Who will you receive today? Who will you welcome? How will you love?
Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Reflection on the Gospel Matthew 10:37-42 28 June 2020 Matthew’s account of Jesus’ instructions to his apostles continues this Sunday. Called by name, the twelve are sent out to proclaim the kingdom. Jesus has warned of possible rejection, hatred, persecution, family division and betrayal. One could be forgiven for feeling some trepidation, even reluctance, about being a disciple of Jesus. It is not for the fainthearted. What is Jesus doing? Does he want to scare off (potential) disciples? Despite the dire warnings, it seems not. Instead, Jesus offers encouragement, repeating ‘do not be afraid’ three times (10:26, 28, 31). This is the context in which the striking triple claim in today’s Gospel is situated. Jesus’ focus is less on what disciples are to do and more on how they are to be, on their attitude. Jesus speaks of a wholehearted, single-minded commitment: ‘ Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son