HOLY MAN AND PROPHET’S REWARD - 13th Sunday In Ordinary Time-Cycle A

Homily for the 13^th Sunday In Ordinary Time-Cycle A

Based on Mt 10:37-42 (Gospel), 2 K 4:8-11, 14-16 (First Reading) and Rm 6:3-4, 8-11 (Second Reading)

From the Series: “Reflections and Teachings of the Desert”

HOLY MAN AND PROPHET’S REWARD

“Anyone who welcomes a holy man because he is a holy man will have a holy man’s reward” (M 10:41).

The Gospel for this 13^th Sunday In Ordinary Time (Cycle A) is taken from Mt 10:37-42.

Verse 37 says “Anyone who prefers father or mother to me is not worthy of me. Anyone who prefers son or daughter to me is not worthy of me.”

Parallel texts are:

1.       Ex 32:27 - And he said to them, ‘This is the message of Yahweh, the God of Israel, “Gird on your sword, every man of you, and quarter the camp from gate to gate, killing one his brother, another his friend, another his neighbor”’.

2.       Mt 8:22 - But Jesus replied, “Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their dead.”

3.       Lk 14:26-27  - “If a man comes to me without hating^c his father, mother, wife,^d children, brothers, sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple (v. 26).  Anyone who does not carry his cross and come after me  cannot be my disciple (v. 27). Footnote   ^c says “Hebraism. Jesus asks, not for hate, but for total detachment now, cf. 9:57-62.”; and Footnote ^d  says “‘wife’, peculiar to Lk, illustrating his leaning to ascetism, cf. 1 Co 7, So Lk also, 18:29.”

Verse 38 says: Anyone who does not take up his cross and follow in my footsteps is not worthy of me.

Parallel text is Dt 33:9 that says: He says of his father and mother, “I have not seen them”. His brothers he does not know, nor does he know his children. Yes, they have kept your word, they hold firmly to your covenant.

Verse 39 says: Whoever finds his life will lose it; anyone who loses his life for my sake will find it. ⁿ Footnote  ⁿ says “In Mt this dictum is given in a more archaic form than in Mk or Lk: ‘find’ covers the idea of ‘winning’ ‘securing for oneself’, cf. Gn 26:12; Ho 12:9; Pr 3:13; 21:21. See Mt. 16:25.”

Parallel texts are:

1.       Mt 16:24-25 - Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.

2.       Mk 8:34-35 - He called the people and his disciples to him and said, “If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross, and follow me.

3.       Lk 9:23-24 - Then to all he said, ‘If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross every day and follow me (v. 23). For anyone who wants to save his life will lose it; but anyone who loses his life for my sake, that man will save it (v. 24).

4.       Lk 17:33 - Anyone who tries to preserve his life will lose it, and anyone  who loses it will keep it safe.

5.       Jn 12:25 - Anyone who loves his life loses it; and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for the eternal life.

Verses 40 and 41 say: “Anyone who welcomes you welcomes me; and those who welcomes me welcome the one who sent me. ‘Anyone who welcomes a prophet because he is a prophet will have a prophet’s reward; and anyone who welcomes a holy man because he is a holy man will have a holy man’s reward.^o Footnote  ^o says “‘Prophet’ and ‘holy (or ‘righteous’) man’.”

Parallel texts for verse 40 are:

1.       Mt 18:5 - Anyone who welcomes a little child like this^a in my name welcomes me. Footnote ^a says “That is to say, one who through the virtue of simplicity becomes a child again, cf. v. 4.”

2.       Mk 9:37  - ‘Anyone who welcomes one of these little children in my name, welcomes me; and anyone who welcomes me, welcomes not me but the one who sent me’.

3.       Lk 9:48…and said to them, “Anyone  who welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. For the least one among you all is the one who is great.”

4.       Lk 10:16 - Anyone who listens to you listens to me; anyone who rejects you rejects me, and those who reject me reject the one who sent me.

5.       Jn 12:41-45 - Isaiah said this when he saw his glory,ⁿ and his words referred to Jesus (v. 41). And yet there were many who did believe in him, even among the leading men, but they did not admit it, through fear of the Pharisees and fear of being expelled from the synagogue (v. 42): they put honor from men before the honor that comes from God (v. 43). Jesus declared publicly: ‘Whoever believes in me believes not in me but in the one who sent me (v. 44), and whoever sees me, sees the one who sent me (v. 45). Footnote ⁿ  says “‘when he saw’; var. ‘because he saw’. Alluding to Isaiah’s vision in the Temple, Is 6:12-4. Jn interprets it as a prophetic vision of Christ’s glory, cf. 8:56+.”

6.       Jn 13:20 - I tell you most solemnly, whoever welcomes the one I send welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.”

Verse 42 says: If anyone gives so much a cup of cold water to one of these little ones^p because he is a disciple, then, I tell you solemnly, he will most certainly not lose his reward.” Footnote  ^p says “The apostles whom Jesus is sending on their mission, cf. Mk 9:41 and Mt 18:1-6,10,14.”

Parallel texts are:

1.       Pr 11:25 - Your generous soul will prosper, he who waters, will be watered.

2.       Mk 9:41  - ‘If anyone gives you a cup of water to drink just because you belong to Christ, then I tell you solemnly, he will most certainly not lose his reward.

   

The First Reading is taken from 2 K 4:8-11, 14-16.

Verses 8 and 9 say: One day as Elisha was on his way to Shunem. A woman of rank who lived there pressed him to stay and eat there. After this he always broke his journey for a meal when he passed that way. She said to her husband, ‘Look, I am sure the man who is constantly passing our way must be a holy man of God.

Parallel text for verse 8 is 1 K 1:3 that says: Having searched for a beautiful girl throughout the territory of Israel, the found Abishag of Shunem and brought her to the king.

Verses 10 to  15 say: Let us build him a small room on the roof, and put him a bed in it, and a table and chair and lamp; whenever he comes to us he can rest there.’ One day when he came, he retired to the upper room and lay down. ‘What can be done for her then?’ he asked.’ Gehazi answered, ‘Well she has no son and her husband is old’. Elisha said, ‘Call her’. The servant called her and she stood at the door.

Parallel text for verse 8 is Jdt 8:5 that says: She had an upper room built for herself on the roof. She wore sackcloth round her waist and dressed in widow’s weeds.

Verse 16 says: “This time next year’  he said ‘you will hold a son in your arms.” But she said, “No, my lord, do not deceive your servant.

Parallel text is Gn 18:10 that says: Then his guest said, ‘I shall visit you again next year without fail, and your wife will then have a son’. Sarah was listening at the entrance of the tent behind him.

The Second Reading is taken from Rm 6:3-4, 8-11.

Verses 3 and 4 say: Or are you not aware that when we were baptized into Christ Jesus we were baptized into his death? In other words, ^a when we were baptized we went into the tomb with him and joined him in death, ^b so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the Father’s glory, we too might live a new life. Footnote ^a says  “Lit. ‘therefore’; var. ‘for’.”; and Footnote ^b says “Baptism is not separated from faith but goes with it, Ga. 3:6f, Ep. 4:5, Heb. 10:22, cf. Ac. 12f,37, 16:31-33, 18:8, 19:2-5, and gives it outward expression by the operative symbolism of the baptismal ceremonial. For this reason, Paul ascribes to faith and to baptism the same effects (cf. Ga. 2:16-20 and Rm. 6:3-9). The sinner is immersed in water (the etymological meaning of ‘baptize’ is ‘dip’) and thus ‘buried’ with Christ, Col. 2:12, with whom also he emerges to ‘resurrection’, Rm. 8:11+, as a ‘new creature’, 2 Co. 5:17+, a ‘new man’, Ep. 2:15+, a member of the one Body animated by the one Spirit, 1 Co. 12:13, Ep. 4:4f. This resurrection will not be complete or final until the end of time, 1 Co. 15:12+ (but cf. Ep. 2:6), but is already taking place in the form of a new life lived ‘in the Spirit’, vv. 8:11,13, 8:2f, Ga. 5:16-24. The death-resurrection symbolism of baptism is particularly Pauline, but this initial rite of Christian life, Heb. 6:22, is also spoken of in the NT, as a cleansing bath, Ep.5:26, Heb. 10:22, cf. 1 Co. 6:11, Tt. 3:5, a new birth, Jn. 3:5, Tt. 3:5, cf. 1 P. 1:3, cf. Ep. 5:14. On the baptism of water and the baptism of the Spirit, cf. Ac. 1:5+;  these two aspects of the consecration of the Christian are apparently the ‘anointing’ and the seal’ of 2 Co. 1:21f. According to 1 P. 3:21, the ark of Noah is an antetype of baptism.”

Parallel texts for verse 4 that says:

1.       Rm 1:4 - It is about Jesus Christ our Lord who is the order of the spirit, the spirit of holiness that is in him, was proclaimed^c Son of God in all his power through his resurrection from the dead.^d Footnote ^c says “Vulg. ‘predestined’.”; and Footnote^d  “For Paul Christ rose only because God raised him, 1 Th. 1:10; 1 Co. 6:14; 15:15; 2 Co. 4:14; Ga. 1:1; Rm. 4:24; 10:9; Ac. 2:24+; cf. 1 P. 1:21, thus displaying his ‘power’, 2 Cor. 13:4; Rm. 6:4; Ph. 3:10; Col. 2:12; Ep. 1:19f; Heb. 7:16;  and because God raised him to life through the Holy Spirit, Rm. 8:11. Christ is established in glory as Kyrios, Ph 2:9-11+; Ac 2:36; Rm 14:9, deserving anew, this time in virtue of his messianic work, the name he had from eternity, ‘son of God’, Ac 13:33, Heb 1:5; %:5. Cf. Rm 8:11+; 9:5+.”

2.       Ex 24:16…and the glory of Yahweh^f settled on the mountain of Sinai, for six days the cloud covered it, and on the seventh day Yahweh called to Moses from inside the cloud. Footnote  ^f  says “In the Priestly tradition, cf. 13:22+, the ‘glory of Yahweh’ is the manifestation of God’s presence. This ‘glory’ is a fire clearly distinguished (here and in 40:34-35) from the cloud that accompanied and surrounds it. The fire and the cloud are images borrowed from the great theophanies with a thunderstorm for their setting, 19:16+, but they have a more profound significance: the brilliant light (which needs no storm for appearance  33:22, and which  later leaves is glow on face of Moses, 34:29) stands for God’s unapproachable majesty. It fills the newly erected tabernacle, 40:34-35, and will fill the Temple of Solomon, 1 K 8:10-11, On the eve of the destruction of Jerusalem Ezekiel saw the glory leaving the city, Ezk 9:3; 10:4,18-19, 11:22-23; later he sees it returning to the new Temple, Ezk 43:1f; for Ezekiel the ‘glory’ assumes a shining, human form, Ezk. 1:26-28. In other texts, and particularly in the Psalms, the glory of Yahweh simply expresses God’s majesty and the honor due to him, often with eschatological overtones; or else it indicates God’s miraculous power, Ex. 15:7, cf. the ‘glory’ of Jesus, Jn 2:11; 11:;40.”

Verses 8 to 11 say: But^d we believe that having died with Christ we shall return to life with him. Christ, as we know, having been raised from the dead will never die again. Death has no power over him anymore. When he died, he died, once and for all, to sin,^e so his life now is life with God. And in that way, you too must  consider yourselves to be dead to sin but alive for God in Christ Jesus.^f Footnote  ^d  says “Var. ‘For’.”; Footnote  ^e  says “Christ was sinless, 2 Cor. 5:21, but having a physical body like our own, Rm. 8:3, he belonged to the order of sin; when he became ‘spiritual’, 1 Co. 15:45-46, he belonged only to the divine order. Similarly, though the Christian remains in the flesh for a time, he already lives in the spirit.”; and  Footnote ^f says “Text. Rec and Vulg. ‘Christ Jesus our Lord’.”

Parallel texts for verse 8 are:

1.       Ac 13:34 - The fact that God raised him from the dead, never to return to corruption, is no more that what he had declared: To you I shall give the sure and holy things promised to David^x. Footnote ^x says “The quotation from Is introduces the reference to Ps 16 (the ‘holy things promised to –lit. ‘of’-David’ are explained as the assurance to David in Ps 16 that ‘the holy one of God’ would not experience corruption).”

2.       1 Co 15:26 - And the last of the enemies to  be destroyed is death, for everything is to be put under his feet.

3.       2 Tm 1:10 - but it has only been revealed by the Appearing^c of our savior Christ Jesus. He abolished death, and he has proclaimed life and immortality to light through the Good News…Footnote ^c says The ‘Appearing’ (‘epiphany’), cf. 1 Tm 6:14+, here refers to the incarnation and redemption.’’

4.       Heb 2:14 - Since all the children share the same blood and flesh, he too shared equally in it, so that by his death he could take away all the power of the devil, ^h who had power over death. Footnote  ^h – says “Sin and death are related because both derive from Satan whose reign is the opposite of the reign of Christ.”

5.       Rv 1:18 - I am the Living One.^o I was dead and now I am to live forever and ever and I hold the keys to death and the underworld.^p Footnote  ^o says “The one who has life ‘in himself’, cf. Jn 5:21,26.”: and Footnote  ^p says “Lit. ‘death and Hades’. Hades was the place of the dead, the Gk word corresponding to the sheol of the OT.,cf. Nb 16:33+. Christ has the power to release souls from Hades, Jn 5:26-28.