Matthew 10:37-42

 THIRTEENTH SUNDAY ORDINARY TIME – YEAR A

Commentary of Fr. Fernando Armellini

A good Sunday to all. 

The liturgy offers us today the last part of the discourse that Jesus addressed to his disciples when he sent them to announce that the kingdom of God had come into the world. He had told them not to expect a triumphant reception. The message they are going to announce will disturb the holders of power in the world, both political and religious power, because the message they are going to announce would destroy many things. Therefore, he told them to be vigilant and not marvel if these powers of the world react even with violence. 

And he finished with a prophecy: “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. I came to antagonize a man with his father, the daughter with her mother, the daughter-in-law with her mother-in-law; and so a man will have as enemies those of his own house” (Mt 10:34-36). 

These are somewhat mysterious words. What did Jesus want to say? He certainly did not come to trigger wars or crusades. We know his message very well. He always repudiated violence. Recall what he said to Peter when he considered resorting to the sword: 'Sheathe the sword.' It is not with the sword that the new world is built. Jesus had proclaimed blessed the builders of peace. He had told his disciples, "Love your enemies—do good to those who hate you so that you can resemble your Father, who is in heaven." 

So, what sword is it? It is a comparison. Simeon had already used it when addressing the mother of Jesus had said: "A sword will pierce your soul." At that time, the mother of Jesus represented Israel, who would be divided by a sword. With the message that Jesus brought into the world, a division will be created in Israel. 

Simeon had already predicted this. Jesus was referring to divisions and conflicts that his message would inevitably provoke, even within families. When Matthew wrote his gospel, these divisions had already been dramatically manifested in Israel. Precisely in those years, the fracture had taken place among the Christian and Pharisaic communities, a fracture that lasts to this day. 

The Pharisee rabbis had pronounced excommunication precisely in those years against the כופרים ‘iminím’ = the heretics. Who were these heretics? They were the ones who had given their adherence to Christ. Jesus' disciples were called ‘notzelím’; even today, they are the ‘notzim’… the ‘Nazarenes’… the ‘Christians.’ They were, therefore, excommunicated and kicked out of the synagogue. You couldn't be ‘Jewish’ and ‘Christian’. They had to choose. The rabbis had said that it was somewhat incompatible. 

It was when the 18 benedictions (Shemoneh Ezreh) had been introduced, the ‘birkat aminím’ which is a curse against the ‘inimím,’ against heretics. It is the twelfth of the 'burakot.' Whoever adhered to Christ turned against them with very painful consequences. He was considered a renegade, and as such, he was expelled by his relatives. To get an idea, we can imagine today what would happen to a Muslim who wanted to change his religion. It would undoubtedly have consequences because the family would consider him one who has abandoned tradition. 

Whoever became a Christian at that time was in a very painful condition from one day to the next, not only from an emotional point of view but also socially and economically; he lost all the assurances he had for being part of the family. He had no right even to inheritance. In this dramatic context, Matthew reminds Christians of his community through the words of the Master. Let's listen: 

“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.” 

These people whose families have been marginalized are suffering... What would we have done? We would have approached them with sweet words, tried to minimize the problem, and told them to be patient. Things will get better. You have to find a middle ground....’ Jesus does not act that way. As always, Jesus is very radical.

Here, he introduces three very demanding conditions, accompanied by a severe declaration: ‘If you don't accept my life proposal, you are not worthy of me.’ No rabbi had ever spoken this way, so much so that one day, the Jews said to him: "Who do you think you are?" Let's see its conditions. 

The first addresses sons and daughters: "Whoever loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me." It does not say that children should not love their parents. Let's remember that one day, in a discussion that he had with the Pharisees, Jesus told them: “You are hypocrites because you have canceled God's commandment to help parents with your traditions." But if the two loves conflicted or if there was any misunderstanding, which should be followed? Jesus is very radical: "Whoever loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me." 

The second condition. It is addressed to parents: 

"Whoever loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me." 

Nor is he saying here that parents should not love their sons and daughters. The family is sacred and dear to God. 

The love that unites family members is natural and wonderful, blessed by God. It is a love characterized by gratuitousness. Aid in the family is neither quantified nor paid. Everything is done to make others happy. This gratuity is a wonderful love. Where does the problem arise? When a new family is born, separation is necessary. Let's remember the book of Genesis: "The man will leave his father and mother and unite with his wife." Since then, it is not that the one who marries denies his own family of origin, but the point of reference for all options is no longer the father and the mother but the husband and the wife. And this breakup of the parents is necessary. If it is not realized, life is blocked, and a new family is not born. 

We know how many problems arise when this cut is not kept in mind or when the husband or wife continues to refer to his or her parents. In my town, it is said that when two people get married, they should live in a house where you cannot see the smoke from the road to the parents' house. Jesus does not invite his disciples to forget or neglect the natural family; just the opposite. But he proposes joining another family. A new family is born.

Let us remember that Jesus himself fulfilled this cut with his family in Nazareth when he left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum. His family tried to make him return, but what did Jesus say? He said, "Who are my mother and my brothers and sisters? And, turning his gaze towards those who were by his side, he said: this is my mother and my brothers. They are the ones who hear the word of God and put it into practice.” This is the new family.

Love for the natural family cannot impede membership in this new family. It is the family where the distinctions of race and culture no longer exist, where there is no longer father and mother, where all are brothers and sisters, and where each person is a son or daughter of God. This is the new family that Jesus proposes. And if the old family, the natural family, conflicts with this new family, Jesus says you must make a choice. Now we can understand that phrase: "is not worthy of me." It is the affirmation of the lover who wants to involve the loved one in an exclusive relationship. If the loved person does not accept his life proposal because it looks pretty high and compromising, the young man says: 'You are not worthy of me; let's each go our own way.’ Jesus is a jealous lover. He does not admit concessions. He does not accept that there will be lovers and is distracted from his love. Jesus wants the heart to be pure and undivided. 

In the Old Testament, God appears similarly: a jealous God. The pagan gods were not jealous. Zeus received sacrifices from his devotees, but if a later one offered sacrifices to Apollo or Dionysius, Zeus would have no problems. But not so the God of Israel. He is the only God who wants exclusive love. He is the benchmark of all options. The first commandment: "You will have no other god besides me ... because I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God." It often recurs in the Old Testament: ‘Elí encaná’ = I am a jealous God.

Jesus reproduces this face of God. He is jealous. This means that whoever finds him changes the reference point of all options. Nothing and nobody can be put before him. When He enters a person's heart, He wants to occupy the whole heart. This is what it means for us today to adhere to Christ. It means that nobody and nothing can impede this commitment to love. 

And now, let's listen to the third condition that Jesus makes: 

“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.” 

What does Jesus mean: "Whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me?" The most common interpretation is the one we usually hear repeatedly, especially from old people with some ailments: ‘Just as Jesus carried his cross, so I resign myself to carry the crosses that life gives me patiently.’ Or maybe, sometimes, we think it's God who sends these crosses. 

This interpretation is misleading and false. What cross is Jesus talking about? Because the tribulations, diseases, troubles, and misfortunes sooner or later come to all of us, the Son of God didn't need to come from heaven to tell us that ‘we must bear them with patience.’ A little common sense is enough to understand this. The cross that Jesus speaks about is another one. It is the cross that he has carried. What was the cross?

The cross was the scaffold, that horizontal stick that the condemned put on his shoulder at the time of the sentence, and he was taken to the place of execution. He who carried it passed among the people and was held to be accursed by God, and all designated one rejected by all the people as a loser. 

Why did religious leaders and political leaders want to condemn Jesus to the torture of the cross? It was the most degrading. It was reserved for the subversives of the established order, the political order. Also, the religious leaders wanted him to be crucified; that is, he was considered an infamous destroyer of religious institutions and also of political institutions. For the Jewish religion, those blessed by God were the rich, the well-off, the successful people... these were the ones who had received the blessings of the Lord. The poor, those who had suffered some misfortune, were considered punished and accursed. Jesus embraced this cross, but he could have avoided it. It was enough if he had said that he would not carry out the proposal of a new world and would not have turned around the values of this world. He hadn't discussed a very different face of God preached by religion. If he had done that, they would have left him alone. Jesus embraced the cross. He agreed to be considered accursed by the powers of this world. 

Slaves carried the cross. Note that Jesus does not say that you have to accept the crosses that come to you in life; he says you must make a conscious choice to embrace the proposal he makes to you. It is the proposal that Jesus lived. The cross indicates the choice of those who remain a slave, not an owner. Those who make the choice not to belong to themselves... like slaves that depended on the will of the owner. Jesus says: ‘If you want to be worthy of me, you must make the option of being a slave.’ Of being one who, in the eyes of this world, is considered a failure. Being a person who is not an ‘employer’ but a servant to whom everyone can give orders, everyone can ask for services. 

Who are these owners? They are your brothers and sisters. Whenever they need you, you must feel like their servant. It means to 'embrace the cross,' the cross that Jesus has embraced. The option of being a slave is everyone's server. I would say that instead of the word ‘cross,’ it would be enough to put the word ‘love’ so everything is clear. In the culture of our time, these words sound bad. Today, a realized person knows how to assert himself; even if to affirm, it is necessary to submit, dominate, and crush others. Jesus proposes the exact opposite. A successful person spends his whole life paying attention to the needs of the brother and sister. In the last part of the text, Jesus addresses those who have embraced the cross, and here we find sweet words of comfort. Let's listen: 

"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.” 

In the last part of the discourse, Jesus speaks of people who must be welcomed. And the first people to be welcomed is you: "He who receives you receives me." Who are ‘you'? You are worthy of me because you chose to embrace the cross. In other words, the option I have made to make my life a gift. ‘Go into the world and embody this life proposal… He who receives you receives me.’ 

Jesus trusts us because he considers us worthy of him. Of course, we do not present ourselves as his disciples because we practice some devotions—not something bad but marginal things. But if we present ourselves as worthy of him, as people who donate life, then he who receives us receives Jesus’ love proposal. 

The second way of welcoming: "Whoever receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward.” God speaks through the prophets. He does not make his voice heard from heaven through miracles... NO. God's thought comes through brothers and sisters who are more sensitive than others to the Lord's thought. Introducing God's thinking in the world is contrary to common sense and everyone's way of thinking. These are the prophets who suggest humanizing life proposals, proposals that come from heaven. 

We know that very well today, too. Prophets that today say that pride and vanity in which people move will fail; that the idols on which they prop up life, in the end, will betray you... You accumulate money, but then you leave it here. You have to build life on authentic values. The prophets make these warnings; those sensitive to God's thought are the ones God uses to bring his word to the world. 

How do we receive these prophets? Above all, prophets are received by those who receive the message. Prophets are also received by the one who gives moral support to them. Prophets are always uncomfortable because they don't think like people usually think. These prophets are often marginalized, persecuted especially by the representatives of power, by those who want to perpetuate what has always been done. Prophets are always innovative. So, they need to be supported by those who understand that their word comes from heaven. Prophets are marginalized when we say: ‘… yes, they say good things, but you have to be careful; traditions must be respected; respect simple people who are fond of what has always been done….” And so, people are prevented from receiving the news of the gospel.

Receiving the prophets means that although I am not a prophet, I know that what the prophet says is true and that my brother and sister are saying comes from God. And there is a third way of receiving the prophet. It is the one we heard in the first reading: it is to concretely help the one who has this mission. 

Many times, the prophet also needs this help. What does the reward consist of? They will have the same reward as the prophet. It means you, even if you are not a prophet, but you support the prophet, you collaborate with his mission, you are part of the mission that the prophet is carrying out, and you will also be a builder of that new world that is born from the message announced by the prophet. 

The third way of receiving: "Whoever receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man’s reward.” The prophet is the one who announces the message from heaven with the word. It is necessary to have prophets. Who is the righteous person? The righteous is the one who, with his life, speaks to you of the message that comes from God. The righteous may not even say a word but speak to you with their life, the one who embodies the word that comes from heaven. 

Remember what Saint Francis told his brothers: "Always preach the gospel, and if necessary, even with words." He was referring to preaching with life. He who receives the righteous because he is righteous will have the reward of the righteous. Welcoming him means being attuned to his life proposal. 

The last request that Jesus makes about welcoming. "And whoever gives only a cup of cold water to one of these little ones to drink
because the little one is a disciple….”  The disciple is always a small one, even invisible sometimes. And, in the Semitic culture, giving drink means welcoming him into his own house. A glass of fresh water for a disciple is the simplest act of love. "I assure you, you will not be without a reward." What does it mean? Any kind of support you give a disciple because he is a disciple... This gesture you make will have a positive result, even if it is small, for providing support to a disciple because he is a disciple, you will also be, although in a small part, a builder of the new world. Every gesture of support for the disciple will have a positive result in the history of God. 

I wish you all a good Sunday and a good week.