HOMILY: Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Matthew 10:37-42
2 July 2023
Fr. Ricky Cañet Montañez
Our parish community is very blessed! In San Roque Parish, the spirit of volunteerism is very much alive. Despite this, there is still something I wish for our worshipping community. Do you know what that is? A sense of hospitality that becomes a marked characteristic of our church or parish communities. We do have greeters who meet us with a smile at the parish church entrance to make us feel welcome, but when we sit down, we are oblivious of those seated next to us. The painful truth is we still remain strangers to one another. It is sad because the Eucharist is supposed to be a real experience of encounter with Jesus who invites us to welcome one another as He welcomes us.
Although true Christianity asks us to be ready to help even those we do not know, we must admit that when we know people and understand what they need, it is easier for us to see how we can help them from our own resources of advice, funds, emotional support, referrals, or what have we. In the United States of America, they have a wonderful practice of having regular activities after mass that helps the parishioners mingle and get to know one another. Sometimes, parishioners are assigned prayer groups that meet regularly so they get to know each other better and they are able to support one another through their struggles.
This Sunday’s gospel passage outlines some demands on those who follow Jesus. We are called, by virtue of our baptism to demonstrate our commitment to Jesus by a complete renunciation of everything that gets in the way of following Him. Do we take the message literally so as to ignore and abandon our basic needs and the concerns of our families in the name of discipleship and helping strangers? I don’t think so. It is just saying that if these things ever come in conflict with our living a truly Christian life, we must always choose the path that Jesus would want for us. During the pandemic, there were people who chose to be selfish in the name of self-preservation. Remember the hoarding of toilet paper fiasco in the USA? They hoarded goods for themselves at the expense of others. Now, if we observe your very own child to be unkind to the less fortunate, would we allow him/her to persist in his/her uncharitable ways so we could be the “cool” parent? Of course not. Our relationship and desire to be accepted and revered by our child should not get in the way of our Christian charity. We have to correct what is wrong because that is what Christ would want us to do. Nothing should separate us from God – not people in our lives, not the things we own. He should always come first.
Our commitment to Jesus is not all about radical gestures of discipleship. Our commitment to Jesus also entails being consistent in our faithfulness especially in the trivialities of our everyday activities, being ready to share our gifts and resources with others in the name of Christ. God has blessed each one of us in different ways – some materially, some spiritually, some in terms of friends, some in terms of talent, others in terms of opportunity. The use of these gifts is meant to help us glorify God and to grow in love for Him. Everything we have is not only meant to sustain us but also for us to share and spend in service of others. Consistency is built by regularity even in small things until it eventually develops enough to be applicable even in big matters. If we are tight-fisted when it comes to giving our loose change for a beggar, we will most likely find it difficult to give when it actually hurts our wallet. Those who practice stewardship as a way of life practice charity in all aspects of their life – whether insignificant and trivial to major decisions. They are not allergic to making sacrifices because they subscribe to the idea of “taking up one’s cross to follow Jesus”. (Matthew 10:38) Whoever wishes to follow Jesus must walk the same path of the cross He tread.
In the passage from the Second Book of Kings, the Shunemite woman was rewarded with the gift of a child not so much for her faith in God but for being gracious to the prophet. Such an overly generous payment for a very basic gesture of hospitality, we might say. We have to remember that God promises that wholehearted commitment will be rewarded. I read somewhere: “If we lose our lives in this way, we will really gain them. If we are unselfish in the way we share ourselves with others, we will be enriched through our generosity.” God sees even the good we do in secret and He does not forget our kindnesses. Jesus says: “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.” (Matthew 10:42) I am not going to promise that God immediately rewards us but in one way or another the goodness we give returns to us a hundredfold. God cannot be outdone in generosity and a small charitable act as such, if done for the little ones of His flock will be magnanimously rewarded in His time.
Again, while this may sound quite simple enough, there is a lot more to it in the fast-paced world we live in. It is so easy to refuse the person in need who approaches us because we find ourselves always too busy to care. We feel inconvenienced. When I was in Bukidnon as a youth volunteer among the Higaonons, I remembered that I had so much time that I could always afford to “waste” time with the people I encountered there. These days, I can barely find time to sit down. So, it requires much effort to pay attention to those in need around me and to address their concerns. It is not easy. Let us be honest with ourselves, would we bend over backwards to help a stranger? If after mass, as we go to our respective cars, then we notice that a stranger parked beside us has a flat tire, or his car is overheating… would we readily offer our assistance at an inconvenience to our own schedule or think to ourselves… “I’m in a hurry. He can surely do it by himself.” A priest-friend of mine once said: “How do we spell love these days? T-I-M-E.” Think about it. No matter how busy and tired parents are, they spend quality time with their children, even if it’s just on weekends; lovers make time for each other or else they grow apart; those who love God and wish to spend time with Him, do not count the hours for prayer. Supporters of our BEC and SSDM projects make time to visit the sick, go to jails, prepare care packages for the needy and raise funds for their needs. All of that entails time and effort. It requires much love! To be busy is never really an excuse… the idea is to make the time because it is part and parcel of discipleship.
Jesus never withholds His love and mercy from anyone. As His disciples, we too are called to be ready to give of ourselves to those in need, whether, friend, stranger, or foe. We recall the words of Hebrews 13:2: “Do not neglect hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it.” In the stranger, God visits us. It is only by being truly hospitable that we facilitate a real encounter with others. May we then be welcoming, most ready to open our eyes, our hearts to God’s loving presence among us.
Sunday Gospel Reflections 