A cup of water in the name of Jesus

XIII Sunday A 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.”

Today’s first reading reminds of a time that I stayed at Pat and Jim Murhpy’s. Francis and I were coming from somewhere and I was going to celebrate mass the next day with the Emmaus community. We were arriving quite late and Pat and Jim had gone to bed. But I remember clearly that Pat had left a lamp on the table in the room and a note that we should help ourselves to something from the fridge. Much like the Shunammite woman for the prophet Elisha in the reading from Kings. The importance of kindness, kindness to prophets, to strangers, to those in need and kindness to families. The Gospel today is about the cost of discipleship. It is the end of Jesus’ teaching to the 12, he tells them that he must come first; that they will have to take up the cross, and the rewards for those who treat the disciples with kindness. Jesus’ words would have been shocking to the people of his day. In ancient Israel family would have been everything. The family was very large and quite extended. It consisted of a father and all his children including their married sons and their entire families living in one place. The consequences of leaving one’s family would have been dire, you would lose your home, your employment, your standing, your friends. Family was everything. So is Jesus saying that if you want to be his follower you have to leave behind everything? Yes! And remember that Jesus isn’t talking to a group of religious sisters or young men in the seminary, he is talking to his disciples. We are all disciples of Jesus. But before you get divorced and move out of your house and onto the street I want you to think about your family in a little different way. As I said in Ancient Israel your family would have been everything but… your family wouldn’t have been followers of Jesus. When the disciples made a decision to follow Jesus they would have effectively cut themselves off from their relationship with their family like sometimes what happens when a Catholic family member joins the Jehovah witnesses. Jesus’ words are still quite true, he has to come first, our faith has to be the most important in our life but the good news for us is… we serve Jesus within our families. Most of us are Catholic Christians because we were raised in Catholic Families. Most of us share our faith with our family as well. So for us it isn’t an either or, we don’t have to choose Jesus or our family, it is a both and, we serve Jesus within our families. Today I am celebrating mass with the Emmaus community that is based in Stamford CT. Twenty years ago when I lived in New York City I would join this faith based community once a month to celebrate the Eucharist. They were older couples and most of their children had moved on but they continued as a community of faith. Peg Mooney and Jackie Vacheron had both lost their husbands before I joined the community but I knew them through Peg and Jackie. Their love kept their spouses alive. Most of the other couples were still married and they served God as loving couples, Mary Anne and Bob, Pauline and Chet, Jim and Claire, Regina and Phil, Pat and Jim, Pat and Dean, Ted and Anna Maria, Zofia and Tad, Gerrit and Brenda. They didn’t have to choose Jesus or their families, they choose Jesus with their families. It wasn’t an either or but a both and they loved Jesus by loving one another. Parents love Jesus by loving their children, children by loving their parents. The end of the Gospel tells of the rewards of being a disciple of Jesus. If you give something to someone because they are of Jesus you will receive your reward. Even to given a cup of water to someone. The first part of the gospel talks about loving of family, but I invite you to think about the glass of water as those who aren’t you family which is what happens when we enter into the family of Jesus. Everyone becomes our brother or sister. So that is the second way that we love Jesus, by loving the other. The stranger, the migrant, the person on the street. Today’s Gospel challenges us to reflect on two key ideas. What is the “real cost” of maintaining one's faith in Jesus? And how do we relate to other believers, particularly those who appear unexpectedly in our midst, or those who are in special need? Jesus says that he must come first, we show that he is in fact first in our love for our family and our love for those who are in need.