Catechism Links[1]
CCC 2232-2233: To follow Christ is first vocation of Christian
CCC 537, 628, 790, 1213, 1226-1228, 1694: Baptism, to die to self, to live for Christ
CCC 1987: Grace justifies through faith and baptism
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| “Christ Carrying His Cross” by El Greco, 1580’s |
Commentary:
Reading 1: 2 Kings 4:8-11, 14-16a
Commentary on 2 Kgs 4:8-11, 14-16a
The passage provides a picture of the itinerant nature of Elisha, who travels about providing prophetic guidance to the people from his base at Mount Carmel (2 Kings 2:25). The woman of the story shows deference to Elisha, recognizing his status as being sent by God. In return, Elisha repays her generosity seeking God’s help in providing her material support in the form of a son.
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 89:2-3, 16-17,18-19
R. (2a) Forever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.
Commentary on Ps 89:2-3, 16-17,18-19
Psalm 89 is a communal lament. The first strophe recalls God’s faithfulness expressed in his unbreakable covenant with King David. The focus next moves to the people of God: “…in the light of your countenance, O LORD, they walk.” The righteous are upheld by the Lord. The passage concludes reiterating God’s promised help and protection.
CCC: Ps 89 709
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Reading 2: Romans 6:3-4, 8-11
Commentary on Rom 6:3-4, 8-11
This reading from Romans reminds the Christian that all who have been joined to Christ in Baptism are also joined to his death. Without the inevitable death of the body, there is no resurrection. St. Paul teaches that, since Christ came so his followers could be absolved from sin, the great promise is that those baptized in the faith will rise with him, free from all sin.
CCC: Rom 6:3-9 1006; Rom 6:3-4 1214, 1227, 1987; Rom 6:4-5 790; Rom 6:4 537, 628, 648, 654, 658, 730, 977, 1697; Rom 6:8-11 1987
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Gospel: Matthew 10:37-42
Commentary on Mt 10:37-42
This passage from St. Matthew’s Gospel parallels Mark 8:34-35 and Luke 9:24-25 (also cf. Luke 14:26-27; 17:33) in directing the Christian disciple to place their faith above everything else in their lives, including family. The author softens the language used in St. Luke’s Gospel from “hate” to “love less,” indicating the kind of divisions that may occur when the Gospel of Christ is proclaimed in families. The disciple is enjoined to “take up his cross” in the sense that the Christian discipline requires the follower to take positions in society which are frequently unpopular and will cause discrimination and persecution.
In the second section of this passage, St. Matthew reminds the faithful of their own obligation to support others in the Christian community, especially the “little ones,” indicating the Apostles, who depend upon the support of the community to continue their work.
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Homily
One of the great life-lessons we all learn is that when we do something in our lives that impacts others, there are consequences. Depending on what we do and with whom, those consequences can be positive or they can be negative. For members of families who interact in a reasonably constant way, these action/reaction exchanges shape our lives. One of things that parents learn early is that, no matter how much they tell their children, no matter how hard they try to convince them of the right and safe things to do, they seem bound to try testing the truth of those rules. Worse than that, it becomes quickly apparent that children, in spite of exhortations to the contrary, will do what they see their parents doing, and behave the way they see their parents behave.
This idea of imitation is at the heart of the theme that runs through the selections of sacred scripture that we have just heard.
From the story of Elisha and the generous and faith-filled woman from Shunem, we are told that the Lord God appreciates and rewards those who follow his law in loving one another. While the Great Commandment of “Love one another” had not yet been uttered by Christ, who would not become incarnate of the Blessed Virgin Mary for centuries, the Shunemite woman recognized Elisha’s God-given mission and provided support in the form of food and lodging.
St. Paul, in his letter to the Romans tells us that the woman’s faithful attitude to the mission of Jesus, who is God, is required of all who have been washed in the bath of Baptism. We are adopted by Christ as children of God’s family. As such we die to our greedy and uncharitable selves in Baptism, as Christ died in his human body on the cross. As reborn children of God we are called to proclaim God’s love and mercy by imitating him, loving all those we meet.
Having been given this adoption and knowing of God’s great love as a consequence (recall the great gift he gave the Shunemite woman, a son to support her in her old age) we know that the Lord will bless us with his inheritance if we follow the faith we have been given. The Gospel gives us a two-fold message. First, the Lord asks us to keep the love of God foremost in our lives. We do this, again, through imitation.
We are asked to develop what I like to call “the Jesus reflex.” That means that we need to develop a keen sense of what the Lord would do in all of the life situations we encounter. So, for instance, when someone insults us, we do not react in anger or with retribution. Rather, as Christ would, we have sympathy for that person, knowing that they have sinned and carry that stain with them. (This is also what the Lord means when he tells his friends in the Gospel: “…whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me. whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me.”)
When we are approached for charity, we do not respond by guarding our affluence jealously; rather, we act as Jesus would, generously, as the Lord has responded to us. And when we are with others, we do not participate in any activity that would be disrespectful of another person’s dignity.
When we wrap this chain of lessons together we see a clear set of instructions that are pretty much summarized by the Great Commandment: Love God first, and love one another as the Lord has loved us. It is a simple matter of imitation (perhaps simple is a rather understated term).
For children who learn from watching their parents, imitation is a large part of their early education. They see their parents eating with silverware and attempt to imitate. They learn to talk through imitation. Their behavior (God help us) is patterned on how they see their parents and siblings interact. So how do we develop the Jesus reflex? How do we learn to imitate Christ? We can’t be physically with him as the twelve were. We can read scripture and learn from the Lord in that way. We can’t talk to Jesus the way the disciples could, sitting at his feet. We can speak with him in prayer. We also have the sacraments, and the Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us: “The Church's first purpose is to be the sacrament of the inner union of people with God.”(CCC 775) We join with God and become one with him in the sacraments by which divine life is dispensed to us.
When we have learned to imitate God and his son, we become the visible sign that the Lord lives in us, and others will know that Jesus is alive in us, his faithful people.
Pax
[1] Catechism links are taken from the Homiletic Directory, Published by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, 29 June 2014
[2] The picture is “Christ Carrying His Cross” by El Greco, 1580’s
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