First Reading: 2 Kings 4:8-11, 14-16a
One day Elisha came to Shunem,
where there was a woman of influence, who urged him to dine with her.
Afterward, whenever he passed by, he used to stop there to dine.
So she said to her husband, “I know that Elisha is a holy man of God.
Since he visits us often, let us arrange a little room on the roof
and furnish it for him with a bed, table, chair, and lamp,
so that when he comes to us he can stay there.”
Sometime later Elisha arrived and stayed in the room overnight.
Later Elisha asked, “Can something be done for her?”
His servant Gehazi answered, “Yes!
She has no son, and her husband is getting on in years.”
Elisha said, “Call her.”
When the woman had been called and stood at the door,
Elisha promised, “This time next year
you will be fondling a baby son.”
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 89:2-3, 16-17, 18-19
R. (2a) For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.
The promises of the LORD I will sing forever,
through all generations my mouth shall proclaim your faithfulness.
For you have said, “My kindness is established forever;”
in heaven you have confirmed your faithfulness.
R. For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.
Blessed the people who know the joyful shout;
in the light of your countenance, O LORD, they walk.
At your name they rejoice all the day,
and through your justice they are exalted.
R. For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.
You are the splendor of their strength,
and by your favor our horn is exalted.
For to the LORD belongs our shield,
and to the Holy One of Israel, our king.
R. For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.
Second Reading: Romans 6:3-4, 8-11
Brothers and sisters:
Are you unaware that we who were baptized into Christ Jesus
were baptized into his death?
We were indeed buried with him through baptism into death,
so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead
by the glory of the Father,
we too might live in newness of life.
If, then, we have died with Christ,
we believe that we shall also live with him.
We know that Christ, raised from the dead, dies no more;
death no longer has power over him.
As to his death, he died to sin once and for all;
as to his life, he lives for God.
Consequently, you too must think of yourselves as dead to sin
and living for God in Christ Jesus.
Alleluia: 1 Peter 2:9
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation;
announce the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel: Matthew 10:37-42
Jesus said to his apostles:
“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 his cross
and follow after me is not worthy of me.
Whoever finds his life will lose it,
and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
“Whoever receives you receives me,
and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.
Whoever receives a prophet because he is a prophet
will receive a prophet’s reward,
and whoever receives a righteous man
because he is a righteous man
will receive a righteous man’s reward.
And whoever gives only a cup of cold water
to one of these little ones to drink
because the little one is a disciple—
amen, I say to you, he will surely not lose his reward.”
Reflection
How much do we put our trust in God? 100%, 50%, as needed, enough, on and off? Putting our total trust in God takes a lifetime to learn, hoping that we can indeed endure until the end. Life throws us curveballs and it is during these moments, or moments which shake our very core that will tell us that we need God more to be with us.
In the First Reading, the Prophet Elisha, a man of God, declares to a humble couple in Shunem which has been kind to him but having difficulty in having a child, that they will have a child a year from his visit. For the childless couple, to accept and believe such a bold prediction, even from a man of God, takes courage and faith. It was a most welcomed prophecy, no doubt, one which creates feverish anticipation for the couple but at the same time, teaches us to put our total trust in God.
In the Second Reading, Saint Paul teaches with the force of doctrine that all who are baptized in Christ are also baptized into His death. This means that we died with Christ so that we can live with Him forever. In other words, if Christ gave away His life to save mankind, we who are His followers have been bought by Christ with His blood and are therefore owned by Him in Covenant relations. We, in turn, are duty bound to die to our self and serve others, just like what our Lord did.
Death may be a natural physical consequence of life, which needs to be accepted and faced upfront. But no one in his right mind and under normal circumstances would willingly and hastily march to his death, if there are chances to prolong life. Why do you think people seek the services of doctors—to get cured, no doubt! Therefore, being Christian means that one must die to self for Christ so that we can live for Christ and be with Him forever. Please note that there is no dying to one’s self in heaven. The “dying” is all done on earth while we’re still alive and it is done for the service of others through Christ. We simply have to trust that in dying to one’s self, we shall be with God forever, and that there is truly life after death.
And in the Gospel, Jesus tells us to seek first communion with Him. Everything else will follow. We must put our trust in God all the time and make Him center of our being. We cannot attend to the concerns of the day if we do not put God first in our lives.
So, for the believers in God, do we trust Him enough and if so, how much do we trust Him? Who is God in our own lives? Is He just some deity looking down on us from a distance or is He real and actively participating in everyday life?
If He’s not God, or someone who cannot be trusted completely, then there is really nothing to hope for and there simply is no sense in what Jesus said: “In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And when I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also” (John 14: 2-3).
First Reading
“This time next year you will be fondling a baby son.” (2 Kings 4:16)
The verse quoted elicits so much theology but prominent among them are these:
First, life is a gift from God. God alone is the author of life. Man and woman are made instruments of procreation as a gift for those who commit to each other in spousal and covenant relations. In other words, a marriage blessed by God should always be intact and let no man cast it asunder. Outside of spousal and covenant relations, the sacredness of procreation is set aside and demeaned. The birth of a child should always be looked upon as a gift or reward for a couple who swears love to each other for life. It must also be seen as proof that God has not given up on us and the world because He is still bringing in more life into the world.
Between a man and a woman, sexual intimacy may just be a satisfaction of urges and appetites. However, taken in the context of marriage and without artificial contraception, it is elevated into an act of worshipping God because it is His will for human life to flourish. Therefore, what is supposed to be an act of worship, if done outside the very intention of it becoming holy, is an act of desecration and mockery of God; in other words, sinful.
Second, God is a Father who fulfills His promise and He never reneges on them. His word is always efficacious and realizes the very intention of the words. When God speaks, it is always for the sake of man and God speaks through His Word, Jesus. Therefore, when He utters His word, it will surely come true, as it is written: “…so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and prosper in the thing for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:11). In fact, God’s plan has already been completed the moment Jesus uttered those life-saving words from the Cross, after sipping the cheap wine from the hyssop branch: “It is finished” (John 19:30). Our Lord’s blood and death on the Cross seals the New and Covenant and the guarantee is no less than His very own life.
Third, the message of hope cuts through the story of Elisha and the couple from Shunem because the birth and coming of a child always signifies hope for mankind and Jesus is our hope for everlasting life. This means that mankind can hope because of Jesus. All these stories of hope in the Bible with prophecies of the coming of a child must point us to the arrival of our only hope for salvation and everlasting life – Jesus, who said that in His Father’s house there are many rooms and that He ascended to the Father to prepare the rooms for those who have hoped in Him.
The Prophet Elisha promised a child to the couple who had been showing him much generosity and care. The story tells us that a couple had a difficulty in having a child. With God’s providence and countenance, the said couple was rewarded with a son because they have shown generosity and care for a messenger of God. At this point, allow us to immediately get into the connection with the Gospel when it says: “Whoever receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward…” (Matt 10:41). The childless couple was rewarded with a bundle of joy – a child, something they have been privileged to bear and have been waiting for throughout their lives. God truly rewards those who love and trust Him until the end: “Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For every one who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened” (Matthew 7: 7-8).
We can certainly draw from the experience of Abraham and Sarah when God promised them a child who shall play a big part in the arrival of the child of promise, Jesus: The LORD said, “I will surely return to you in the spring, and Sarah your wife shall have a son” (Genesis 18:10). Abraham, at an old age and married to a woman who was way beyond menopause, was still dealt with a miracle of fatherhood with Isaac. Because of this, Abraham became ancestor and father-in-faith of Jews, Christians and Muslims. This is proof that God can make anything out of nothing and His will can never be thwarted. God’s will is for all men to be saved and live a life in communion with Him forever.
Second Reading
“We were indeed buried with him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might live in newness of life” (Rom 6:4).
This verse is one of the most significant statements in Pauline theology: that baptism saves us because we are incorporated into the Body of Christ and therefore, we too must die in Christ in order for us to rise into new life with Him. If St. Peter declares that “baptism saves you now” (see 1 Peter 3:21), we really need to put a premium on the importance of baptism in the life of every Christian and follower of Christ. What St. Paul said becomes really significant—that before we live in the newness of life in Christ, we should die with Him first so that we could resurrect with Him on the last day.
Our baptism means that we must die to ourselves and totally surrender our lives to our Savior. He is the only one who can give us new life because He is life personified: “I am the Resurrection and the Life” (John 11:25). If and when we die to ourselves in fulfillment of our baptismal vows, we shall surely be resurrected into new life because God’s words are true.
Dying to ourselves means that we empty ourselves of things and concerns that prevent us from being closer to Jesus; in other words, living the holy life by not sinning because at every temptation, we pray for the Holy Spirit’s guidance. The process is to empty ourselves so that we can free up “our space” for Jesus because He is our life principle and everything that He said and taught must be what a “constitution” is to all democratic countries – an organic law from which all laws emanate from.
Remember, to follow Christ also means to stand on being a Christian in our world which unfortunately chooses to become secular every day, a world which chooses to push God out of the equation. As Christians, we are called to spread the Gospel in this world which is getting hungrier each day because it does not feed on the Word of God.
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; and whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me” (Matt 10:37-38).
Our Lord’s declaration in the quoted verses is shocking and earthshaking but doctrinal, to say the least. On the human plane, Jesus may even sound selfish here because he is telling us that if we really love Him, we should love Him more than our own parents. This seems to make no sense because He was also the one who gave us our parents and told us to love our neighbor like we love ourselves (Mark 12:31). And, there is the New Commandment of: “Love one another as I have loved you” (John 13:34). So why does Jesus give us the instruction to love Him more than we love our own parents?
The simple answer is: Because Jesus is love personified; Jesus is the source of love and true love can only come from Him because He already gave us His very life in the greatest act of love the world has ever witnessed.
In order for us to love and give love, we must first tap from the only source of true love – Jesus. The principle is – we can’t give what we don’t have; in other words, we can’t share Jesus with others if we don’t have Jesus with us.
Jesus is not saying that we should love Him more for His sake or just because He is an egoistic or narcissistic God. He is saying that we should love Him more because it would to our best interest and benefit if we did so.
Admittedly, there are different kinds and levels of love. But the love that conquers all, the love that heals all wounds and the love we truly need more of now is the unconditional type of love (known as “agape” in Greek). Yes, this is the kind of love shown by Jesus on the Cross because He died to payoff sins which were committed against God. He had no sin but it was He who had to pay the price with His life in order for man to be saved. This is a case of injustice dwelt upon a just man in order to save the unjust. If this does not spell unconditional love from our Lord and God towards mankind, we wouldn’t know what true love is.
In Jesus’ words, unconditional love means “carrying your own cross daily.” Otherwise, we can forget calling ourselves His disciples if we don’t learn and practice carrying our crosses daily.
Let
us end this with Jesus’ own words: “Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.”
A blessed Sunday to everyone.
– Gospel reflection by Kuya Rommel Cecilio of SLRP Bible Apostolate Ministry