[Jesus said:] “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 me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life because of me will find it.
“Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me. Whoever receives a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward. Whoever receives a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. And whoever gives only a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple, I tell you the truth, he will never lose his reward.
We do have the saying, “goodness is its own reward” and that, no doubt, is true. We don’t do good to be rewarded but simply because it is good. At the same time, goodness leads to goodness and kindness inspires kindness. This can be true at the most mundane level: if I am courteous and obliging, say, as a driver, perhaps others on the road will be inspired to be obliging and courteous in their turn. It is even truer at a higher level. Generosity of spirit inspires the same in others.
The demands of discipleship
Matthew 10:37-42
The Gospel reading today might seem, at first glance, to be forbidding, extreme even. Obviously, Jesus is not asking us to “hate” our nearest and dearest; nevertheless, we cannot ignore the demands of disciples, which can involve priorities — what really comes first in my life.
But a careful reading of today’s Gospel makes it apparent that we are hearing, once again, the Gospel of love.
“Anyone who prefers father or mother to me is not worthy of me. Anyone who prefers son or daughter to me is not worthy of me.
The good news here is that God’s love of each one of us is total, unrestricted, encompassing all that I am. In response, God asks of us in return a love that is total, unrestricted, encompassing all that I am. This does not mean not loving our nearest and dearest — on the contrary! — but it will mean giving first place to the love of God in our lives. Here, I am reminded of the same teaching but present entirely positively:
“Which commandment is the most important of all?” Jesus answered, “The most important is: ‘Listen, Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ (Mark 12:28-30)
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.