Are we grafted in Christ or in the world? Where can we find peace of soul and how can we fulfil the supernatural end for which we were created?
Gospel for the 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Jesus said to His Apostles: 37 “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; 38 and whoever does not take up his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. 39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. 40 Whoever receives you receives Me, and whoever receives Me receives the One who sent Me. 41 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. 42 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” (Mt 10:37-42).
I – Baptism Grafts Us in Jesus Christ
Material nature is a marvellous reflection of the Creator and brings us surprising and varied lessons. One of them is observed in the horticultural technique of grafting fruit trees with other congeneric species, to improve the quality of fruit or to favour its growth in adverse conditions. By this intriguing process, the two joined plants form one unity, the weaker plant nourishing itself with the sap of the stronger one.
This botanical phenomenon is a didactic image of a much richer reality in the spiritual realm. Indeed, with Baptism we are, as it were, grafted into Jesus Christ and live of His lifeblood, which enables us to bear supernatural fruit beyond our capacity, as Our Lord told the Apostles: “I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide” (Jn 15:16).
Aided by this common image of grafting, we can better grasp the noble principle contained in the Liturgy for the Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time.
II – True Life Only Comes from the Divine Sap
Before proffering the counsels transcribed in the Gospel passage chosen for this Sunday, Our Lord had already laid out much of His doctrine and had performed many miracles proving the veracity of His teaching and His divine origin, awakening wonder in the crowds: “Never was anything like this seen in Israel” (Mt 9:33). It was after this that He sent the Twelve Apostles to preach, granting them the power to cure the sick and expel demons (cf. Mt 10:5-8; Mk 6:7-13; Lk 9:1-2).
Now the Divine Teacher goes on to show how profoundly one must adhere to Him, and some of the practical consequences that flow from this adherence.
Legitimate family love must be centred on Christ
Jesus said to His Apostles: 37 “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; 38 and whoever does not take up his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.
To understand the scope of Jesus’ affirmation, it is helpful to consider it in context. He has just proclaimed that He did not come to bring peace, but a sword, opposition between son and father, daughter and mother, daughter-in-law and mother-in-law, adding that a person’s foes will be those of his own household (cf. Mt 10:34-36). In other words, the world will always be divided in favour of or against Him, even within the same home, as is all too often proven nowadays.
And to emphasize to what degree the love of God should have primacy, the Lord uses the example of family relationships, the object of the most intimate, deeply-rooted and vigorous human affections in that society. Children truly revered their parents; it was highly uncommon for a child to revolt against parental authority. The chastisement imposed on a son bent on rebellion indicates the gravity of this fault: death by stoning (cf. Dt 21:18-21).
How Love of God is harmonized with love of family
Through the wording of this verse, did Our Lord intend to disparage the institution of the family? The suggestion is absurd, given that the Fourth Commandment of the Law of God obliges us to honour father and mother, conferring a religious character on the relationship between children and parents. Nevertheless, it is fitting to recall the categorical order given in the First Commandment: we must love God above all things – therefore, more than our kinsfolk – for everything is from God and should be returned to Him.
Despite the apparent contradiction, both precepts harmonize, when due hierarchy is respected
Despite the apparent contradiction, both precepts harmonize, when due hierarchy is respected, as St. Augustine teaches: “Christ teaches a person to scorn his parents and love his parents, that is, loving them in an ordered and pious manner, not putting them before God. Consider the words of the Lord: ‘Whoever loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me.’ With these words He seems to prompt you not to love them, but pay attention; He exhorts you to love them. He could have said: ‘Whoever loves father or mother is not worthy of Me.’ […] Therefore, He does not proclaim a contrary law, but recommends the former one; He points out the order, without eliminating your devotion to them, by saying: […] ‘Certainly love them, but not more than Me.’ God is God and man is man. Love your parents, respect and honour them, but if God calls you to a higher undertaking, to which your parents may be an impediment, respect order, and do not contravene charity.”1
Our Lord wants the family to be well ordered, He wants it to revolve around higher things. Accordingly, the love of son or daughter for father or mother, and vice versa, must be subordinate to and centred on love for God.
Disordered family affection must be combated
Now, frequently, loved ones are the staunchest opponents to religious vocations, as a famous episode in the life of St. Francis of Assisi illustrates. His father disowned him, rankled with his son’s generous almsgiving. “How many martyrs of the family home!” exclaims St. Peter Julian Eymard. “The sovereign love of Jesus Christ will one day reveal—on the great day—sublime virtues whose only witnesses were those who should have been supporters and not tormentors.”2
On the other hand, hagiography records marvellous examples of parents who distinguished themselves by raising their children in the fear of God, encouraging their commitment to Him, such as Blesseds Louis and Zélie Martin: their five daughters, including St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus, became religious. Another case is St. Monica, who wept for many years for the conversion of her son, St. Augustine, when he was yet a successful professor of rhetoric. By the same token, only children who love God above all things truly love their parents.
The phrase “is not worthy of Me” stands out; it does not only mean that God rejects those who love family members more than Him. It denotes that such a person, not being grafted in Christ, but rather in their family, receives their sap from the latter – in other words: mentality, way of being, outlook on life – and not from Jesus. Thus, God wants our love for Him to be exclusive and even prevail over the noblest and most legitimate affections. In this Gospel passage, He teaches us to willingly and wholeheartedly surrender to Providence, making the resolution to adhere to Him with our whole will. This often gives rise to arduous spiritual combats against disordered attachments. Nothing is negligible in this fight, for just as a spark can ignite a blaze, any excessive affection for something or someone can definitively separate us from God, for it implies preferring a creature to the Creator.
Through the words of this verse, Our Lord especially warns individuals who, despite having a religious vocation, place family esteem before it, as well as parents who prevent their children from following this call: both become unworthy of Christ!
The sovereign love of Jesus Christ will one day reveal sublime virtues whose only witnesses were those who should have been supporters and not tormentors
The Child Jesus in the Temple was the model of this when, to the question of His Virginal Mother – “Son, why have You treated us so? Behold, Your father and I have been looking for You anxiously” (Lk 2:48) – He replied: “How is it that you sought Me? Did you not know that I must be in My Father’s house?” (Lk 2:49). And later, when, during His preaching, He said: “Whoever does the will of God is My brother, and sister, and mother” (Mk 3:35). It goes without saying that Jesus’ love for the Blessed Virgin and St. Joseph was the most perfect possible.
The cross of confronting the opinion of those closest to us
38 “and whoever does not take up his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.”
This was Our Lord’s first allusion, in the synoptic Gospels, to the manner in which He would suffer and die, as well as to the moral suffering that everyone must undergo, which is more fearsome than physical pain. Indeed, what wounded the Divine Redeemer more than the nails that pierced His sacred hands and feet was the knowledge that He had been rejected by the people He came to save.
If we fail to overcome the tendency to blend in with our social circles, the change we make in our life will not be effective. Only those who detach themselves from the world’s opinion can forsake sinful habits – customs, way of being, of thinking and even of speaking – and set out on a new way of life (cf. Acts 5:20), according to the Gospel spirit. Conquering this inner desire for the approval of others, while fighting against our own caprices and shortcomings, means engaging in one of our fiercest struggles. It signifies conquering ourselves, a victory that only comes to those grafted onto the glorious Cross of Christ, the tree of life. As St. Hilary of Poitiers cautions, “those who crucify the body, and with it their vices and concupiscence, belong to Christ (cf. Gal 5:24); and unworthy of Christ are those who do not follow Him after taking up His Cross, through which we suffer, die, are buried and raised up with Him, to live in this mystery of the Faith with a new spirit.”3
Two opposed lives
39 “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.”
Since two distinct lives are being treated of here, that of the body and that of the soul, this conflict presented by Our Lord could somewhat baffle the reader. After addressing the necessity of placing love for Him over family ties, and the duty of subduing the instinct of sociability, if necessary, to take up the cross, Jesus now points out another instinct that has a tight grip on us – the instinct of conservation. The smallest scrape or lesion, a few drops of blood or a minor illness makes us fear the loss of the highly valued gift of health…
St. John Chrysostom points out: “Notice the ineffable wisdom of the Lord. He does not speak to His disciples only of their parents or their children, but of that which is dearest to them – their very lives.”4
With this, the Lord admonishes those whose concern for bodily life exceeds their reverence and love for Him, for they will ultimately lose their life, in the truest sense of the word – their supernatural life, ceasing to be grafted in Him. To be in contact with God and to be His children through the state of grace; this is true life and we should value it more than our physical existence, for to fall into grave sin means to die to eternal life.
The smallest scrape or lesion, a few drops of blood or a minor illness makes us fear the loss of the highly valued gift of health…
In the second reading (Rom 6:3-4, 8-11), St. Paul speaks clearly of this: “Are you unaware that we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? We were indeed buried with Him through Baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might live in newness of life” (Rom 6:3-4). In early Christianity, the Sacrament of Baptism was administered by immersion. Baptismal fonts, which were small pools, had stairs on both sides: the catechumen – with the help of the priest and godfather securing his hands – would descend the steps by one side until reaching the bottom, immerse himself in the water three times, then emerge from the other side to symbolize death to the world and resurrection with Our Lord Jesus Christ. In fact, by Baptism, we die to sin and become grafted onto the divine trunk, drawing a new sap. Therefore, we must “live in newness of life,” participating in God’s nature, and never be so ungrateful as to return to the old spirit of our former life. Only in this way can we “lose our life” to the world and keep it in Christ Jesus.
Grafted in Christ… the apostolate!
40 “Whoever receives you receives Me, and whoever receives Me receives the one who sent Me.”
If we love our Divine Redeemer above all else, we will assimilate His mentality and revolve our lives around the supernatural life, thus preparing ourselves for the apostolate.
Now, those who pick fruit produced by the branch that was grafted, accept the sap of the stronger tree. Analogously, once grafted onto Him, it is not we who will be accepted or rejected when we go to evangelize, but rather Christ, Whose ambassadors we are. The Lord teaches us “that He has the office of a mediator, and since He came from God, when He is received by us, God is transfused into us through Him. Thus, whoever receives the Apostles receives Christ, and whoever receives Christ, receives the Father,”5 as St. Hilary expounds.
To graft oneself to a prophet is also to graft oneself to God
41 “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.”
We find the fulfilment of Jesus’ promise, cited in the above verse, illustrated in this Sunday’s first reading (2 Kgs 4:8-11, 14-16a). A wealthy Shunammite, enchanted by the holiness of Elisha, whom she had welcomed into her home several times, suggested to her husband: “I know that Elisha is a holy man of God. Since he visits us often, let us arrange a little room on the roof and furnish it for him with a bed, table, chair, and lamp, so that when he comes to us he can stay there” (2 Kgs 4:9-10). This woman wanted to do this in order to profit from Elisha’s presence. In other words, she wanted to effect a spiritual graft with the prophet so as to receive his sap, the breath that came from God. In retribution for her devout work, she not only acquired many graces, but also the gift of progeny: the son whom she so desired but had been unable to conceive was promised to her within a year’s time!
When one of these providential men emerges, we should put him in the centre of the home so that his light may illuminate the faithful and make righteousness and piety flourish
What exactly does Our Lord mean by “whoever receives”? Whoever admires! Those who are eager to hear the Word of God and to receive those who transmit it will reap the reward of participating in the divine treasures of which the prophet is the bearer. Likewise, whoever admires a Saint and loves his virtues, will become imbued with his sanctity, for love is transforming. As St. John of the Cross teaches, “love creates a likeness between that which loves and that which is loved.”6 And the greater the affection, the greater the co-identity or similarity will be. This should be humanity’s attitude toward prophets and Saints. When one of these providential men emerges, we should put him in the centre of the home, that is, of society, so that his light may illuminate the faithful and make righteousness and piety flourish.
This can also be applied to evil. When we esteem something evil, part of its wickedness enters us and even subjugates us, according to the warning of the holy Carmelite: “He that loves a creature becomes as low as that creature, and in some ways, lower; for love not only makes the lover equal to the object of his love, but even subjects him to it.”7
42 “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.”
Saying “little ones” here, Jesus is not referring to the young, but to those who humble themselves and forsake all, until they no longer possess anything, out of love for Him. In other words, He refers to His disciples. Any and every gesture of generosity that is offered to them – even a glass of water – will be rewarded by God. This is truer still if we give them the best of ourselves.
III – Complete Union with Christ is Necessary
We have seen that the readings of this Sunday’s Liturgy deal with the integrity with which we ought to love Our Lord Jesus Christ and invite us to be His true slaves. We are already so, on account of being creatures and sinners redeemed by His Blood, but we should also want to be so as loving children who give themselves entirely to Him, in a voluntary, real, and explicit way, impelled by gratitude.
Adhesion to Our Lord results in strife
In this context, we are better able to understand the Divine Teacher’s warning mentioned earlier: “Do not think that I have come to bring peace on earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword” (Mt 10:34). If we belong to the world, we will harmonize within our social circles, and we will be accepted as a matter of course. But the moment we change our conduct and adapt our life to the Law of God, we go from peace to the sword. That comfortable melding with our social surroundings will be ruptured and we will become a rock of scandal, as was the Divine Master (cf. Lk 2:34), because observing moral laws is like a constant “non licet tibi — it is not lawful for you” (Mt 14:4), pricking the consciences of sinners and provoking their anger. For this reason, the good are not tolerated, and are persecuted—frequently by those closest to them.
According to the world’s notion, peace signifies giving free rein to the passions: “Do whatever you want, even if it means sinning. What’s the problem?” This is the false peace of which the prophet speaks: “deceperint populum meum dicentes: Pax, et non est pax – they have misled my people, saying, ‘Peace,’ when there is no peace” (Ez 13:10).
Rather, as St. Augustine teaches,8 true peace is the tranquillity of order. Peace of soul springs from the practice of virtue alone and this presupposes fighting the temptations of the devil, the world and the flesh. A moment does not pass by in which our evil passions do not entice us to sin and to disordered attachments for persons and things.
Accordingly, every person has but two ways set before him: that of living off either the divine sap, or the sap of the world. There is no other option. This is the dilemma of each soul and of history itself. When, at last, humanity resolves to cooperate with God’s grace and to live solely from the divine sap, marvels will result, “as a fruit of the great spiritual resurrections of which peoples are also capable. These are invincible resurrections, for nothing can defeat a virtuous people that truly loves God.”9
Notas
1 ST. AUGUSTINE. Sermo LXXII/A, n.4. In: Obras, vol. X. Madrid: BAC, 1983 p.360.
2 ST. PETER JULIAN EYMARD. La Sainte Eucharistie, vol. II: Fêtes et mystères. Paris: Librarie Eucharistique, 1951, p.204.
3 ST. HILARY OF POITIERS. Commentarius in Evangelium Matthæi, c.X, n.25: ML 9, 977.
4 ST. JOHN CHRYSOSTOM. Homilia XXXV, n.2. In: Obras, vol. I: Homilías sobre el Evangelio de San Mateo (1-45). (Ed.2). Madrid: BAC, 2007, p.703.
5 ST. HILARY OF POITIERS, op. cit., n.27, 977-978.
6 ST. JOHN OF THE CROSS. Subida del Monte Carmelo, L.I, c.4, n.3. In: Vida y Obras. (Ed.5). Madrid: BAC, 1964, p.371.
7 Idem, ibidem.
8 Cf. ST. AUGUSTINE. De Civitate Dei, L.XIX, c.13, n.1. In: Obras, vol. XVI-XVII. Madrid: BAC, 1958, p.1398.
9 CORRÊA DE OLIVEIRA, Plinio. Revolução e Contra-Revolução [Revolution and Counter-Revolution]. (Ed.5). São Paulo: Retornarei, 2002, p.132.
