COMMENTARY
Sunday, June 28, 2020, Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
A Familiar Promise
First Reading Commentary: 2 Kings 4:8-11, 14-16a
Elisha is one of the most powerful prophets of the Old Testament. In today’s first reading, Elisha promises a woman that she would have a son within a years-time. The LORD made that very same promise to Abraham and Sarah who laughed at the LORD. In this case, the woman, who was a Shumanite did not laugh.
But as the story continues beyond today’s reading, we learn that the woman did ask Elisha not to deceive her. We also learn that the woman did have a son but that the son died. Elisha visited the boy, stretched himself over the boy and breathed on the boy. The boy sneezed seven times and then arose.
It is no wonder that Elisha was known as a man of God. Consider that phrase, “man of God.” It suggests that Elisha was from God and sent by God. It also suggests that God was within Elisha.
Indeed, all of those things were true about Elisha or else he would not have been able be the prophet that he was. He saw what the LORD wanted him to see and delivered the prophecies that the LORD wanted him to deliver and the LORD worked through Elisha to perform great miracles.
All of this was able to happen because Elisha was a man of great faith. There was no doubt in Elisha. There were no questions with Elisha. He knew that the LORD was God. He surrendered himself to the LORD and allowed the LORD to work through him.
We can compare ourselves to Elisha but the operative word there is, “can.” Fact is that virtually all of us dare not compare ourselves to Elisha because our faith does not compare to Elisha’s faith.
And yet, like Elisha, we are from God. In baptism, we are called to evangelize which means that each of us is sent by God and if we allow Him to, God will work through us. That is where so many of us fall way short of the mark. We are too wrapped up in the sins of the world to be saved from the sins of the world.
There are those who argue that the problems which plague our world today are a result of God trying to get our attention. I think that those people may be right.
Take the time to read all of 2 Kings:4. You will find that this story of Elisha and the Shumanite woman is a testimony to the fact that all things are possible with God. You can believe that or you can choose not to believe that. But guess what? In the end, it will be God’s Will be done! Not ours.
He Did It for Me
Second Reading Commentary: Romans 6:3-4, 8-11
St Paul tells us in his letter to the Romans that in baptism, we are baptized into the death of Christ so that just as Christ was raised by the glory of the Father, we too might live in the newness of life.
Have you ever played a game that you could not loose because it was not possible for you to run out of chances to win? Of course, not because there is no such game. But with God, we never run out of chances to enjoy the newness of life that Paul is talking about—eternal life in heaven.
No matter how often we sin, no matter how often we commit the same sin, all we have to do is be sincere in making amends, and we are blessed with another chance. Just as the Prodigal Son, Luke 15, was welcomed home by the father; so, too we will be welcomed home by God. But make no mistake about it, we have to make the decision to go home, make the trip and then ask for forgiveness.
No one is expected to be a sacrificial lamb in atonement for our sins. Jesus already did that. Jesus sacrificed Himself in atonement for the sins of the whole world—you and me. I like the “me” part. Christ gave Himself for me! Say that to yourself everyday and never forget it. And, because Jesus gave Himself for me, I can go to heaven. Say that to yourself everyday as well and never forget it. That is the bottom line to Paul’s message today.
Once again, say, “Thank You Jesus. Amen.”
Carry That Cross
Gospel Commentary: Matthew 10:37 - 42
The First Commandment tells us to put nothing before God. Therefore, it should not shock or surprise us to hear Jesus tell us that we should not put our mothers or fathers or children before Him.
Anyone who has been blessed with loving parents does not want to put anything or anyone before them. Any loving parent will go to the ends of the earth and lay down their lives for their children. Jesus did not specifically mention spouses but they are no less important to us. So, today’s Gospel is hard to take unless you have total and absolute faith.
If we limit our thinking to what is of this world, we will not be able to follow the instructions from Jesus in today’s Gospel. We have to remove our thinking from this world and concentrate on God and the things that we need to do in order to be with Him for all eternity.
Jesus tells us how to do that. He tells us to take up our cross and follow Him in order to be worthy of Him. Jesus is telling us to accept the hardships that come our way in this life. But we should already know and understand that so, let’s concentrate on the word “worthy.”
We can never say that we are worthy because we are not. We are broken and we are sinful. How can we, in the lowliness of our humanity, even think of being worthy of Jesus who is the Almighty? We cannot and woe to anyone who says otherwise. I do not want to be in their shoes.
But Jesus is letting us know that if we do pick up and carry our cross in life, we are worthy. We are only worthy because Jesus says so and that is because He loves us enough to make us worthy in spite of all of our brokenness. All we have to do is accept Him and that is what the second have of today’s gospel is about.
Jesus said to His Apostles, “Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.” We devout Christians like to think that God’s Kingdom is only for those who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. But there are those in the world who may live a life time without ever being introduced to or educated on Christianity. As a result, they know nothing about our faith or religion.
These people have just as much chance to get to heaven as you and I. God does not discriminate. We do but God does not. God created all of us. God loves each of us, one as much as the next. God wants all of His children to be with Him in His Kingdom.
However, we must remember that the Apostles were instructed to go and preach to all nations. In baptism, each of us is called to evangelize. It is therefore our responsibility to share our faith with others. Now you know why I have this website.
There will be those who will listen to and accept our evangelization and there will be those of reject our testimony. Either way, it is incumbent upon us to share the faith. Then the message that Jesus gave in the second half of today’s Gospel has much more merit.
You see, each of us has a free will. Some of us will accept the Word and take it to heart. Some of us will not. Those of us who do, also accept where the Word came from which means that they accept Jesus and His Father and His Spirit.
Jesus also promised a reward to those who only give a cup of water to a little one. What does “little one” mean. The term immediately makes you think of a child. Indeed, Jesus did say to let the children come to Him. Matthew 19:14 But I do not think that Jesus is talking about children here.
Stop and ponder the term “little one” for a moment. (pause) Now put every thought that came to your mind out of your mind unless you are thinking of those who practice their faith with humility. I believe that Jesus is talking about those who exercise their faith and live their lives with the humility that He expects from us.
When we are sharing our faith, it is important to be humble less we come across as if we think that we are better than whoever it is that we are talking to. We might come across as thinking that we have all the answers and whoever we are talking, knows nothing. The Pharisees made that mistake and we should be careful not to fall into such a trap.
I cannot think of a single saint who was not humble. Mary, Queen of Heaven and Earth, and the Queen of All Saints, was humble. Why? Because she and all of the saints followed the example of Jesus. If I may be so bold, let me refer to Jesus here as Mr. Humility, Himself.
They all followed Jesus which is exactly what Jesus tells us today. Jesus said, “…whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me…whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” In other words, accept the challenges in this life with humility and be prepared to give everything up in this life if you want eternal happiness in heaven.
