All the Gospel in a Glass of Water!
Year A – 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Matthew 10:37–42 – “He will not lose his reward”
This Sunday’s Gospel concludes the apostolic discourse, or mission discourse, of Matthew 10. It is a discourse that concerns every Christian: through baptism, each person becomes a disciple of Jesus, his apostle and missionary.
The Gospel passage (Matthew 10:37–42) is divided into two distinct parts. The first presents the conditions and demands for being disciples and apostles of Jesus:
Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me;
Whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me;
Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me.
Whoever keeps their life for themselves will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.
These are perhaps the harshest words in the Gospel. They are like the “duties” of a disciple of Jesus. We know them well, both because they recur often and because of their starkness.
The second part of the passage is more consoling. It presents his “privileges”:
Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.
Whoever welcomes a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward;
Whoever welcomes a righteous person because he is righteous will receive a righteous person’s reward.
Whoever gives even a single cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is a disciple, truly I tell you, will not lose his reward.
1. IDENTITY: Who do I want to be?
The first word I would like to underline is the pronoun “whoever”, which occurs ten times in the text. It reminds us that life is made up of choices. Who do I want to be? In which of the alternatives presented by Jesus do I find myself? Among those who are worthy of him? Among those who risk their lives for him? Among those who welcome him?
2. RADICALITY: Am I worthy of him?
The conditions for being disciples of Jesus are certainly demanding. Jesus makes it clear three times: “Whoever… whoever… whoever… is not worthy of me!” He wants, indeed he demands, first place in our affections and plans. No rabbi had ever made such claims. Yet only a great passion for Christ and total dedication to the Kingdom of God can sustain a life of radical commitment to building a new humanity.
In these few verses, the first-person pronoun and possessive adjective recur repeatedly. Someone who did not know him might judge him to be a megalomaniac and would naturally ask him, as the Jews did: “Who do you think you are?” (John 8:53). He would reply: “Exactly what I have been telling you” (John 8:25).
He claims for himself the love reserved for God alone: “Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your strength” (Deuteronomy 6:4–5). Jesus does not call into question love for father, mother, son or daughter; rather, he challenges us about our priorities: who is the greatest love of your life?
3. WELCOMING: Do I have a welcoming heart?
The verb “to welcome” recurs repeatedly in the text: welcoming the apostle, the prophet, the righteous person and the little one. By welcoming all of them, we welcome Christ and, in him, the Father.
Having a welcoming heart is more necessary today than ever, in a society that closes its doors and erects barriers through selfishness or fear of those who are different. Welcoming is not merely an act of mercy. In the Bible, as well as being an act of reverence for God, it was an occasion for receiving a much-desired blessing, brought by the guest. We remember Abraham before the three unknown travellers: “My lord, if I have found favour in your eyes, do not pass by without stopping at your servant’s home” (Genesis 18:3). The author of the Letter to the Hebrews comments: “Do not forget hospitality; some, by practising it, have welcomed angels without knowing it” (Hebrews 13:2).
In the first reading we find a fine example of welcoming: that of the woman who receives the prophet Elisha: “Let us make a small upper room, built of masonry, and put in it a bed, a table, a chair and a lamp; then, whenever he comes to us, he can stay there” (2 Kings 4).
I like to see here, as in an icon, a symbolic allusion to the essential conditions for welcoming God into our lives. Each of us needs this “small upper room” of the prophet, “built of masonry”, that is, solid and stable, where we can cultivate our inner life and encounter the Lord.
Simplicity and essentials reign there: a bed, a table, a chair and a lamp. The bed reminds us of the need for a healthy balance between activity and rest; the table and chair call to mind reflection; and, finally, the lamp recalls meditation on the Word, “a lamp for our feet” (Psalm 119:105).
4. REWARD: What will my reward be?
Jesus speaks three times of reward. Sacred Scripture speaks of it often, and Jesus too returns to it frequently. Every journey of faith begins with a promise: “Your reward shall be very great” (Genesis 15:1). The apostles do not hesitate to ask Jesus: “Look, we have left everything and followed you; what then will we have?” (Matthew 19:27).
Today, however, we almost feel ashamed to speak of reward in the context of faith, as though it were a betrayal of the gratuitousness of love. Yet our bodily dimension demands its part and, if ignored, ends up seeking it in the immediate gratification of the senses.
How helpful it is to remember the Lord’s promise: every small gesture performed out of love will have its reward. “The whole Gospel is in the Cross, but the whole Gospel is also in a glass of water” (Ermes Ronchi).
Our heart is not “pure”, that is, “of one piece”, but impure and composite. God alone is pure: pure love. The Word of God addresses the human person in all their complexity.
Within us there is the “slave” who fears “punishment”. The Word educates our slave so that he may move from fear to reverential awe of God.
Within us there is the “servant” who works for “wages”, out of self-interest. The Word educates him to move from the mentality of “merit” — the pagan idea of recompense — to that of God’s promise; from the condition of “servant” to that of “friend” (John 15:15).
Finally, within us there is the “child” who acts out of love. The Word educates this child to become ever more aware of the Father’s words in the parable of the prodigal son: “Everything I have is yours”; and to become an adult child, responsible for his brothers and sisters.
Spiritual exercise for the week
One possible twofold exercise for the week could consist in meditating on the eight clauses proposed by this Sunday’s Gospel and committing oneself to build a “small upper room, built of masonry”. In practical terms, what could the bed, the table, the chair and the lamp of that room be in my life?
Fr Manuel João Pereira Correia, MCCJ
Fr. Manuel João, comboni missionary
Sunday Reflection
from the womb of my whale, ALS
Our cross is the pulpit of the Word
