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From: Matthew 10:34-11:1
Jesus’ Instructions to the Apostles (Continuation)
________________________________________
(Jesus said to His disciples) [34] “Do not think that I have come to bring peace
on earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. [35] For I have come to
set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-
in-law against her mother-in-law; [36] and a man’s foes will be those of his own
household. [37] He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of
Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me; [38]
and he who does not take his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me. [39] He
who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.
[40] He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him
who sent Me. [41] He who receives a prophet because he is a prophet shall re-
ceive a prophet’s reward, and he who receives a righteous man because he is
a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward. [42] 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.”
The Mission of John the Baptist. Jesus’ Reply
________________________________________
[1] And when Jesus had finished instructing His twelve disciples, He went on
from there to teach and preach in their cities.
*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:
34-37. Our Lord has not come to bring a false and earthly peace — the sort of
tranquility the self-seeking person yearns for; He wants us to struggle against
our own passions and against sin and its effects. The sword He equips us with
for this struggle is, in the words of Scripture, “the sword of the Spirit which is
the word of God” (Ephesians 6:17), “lively and active, sharper than any two-
edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow,
and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12).
The word of God in fact leads to these divisions mentioned here. It can lead,
even within families, to those who embrace the faith being regarded as enemies
by relatives who resist the word of truth. This is why our Lord goes on (verse 37)
to say that nothing should come between Him and His disciple—not even father,
mother, son or daughter: any and every obstacle (cf. Matthew 5:29-30) must be
avoided.
Obviously these words of Jesus do not set up any opposition between the first
and fourth commandments (love for God above all things and love for one’s par-
ents): He is simply indicating the order of priorities. We should love God with all
our strength (cf. Matthew 22:37), and make a serious effort to be saints; and we
should also love and respect—in theory and in practice—the parents God has gi-
ven us; they have generously cooperated with the creative power of God in brin-
ging us into the world and there is so much that we owe them. But love for our
parents should not come before love of God; usually there is no reason why
these two loves should clash, but if that should happen, we should be quite clear
in our mind and in heart about what Jesus says here. He has in fact given us an
example to follow on this point: “How is it that you sought Me? Did you not know
that I must be in My Father’s house?” (Luke 2:49) — His reply when, as a youth,
Mary and Joseph found Him in the Temple of Jerusalem after a long search. This
event in our Lord’s life is a guideline for every Christian — parent or child. Children
should learn from it that their affection for their parents should never come before
their love for God, particularly when our Creator asks us to follow Him in a way
which implies special self-giving on our part; parents should take the lesson that
their children belong to God in the first place, and therefore He has a right to do
with them what He wishes, even if this involves sacrifice, even heroic sacrifice.
This teaching of our Lord asks us to be generous and to let God have His way.
In fact, however, God never lets Himself be outdone in generosity. Jesus has
promised a hundredfold gain, even in this life, and later on eternal life (cf. Mat-
thew 19:29), to those who readily respond to His will.
38-39. The teaching contained in the preceding verses is summed up in these
two succinct sentences. Following Christ, doing what He asks, means risking
this present life to gain eternal life.
“People who are constantly concerned with themselves, who act above all for
their own satisfaction, endanger their eternal salvation and cannot avoid being
unhappy even in this life. Only if a person forgets himself and gives himself to
God and to others, in marriage as well as in any other aspect of life, can he be
happy on this earth, with a happiness that is a preparation for, and a foretaste
of, the joy of Heaven” (St. J. Escriva, “Christ Is Passing By”, 24). Clearly,
Christian life is based on self-denial: there is no Christianity without the Cross.
40. To encourage the Apostles and to persuade others to receive them, our
Lord affirms that there is an intimate solidarity, or even a kind of identity, be-
tween Himself and His disciples. God in Christ, Christ in the Apostles: this is
the bridge between Heaven and earth (cf. 1 Corinthians 3:21-23).
41-42. A prophet’s mission is not essentially one of announcing future events;
his main role is that of communicating the word of God (cf. Jeremiah 11:2; Isai-
ah 1:2). The righteous man, the just man, is he who obeys the Law of God and
follows His paths (cf. Genesis 6:9; Isaiah 3:10). Here Jesus tells us that every-
one who humbly listens to and welcomes prophets and righteous men, recogni-
zing God in them, will receive the reward of a prophet and a righteous man. The
very fact of generously receiving God’s friends will gain one the reward that they
obtain. Similarly, if we should see God in the least of His disciples (verse 42),
even if they do not seem very important, they are important, because they are
envoys of God and of His Son. That is why he who gives them a glass of cold
water — an alms, or any small service — will receive a reward, for he has shown
generosity to our Lord Himself (cf. Matthew 25:40).
1. In chapters 11 and 12 the Gospel records the obduracy of the Jewish leaders
toward Jesus, despite hearing His teaching (chapter 5-7) and seeing the miracles
which bear witness to the divine nature of His person and His doctrine (chapters
8 and 9).
*********************************************************************************************
Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.


4 posted on 07/14/2013 8:18:12 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All
Scripture readings taken from the Jerusalem Bible, published and copyright © 1966, 1967 and 1968 by Darton, Longman & Todd

Readings at Mass


First reading

Exodus 1:8-14,22 ©

There came to power in Egypt a new king who knew nothing of Joseph. ‘Look,’ he said to his subjects ‘these people, the sons of Israel, have become so numerous and strong that they are a threat to us. We must be prudent and take steps against their increasing any further, or if war should break out, they might add to the number of our enemies. They might take arms against us and so escape out of the country.’ Accordingly they put slave-drivers over the Israelites to wear them down under heavy loads. In this way they built the store-cities of Pithom and Rameses for Pharaoh. But the more they were crushed, the more they increased and spread, and men came to dread the sons of Israel. The Egyptians forced the sons of Israel into slavery, and made their lives unbearable with hard labour, work with clay and with brick, all kinds of work in the fields; they forced on them every kind of labour.

  Pharaoh then gave his subjects this command: ‘Throw all the boys born to the Hebrews into the river, but let all the girls live.’


Psalm

Psalm 123:1-8 ©

Our help is in the name of the Lord.

‘If the Lord had not been on our side,’

  this is Israel’s song.

‘If the Lord had not been on our side

  when men rose up against us,

then would they have swallowed us alive

  when their anger was kindled.

Our help is in the name of the Lord.

‘Then would the waters have engulfed us,

  the torrent gone over us;

over our head would have swept

  the raging waters.’

Blessed be the Lord who did not give us

  a prey to their teeth!

Our help is in the name of the Lord.

Our life, like a bird, has escaped

  from the snare of the fowler.

Indeed the snare has been broken

  and we have escaped.

Our help is in the name of the Lord,

  who made heaven and earth.

Our help is in the name of the Lord.


Gospel Acclamation

cf.Ac16:14

Alleluia, alleluia!

Open our heart, O Lord,

to accept the words of your Son.

Alleluia!

Or

Mt5:10

Alleluia, alleluia!

Happy those who are persecuted

in the cause of right,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Alleluia!


Gospel

Matthew 10:34-11:1 ©

Jesus instructed the Twelve as follows: ‘Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth: it is not peace I have come to bring, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. A man’s enemies will be those of his own household.

  ‘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. Anyone who does not take his cross and follow in my footsteps is not worthy of me. Anyone who finds his life will lose it; anyone who loses his life for my sake will find it.

  ‘Anyone who welcomes you welcomes me; and those who welcome me welcome the one who sent me.

  ‘Anyone who welcomes a prophet will have a prophet’s reward; and anyone who welcomes a holy man will have a holy man’s reward.

  ‘If anyone gives so much as a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is a disciple, then I tell you solemnly, he will most certainly not lose his reward.’

  When Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples he moved on from there to teach and preach in their towns.

 


5 posted on 07/14/2013 8:24:07 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: Salvation

Thank you so much for including me in the Alleluia Ping. Today’s commentary has given me a new insight into the Finding in the Temple. For Jesus, the Father is before anything else, even his earthly mother and father. And that is the example we are called to follow.


25 posted on 07/15/2013 7:20:31 AM PDT by rwa265
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