Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint 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.”
Be worthy of God
1. “More than…” Jesus asks you to make a choice, to choose Him. He refers to what you have to give up, to learn not to be so narcissistic and not to become so full of everything that’s around you. “Everything is allowed but not everything is good for you.” That’s when your heart has to work on renunciation. At the beginning you see it as a loss, but in the course of time you understand that you’ve won because Jesus has invited you to walk with Him. But that demands a conscious choice.
2. The cross. It’s the price of love, it’s what allows us to climb up toward Jesus. The cross brings burden and weight as in the circumstances that life presents to you. Life isn’t easy for anyone, but it’s important to recognize that our walk needs relief and consolation. It’s Jesus who now becomes the Cyrenian in your life, the one who assists you with your cross, like Simon of Cyrenne helped Jesus in his Passion.
3. Dignity. When you make a life choice, and you are sure of that choice and you are convinced that it’s worth it, then you’ll know how to grow in the dignity that God has given you as a true “child of God”. So don’t give up, strive to achieve what you’ve chosen. If you’ve really thought about it and prayed on it, there will peace in your heart. Be strong and courageous to leave aside what doesn’t lead you to God having the certainty that the choice you’ve made will give you dignity and peace.
God bless you and be with you in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Don’t forget that something good is on the way.
