like it or when it’s convenient. We are to love! There are concrete aspects of this. The rewards do not reflect the same value system we experience in our daily culture. Instead, they are rooted in the faith of being a disciple: Faithfulness and dispensing love to those in need are their own rewards. Yet living the Good News of God’s love can represent a threat, especially to established order and relationships. Do I choose God’s way or the world’s way?

So I reflect on:

• How do I live my life as a person choosing love ... God’s way ... and not sin?
• So many cradle Catholics didn’t have the experience of their Baptism … they didn’t choose it themselves. Do I proclaim and accept my Baptismal commitment during Easter time? Do I acknowledge it when I attend Baptisms? Do I sign myself with holy water on entering church and say, “Lord, I believe, help my unbelief?”

Sacred Space 2023 states:

“The Gospel of Jesus is not only about a way of life founded on love and mercy, but above all about the person of Jesus Himself. Today He claims a special place in our lives, more important than our dearest ones. Being a disciple is not a marginal aspect of my life, it is central. I ask for the grace to be a real disciple of Jesus, capable of taking up my cross and following Him.”