Conditions to discipleship

It is now the 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time, and our gospel reading is a follow-up of last week’s gospel reading from Matt.10: 26-33 on the mission of the twelve. Today’s gospel reading is on Matt.10: 37-42 regarding the conditions of discipleship.

“37 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; 38 and whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. 40 “Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.

“41 Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward; and whoever welcomes a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive the reward of the righteous; 42 and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple—truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.”

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We learned in Genesis 2:24, which states that “a man shall leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave to his wife.” These are words often spoken during marriage ceremony by the priest to signify that the man must now cling to his wife and be independent of his parents. So what does Jesus mean when he said at the beginning of today’s gospel “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.” Then he added these words “whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me.”

Indeed these are the conditions of discipleship that Jesus is telling his disciples who swore to follow and serve him. If you are in the seminary studying for priesthood, these are the first lessons drilled into you, which means that after you become a priest, you have to leave your parents behind. It’s almost exactly the same lesson to learn if you were to get married, which means leaving your parents to have your own family.

Then he said, “and whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me.” Mind you, this is quite early in the book of St. Matthew and the word “cross” which Jesus used was quite difficult for his disciples to understand; after all, a cross is something the Romans used to punish criminals or rebels. Only after he was crucified on the cross did the disciples understand what he meant about carrying one’s cross. Then Jesus continued saying, “Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. “Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.”

Today’s gospel is a continuation of Jesus’ teaching on the mission of his disciples. It’s clear that if we’re going to walk with Jesus, and leave our parents behind, we have a price to pay. Indeed, sacrifice and suffering are part of the journey. This is the way to life and freedom in the scheme of the gospel. The gospel law of love means that persons who seek only themselves are bound for ruin. Our salvation is found in moving out of ourselves in service and reconciliation with others.

As we have learned from reading the Bible, God is love and, as we all know, when one is in love he or she no longer thinks of him or herself but the care and benefit of others. So even if you are a priest assigned to a parish that is far away and filled with strangers, you must arm yourself with God’s will in order to serve them and their needs.

Today’s seemingly severe words of Jesus about family are simply an invitation to put everything in order. When we love God first, not only do we love our family more, this love is more selfless and life-giving, free of deception and illusion. Today’s gospel is clear. The way to life is through sacrifice, self-denial and our daily cross. Our great and continuing temptation is to create a new Jesus in our own image that frees us from the harshness of today’s life.