Fwd: MATTHEW 10:34-11:1: MONDAY'S GOSPEL FOR REFLECTION
Obi OBIEKWE
Subject: MATTHEW 10:34-11:1: MONDAY'S GOSPEL FOR REFLECTION
Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (To the Greater Glory of God)
For: Monday, July 17, 2000
From: Matthew 10:34-11:1
Jesus' Instructions to the Apostles (Continuation)
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(Jesus said to His disciples) [34] "Do not think that I have come to
bring peace on earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.
[35] 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;
[36] and a man's foes will be those of his own household. [37] He who
loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who
loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me; [38] and he
who does not take his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me. [39] He
who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake
will find it.
[40] He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives
Him who sent Me. [41] He who receives a prophet because he is a
prophet shall receive a prophet's reward, and he who receives a
righteous man because he is a righteous man shall receive a righteous
man's reward. [42] And whoever gives to one of these little ones even a
cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he
shall not lose his reward."
The Mission of John the Baptist. Jesus' Reply
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[1] And when Jesus had finished instructing His twelve disciples, He
went on from there to teach and preach in their cities.
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Commentary:
34-37. Our Lord has not come to bring a false and earthly peace--the
sort of tranquility the self-seeking person yearns for; He wants us to
struggle against our own passions and against sin and its effects. The
sword He equips us with for this struggle is, in the words of
Scripture, "the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God"
(Ephesians 6:17), "lively and active, sharper than any two-edged sword,
piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and
discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart" (Hebrews 4:12).
The word of God in fact leads to these divisions mentioned here. It
can lead, even within families, to those who embrace the faith being
regarded as enemies by relatives who resist the word of truth. This is
why our Lord goes on (verse 37) to say that nothing should come between
Him and His disciple--not even father, mother, son or daughter: any and
every obstacle (cf. Matthew 5:29-30) must be avoided.
Obviously these words of Jesus do not set up any opposition between the
first and fourth commandments (love for God above all things and love
for one's parents): He is simply indicating the order of priorities.
We should love God with all our strength (cf. Matthew 22:37), and make
a serious effort to be saints; and we should also love and respect--in
theory and in practice--the parents God has given us; they have
generously cooperated with the creative power of God in bringing us
into the world and there is so much that we owe them. But love for our
parents should not come before love of God; usually there is no reason
why these two loves should clash, but if that should happen, we should
be quite clear in our mind and in heart about what Jesus says here. He
has in fact given us an example to follow on this point: "How is it
that you sought Me? Did you not know that I must be in My Father's
house?" (Luke 2:49)--His reply when, as a youth, Mary and Joseph found
Him in the Temple of Jerusalem after a long search. This event in our
Lord's life is a guideline for every Christian--parent or child.
Children should learn from it that their affection for their parents
should never come before their love for God, particularly when our
Creator asks us to follow Him in a way which implies special
self-giving on our part; parents should take the lesson that their
children belong to God in the first place, and therefore He has a right
to do with them what He wishes, even if this involves sacrifice, even
heroic sacrifice. This teaching of our Lord asks us to be generous and
to let God have His way. In fact, however, God never lets Himself be
outdone in generosity. Jesus has promised a hundredfold gain, even in
this life, and later on eternal life (cf. Matthew 19:29), to those who
readily respond to His will.
38-39. The teaching contained in the preceding verses is summed up in
these two succinct sentences. Following Christ, doing what He asks,
means risking this present life to gain eternal life.
"People who are constantly concerned with themselves, who act above all
for their own satisfaction, endanger their eternal salvation and cannot
avoid being unhappy even in this life. Only if a person forgets
himself and gives himself to God and to others, in marriage as well as
in any other aspect of life, can he be happy on this earth, with a
happiness that is a preparation for, and a foretaste of, the joy of
Heaven" ([Blessed] J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By", 24). Clearly,
Christian life is based on self-denial: there is no Christianity
without the Cross.
40. To encourage the Apostles and to persuade others to receive them,
our Lord affirms that there is an intimate solidarity, or even a kind
of identity, between Himself and His disciples. God in Christ, Christ
in the Apostles: this is the bridge between Heaven and earth. (cf. 1
Corinthians 3:21-23).
41-42. A prophet's mission is not essentially one of announcing future
events; his main role is that of communicating the word of God (cf.
Jeremiah 11:2; Isaiah 1:2). The righteous man, the just man, is he who
obeys the Law of God and follows His paths (cf. Genesis 6:9; Isaiah
3:10). Here Jesus tells us that everyone who humbly listens to and
welcomes prophets and righteous men, recognizing God in them, will
receive the reward of a prophet and a righteous man. The very fact of
generously receiving God's friends will gain one the reward that they
obtain. Similarly, if we should see God in the least of His disciples
(verse 42), even if they do not seem very important, they are
important, because they are envoys of God and of His Son. That is why
he who gives them a glass of cold water--an alms, or any small
service--will receive a reward, for he has shown generosity to our Lord
Himself (cf. Matthew 25:40).
1. In chapters 11 and 12 the Gospel records the obduracy of the Jewish
leaders toward Jesus, despite hearing His teaching (chapter 5-7) and
seeing the miracles which bear witness to the divine nature of His
person and His doctrine (chapters 8 and 9).
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+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+ Set your mind on God's kingdom +
+ and His justice before everything else, +
+ and all the rest will come to you as well. +
+ (Matthew 6:33) +
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++**************
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