Gospel Reflection:Matthew 10:40-42

Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. 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; 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. Matthew 10:40-42 NRSV

The lighted candle: a hallmark of welcome 

Earlier in Matthew 10, we see Jesus’ instructions on how to receive hospitality- we are to let our “peace come upon” the house. If there is inhospitality, “let your peace return to you.” (Matthew 10:12-13) I do not control another’s reaction or response. I can, however, control my own.  I can redirect the interaction or leave it with my peace intact.  Shaking off the dust (Matthew 10:140) means to let it end  non-violently-without harmful words or actions. 

How to offer hospitality to others?  Jesus' words in Matthew 10:40-42 probably reflect the guidance that the earliest house churches would have received.  The one being welcomed comes in the name of another who is respected. In some cases, the person needing the welcome was accompanied with a letter from another disciple or apostle, such as Paul. The letter could come with words like “We are on the same team. Welcome them as you would welcome me.” Such directives were given by Paul to the Philippians, asking them to welcome both Timothy and Epaphroditus. (Philippians 2:19-30)

The act of offering hospitality in the name of Christ is as simple as offering a cup of water. I offer another the benefit of my attention. Emerson wrote, “A friend is someone with whom I may be myself, with whom I may think aloud.” There are various levels of familiarity and friendship with others. I cannot be a “best friend” to everyone I meet, but I can offer a simple, meaningful welcome to others who cross my path. I can choose to let go of the time and energy I spend with other pursuits so there is space for another. In welcoming another into my space, I encounter the living Christ, the true reward that Jesus promises. “I was a stranger and you welcomed me.” Matthew 25:35

Gospel Reflection: Matthew 10:24-39

Matthew 10: 24-39: Difficult words to hear

A disciple is not above the teacher, nor a slave above the master; it is enough for the disciple to be like the teacher, and the slave like the master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more will they malign those of his household! So have no fear of them; for nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known. What I say to you in the dark, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered, proclaim from the housetops. Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground unperceived by your Father. And even the hairs of your head are all counted. So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows. Everyone therefore who acknowledges me before others, I also will acknowledge before my Father in heaven; but whoever denies me before others, I also will deny before my Father in heaven. Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and one’s foes will be members of one’s own household. 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 the cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.

Reflection

You are blessed when you are at the end of your rope. With less of you, there is more of God and his rule. Matthew 5:3, The Message

In sending out his disciples as missionaries, Jesus continues to caution them on the hazards of their journey: they will be treated as Jesus was. They will be falsely accused and maligned. They will be faced with the choice to either witness to Jesus as the Christ, or to deny him. We are invited to see ourselves in the story of Jesus, his teaching and ministry, his passion , his death and resurrection.  There is no special immunity from bearing the cross, whether or not I see myself as a missionary.  "The disciple is not above his Master.”

  

But wait! Those who follow Jesus find life. St. Paul called it, in *Romans 6:1-11, “walking in newness of life.” Renewal is a different life, not the same life, warmed over. (I’m thinking of a left-over dish heated up in the microwave). I do not have a “new beginning” without the desolation of the cross. Two noteworthy examples may help us explore the meaning of the cross for ourselves. Are we equipped, in Christ, to discover life, even in loss? 

First was the witness of Dr. Viktor Frankl. His watershed book is Man's Search for Meaning. Frankl was a Viennese Neurologist and Psychiatrist. We now know, thanks to his wife, that, while at home, Frankl observed traditional Jewish spiritual practices regularly. His greatest insights came as a prisoner in Hitler's worst death camps, one of which was Auschwitz. Frankl’s scientific mind helped him to discover that, among his fellow prisoners, those who realized and kept their “last freedom” seemed to have a better chance of surviving unimaginable horrors. The “last freedom” was the power to choose one's attitude in a given set of circumstances, to find meaning in that situation. Viktor Frankl carried his wisdom on "the last freedom" out of Auschwitz and into the world, to help thousands of people.

Another example comes from Vincent Donovan, whose story is recounted in Christianity Rediscovered: An Epistle from the Masai. Donovan was a Catholic missionary among the Masai, the tribal community of East Africa. I find parallels with the instructions Jesus gave his missionary apostles in Matthew 10 and Donavan’s missionary experience. Here are some of Donovan’s words:

…a missionary is essentially a social martyr, cut off from his roots, his stock, his blood, his land, his background, his culture. He is destined to walk forever a stranger in a strange land… [This is] the truest meaning of poverty of spirit.

Those who lose their life for Jesus’ sake will find it, promises Jesus. “Do not fear, do not be afraid.” Matthew 10: 26-28   Because our life rests in God’s everlasting arms, we are given a gift that no person and no situation can take away from us. Thanks be to God!

* Romans 6:1-11 is the Epistle for Sunday, June 21

Gospel Reflection: Sunday, May 24

Gospel      John 17: 1-11

After Jesus had spoken these words, he looked up to heaven and said, ‘Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all people, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do. So now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had in your presence before the world existed. ‘I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything you have given me is from you; for the words that you gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. I am asking on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those whom you gave me, because they are yours. All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them. And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one.’

Reflection

“The wings of charity are large and wide, and thus it flies above the Cherubim and Seraphim and all the choirs of angels. Through charity, the many are made into one-uniting those above with those below as well as those in the center. It likewise produces...a joy that is rooted in divine love.”  Thomas a Kempis, A Little Garden of Roses

By the time John's Gospel is written, a generation of church life has passed. Just think of all the twists and turns that happen over a generation in a family, or a person’s life. Now remember that in its first era, the church was breaking every kind of cultural, ethnic, economic, linguistic, and geographical boundary.

A church I once attended was made up of people from a great diversity of ethnic-social backgrounds, and religious heritages. There was wide range of economic circumstances, from some of the wealthiest in the city to those living in neighborhood halfway houses and recovery centers. Approximately twenty different zip codes were represented. The sense of community and harmony was palpable. There was a common search to experience God’s love and discover a spiritual self.  Another church I attended was very homogeneous. Those gathered looked alike and spoke with insider language. Most in attendance were of one ethnicity and looked to be well under 50. The sense of Christ’s community seemed to be muted, because the group already shared much, at least in cultural terms. 

Many churches pray at the Lord’s Table, “Make us one with Christ, one with each other, and one in ministry…” Jesus Christ has never stopped praying for his church. Unity and harmony is the fruit of being loved by God in Jesus Christ. It is "large and wide" in its reach and community. And through this love all will know Jesus’ disciples. (John 13:3)