FAITHFUL DISCIPLES

XIII SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Matthew 10:37-42

In this Sunday’s gospel, Jesus presents the demands of discipleship. 

The road to salvation in Jesus Christ is not an easy one. We must enter through the narrow gate: “For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life” (Mt 7:14). In everything, Jesus must take the first place. Forced to choose, we must always side with Jesus. He deserves and demands greater love than our parents. It does not mean that we should ignore, despise or hate our parents. The commandment still stands: “Honour your father and your mother” (Ex 20:12). However, not even our parents can take the place of God, and if they become an impediment to obeying God’s commandments and to follow Jesus Christ, then we must choose to walk on Jesus’ way. Our love for Christ has to be greater than our love for our parents or any human being. There is no greatest love than the one bestowed on us by Jesus, who gave his life for us. And that love demands a response of love. The responsorial psalm expresses this recognition of God’s love:

“I will sing for ever of your love, O Lord;

  through all ages my mouth will proclaim your truth.

Of this I am sure, that your love lasts for ever,

  that your truth is firmly established as the heavens.” (Ps 89).

The acceptance of the cross - that is of suffering and death - is part of the discipleship of Jesus. Following Jesus, we may face rejection and even persecution and death. It does not mean that we should be masochists. Pain is always painful, and cannot be a source of happiness. Jesus faced his passion in anguish, but he remained faithful and did not run away from his mission, despite the deadly consequences. At any time in life, we may have to make decisions which will have terrible consequences for us. Then, out of fear, we may avoid the consequences by ignoring our principles, avoiding our duty, forgetting our responsibilities and even trampling on the love that should fill our hearts. However, if we decide to remain faithful at all costs, then we must be ready to carry the cross, thus following Jesus’ footsteps.

We are very much afraid of death because we consider life as our greatest asset and we do everything in our power to keep and extend it. However, Jesus tells us that are things worthy of dying for, and those are the things which give meaning to life. So, it is better to lose life than to turn our backs on what gives meaning to life. Jesus says it clearly:

“Anyone who finds his life will lose it; anyone who loses his life for my sake will find it.”

We must be ready to lose our lives, being sure that we will find them in Christ. Jesus did that and countless people have done the same throughout the centuries. During this pandemic, in many countries of the world, a great number of doctors and nurses have risked their lives, trying to save the lives of others.

Jesus reminds us of being one with him, in such a way that we welcome him whenever we welcome his disciples. We listen to Jesus whenever we listen to the voice of the Church.

Finally, we are reminded that when we do even the least we can do to the littles ones, the Lord will reward us. We are invited to be generous and kind to those who come to us or whom we meet in our daily lives and are in need. A little gesture may go a long way to lessen their sufferings and their pain.

May the Lord help us to become true disciples.

THERE IS NO NEED TO BE AFRAID

XII SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - Matthew 10:26-33

Jeremiah was still very young when he heard God’s call to be a prophet. He tried some excuses (Jer 1:6), but they could not stand before God. Later in life, he would say that God seduced him and he fell for the sweetness of His word. However, faced with big challenges and living in very difficult times, he felt as if he had been wronged and deceived (Jer 20:7), but he would not betray his call and would not turn his back on God:

“If I say, “I will not mention him,

or speak any more in his name,”

there is in my heart as it were a burning fire

shut up in my bones,

and I am weary with holding it in,

and I cannot.” (Jer 20:9) 

When even his friends turned against him and watched for his downfall, Jeremiah put his trust in the Lord: 

“But the Lord is with me as a dread warrior;

therefore my persecutors will stumble.” (Jer 20:10-11).

Not only by his word but in his own life, Jeremiah was a prophecy of Jesus Christ. He suffered rejection at the hands of his people, but he put his trust in the Lord and remained faithful, speaking out fearlessly, denouncing the sins of his people and calling them back to God.

When Jesus entrusted his mission to the disciples, he made it clear that they would face opposition and rejection, but, in the middle of persecution, they should put their trust in God. Reassuring them, Jesus insisted: “Do not be afraid.” “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul”.

Faith cannot be reduced to the privacy of one’s heart or even one’s home. The Gospel of Jesus Christ must be proclaimed for all those who are willing to hear. Nowadays, there is a concerted effort to force Christian faith into hiding, avoiding or even prohibiting the display of Christian symbols in the public sphere. However, nothing will remain hidden forever and the light of the Lord will dispel all darkness. If we are afraid of speaking up for Christ and proclaim that he is the Lord, then he will not give testimony for us before the Father.

And Jesus repeats a third time: “So there is no need to be afraid”.

IN COMMUNION WITH THE BODY OF CHRIST

THE SOLEMNITY OF CORPUS CHRISTI - John 6:51-58/ 1 Corinthians 10:16-17

It is in difficult times that we reveal our true selves. A friendship that does not pass the test of hardship is not true friendship. In the book of Deuteronomy, Moses tells the people that God put them to the test to “know your inmost heart – whether you would keep his commandments or not” (Dt 8:2). And the people proved to be unreliable and unfaithful. Face with difficulties, which seemed unsurmountable, they lost their trust in God and became convinced that God hat tricked them and brought them into the wilderness to starve them to death. They forgot all the wonders which God had made in their favour and accused Him of evil intent. Despite that, God heard their complaints and came to their rescue, giving them water to drink and food to eat. God sent them manna from heaven, which would be remembered forever as a sign of God’s care and compassion. As the hope for the coming of the Messiah became more and more intense, people were in great expectancy of being given bread from heaven. Jesus presented himself as the bread of life, the true bread, which “comes down from heaven” for us to get eternal life.

Presenting himself as bread, Jesus offers his body - his flesh and his blood - as the food that makes us alive. Hearing Jesus’ words, people were horrified and question Jesus about that. However, Jesus’ answer was very clear: 

“I tell you most solemnly,

if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood,

you will not have life in you.

Anyone who does eat my flesh and drink my blood

has eternal life,

and I shall raise him up on the last day.”

Jesus invites us to his table and he serves us his food. By eating his body and drinking his blood, we become one with Christ:

“He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood

lives in me

and I live in him.”

St. Paul, in his first letter to the Corinthians, gives us the first narrative of the Last Supper, as it was celebrated in the liturgy of the Christian communities. Obeying Jesus’ command: “Do this in remembrance of me.” (1 Co 11:24), starting with the Apostles, the first Christian communities repeated Jesus’ gestures and words and they were well sure that, by Jesus’ words, they were receiving the body and the blood of the Risen Lord. Paul reminded the Corinthians that “the bread that we break is a communion with the body of Christ” and “the blessing-cup that we bless is a communion with the blood of Christ” (1 Co 10:16).

This communion with Christ has implications for the community: “The fact that there is only one loaf means that, though there are many of us, we form a single body because we all have a share in this one loaf.” (1 Co 10:17).

As we celebrate the “Corpus Christi”, let us give thanks for this great gift and open our hearts to Jesus as we present our open hands to receive him, so that we may be transformed in Him and with Him form one body.

LIVE IN PEACE, AND THE GOD OF LOVE AND PEACE WILL BE WITH YOU.

THE SOLEMNITY OF THE MOST HOLY TRINITY - John 3:16-18

Since the beginning of time, the Scriptures present God as someone who wants to be in a relationship. We may guess this relationship, since the creation is presented as an outpouring of God’s goodness and we can see how he was well pleased with what came out of his decision: “And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good.” (Gn 1:31). Then, as we come to the creation of human beings, done in God’s image, it becomes obvious that God created somebody who could live in a relationship with Him. It was as if God needed friends with whom to share his goodness and love. This bond of love was broken by disobedience and revolt when the human beings turned their back on God and decided to go their way. However, God could not forget and forsake the one he created in his image. He could not stand by and see that his image being destroyed, without coming to the rescue of the fallen humans. So he put in action his plan of salvation, which should be enacted through human history. To bring his plan to fulfilment, God sent his Son into the world:

“God loved the world so much

that he gave his only Son,

so that everyone who believes in him 

may not be lost

but may have eternal life.

For God sent his Son into the world

not to condemn the world,

but so that through him 

the world might be saved.”

And the salvation consists in having “eternal life”, a life that we receive in Jesus Christ, because to all “who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” (Jn 1:12), and if we are children, then we are given the rights of children (Ro 8:17).

God’s plan of salvation implies a bond of love between God and his beloved children and this is so because God in Himself is love. And love means relationship and communion. That’s what we celebrate today. God has revealed himself as communion (being one with) - the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, and he calls us to participate in that communion. To the Corinthians, Paul wrote: “Be united; live in peace, and the God of love and peace will be with you.” (2 Co 13:11-13). In Christ Jesus, being one with him, we are accepted as children of God and we will share in the inheritance of Jesus Christ.

May Almighty God - the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit bless you all. Amen.