LEAVE FATHER AND MOTHER 

July 12, Monday

FIFTEENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

      In year I, the first readings of the weekdays of the 15^th  to Friday of the 17th WEEK IN Ordinary Time are taken from the Book of Exodus. They are of capital importance for the religious history of humanity and of God’s adventure with his chosen people. Terms like slavery and oppression in the religious sense, Passover, Passover Lamb, salvation through water, covenant, the making of a people and nation, the Promised Land, the Law and the Ten Commandments, are themes fundamental for Christianity too. The first reading in Year I shows us the slavery and oppression of the Hebrews, the core of the People of God, in Egypt.

      Christ could bring us life and grace because he suffered for us. He could rise because he was crucified and died on a cross. No easy life is promised to his disciples. Suffering, the cross are their share too. In God’s plan, this is the way to life. It’s not too comfortable, but these are God’s terms.

 

First Reading: Exodus 1:8-14,22

A new king came to power in Egypt who didn’t know Joseph. He spoke to his people in alarm, “There are way too many of these Israelites for us to handle. We’ve got to do something: Let’s devise a plan to contain them, lest if there’s a war they should join our enemies, or just walk off and leave us.”

So they organized them into work-gangs and put them to hard labour under gang-foremen. They built the storage cities Pithom and Rameses for Pharaoh. But the harder the Egyptians worked them the more children the Israelites had—children everywhere! The Egyptians got so they couldn’t stand the Israelites and treated them worse than ever, crushing them with slave labour. They made them miserable with hard labour—making bricks and mortar and back-breaking work in the fields. They piled on the work, crushing them under the cruel workload.

So Pharaoh issued a general order to all his people: “Every boy that is born, drown him in the Nile. But let the girls live.”

 

Gospel: Matthew 10:34–11:1

“Don’t think I’ve come to make life cosy. I’ve come to cut—make a sharp knife-cut between son and father, daughter and mother, bride and mother-in-law—cut through these cosy domestic arrangements and free you for God. Well-meaning family members can be your worst enemies. If you prefer father or mother over me, you don’t deserve me. If you prefer son or daughter over me, you don’t deserve me.

“If you don’t go all the way with me, through thick and thin, you don’t deserve me. If your first concern is to look after yourself, you’ll never find yourself. But if you forget about yourself and look to me, you’ll find both yourself and me.

“We are intimately linked in this harvest work. Anyone who accepts what you do, accepts me, the One who sent you. Anyone who accepts what I do accepts my Father, who sent me. Accepting a messenger of God is as good as being God’s messenger. Accepting someone’s help is as good as giving someone help. This is a large work I’ve called you into, but don’t be overwhelmed by it. It’s best to start small. Give a cool cup of water to someone who is thirsty, for instance. The smallest act of giving or receiving makes you a true apprentice. You won’t lose out on a thing.”

When Jesus finished placing this charge before his twelve disciples, he went on to teach and preach in their villages.

 

Prayer

Lord our God,
we have accepted your invitation
to follow your Son Jesus as his disciples.
Let your Spirit give us the wisdom and strength
to take our faith seriously
and to accept our task in life with all its consequences.
Let your Spirit help us to follow your Son
without fear or discouragement,
for we are certain that Jesus will lead us to you,
our loving God, for ever and ever. Amen.

 

Reflection:

Worthy of Jesus

Faith in Jesus is never easy. Faith could be a battle on two levels. First, the battle within ourselves – because, our faith would demand us to do away with our selfishness. Desires for wealth, power and pleasures do not get along with our faith in God. Thus our faith in God is a constant battle within ourselves. The second level of the battle is against the situations and people who try to obstruct our life in faith. Our work places or work schedule may not be suitable for us to practice faith and in certain cases the society or the people in authority could prevent us from practicing faith. And the battle could be tough if the opposition comes from within our own home.

In today’s Gospel Jesus warns us of this conflict. It may happen within our family, our dearest environment, misunderstanding or rejection arises because of our faith in Jesus. Today, the temptation for many in the families is not to mention about matters of faith in order to maintain peace in the family. Ironically, this absence of faith in God has become the major reason for lack peace and happiness in our modern families, although we seldom realise it. Perhaps this was a problem that the early Christian community faced and Matthew wanted to address this issue.

Through the categorical teaching of Jesus, Matthew brings home the most important message for today’s world: faith in God cannot be compromised.: He who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; He who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me … Of course, Jesus loved his family, He lived in a family till he began his public ministry – with his parents, his dear and near ones. Faith should be lived as a family. But if the family-ties prevents one from believing in Jesus, the option is clear: God first. Remember the story of the mother and brothers of Jesus going to meet him at the beginning of his public ministry?

The message of Jesus is nothing light nor anything abstract. It cuts right into our family lives. How many youngsters today care the least for their faith in God, while choosing their life partners? How many Catholic parents take their kids to swimming lessons or music classes on Sundays and ignore their own life in faith and their responsibility to bring up their kids in faith? And how many Catholic couples consider it normal to terminate a pregnancy when a child is considered inconvenient?

When confronted with such challenges in life and faith, do not be discouraged, but fall back to Jesus to help us make the right choices and take the right decisions.

 

Video available on Youtube : Worthy of Jesus