Fifteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (A)

 

Fifteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (A) [Mt 13:1-23]

12.07.2026

The Parable of the Sower

Readings: (1) Is 55:10-11 (2) Rom 8:18-23

1.    Theme in brief:

Faithfulness in spite of doubts and failures

2.    Focus Statement:  

(1) In spite of poor response and discouragement, we should not lose heart and be faithful to the task of sowing the seeds of God’s Word. OR (2) Reception and response to the Word of God depends on the type of soil.

3.    Explanation of the text

In the strict sense, a parable is a fictitious story or illustration to explain one single truth; the details in it have no separate meaning. Jesus uses parables to explain the various characteristics of God’s Kingdom. But sometimes the evangelists understand and apply the parables to their missionary situations as allegories; that is, each detail or point in them is given a separate (inner) meaning. The Parable of the Sower in today’s gospel text is one of the parables which is allegorized. Hence, it could be understood in both ways: in original sense (13:3-9) and in allegorized sense (13:18-23).

First, let us consider the Parable of the Sower in the strictly original sense, that is, according to its single spiritual truth (13:3-9). Originally, this parable must have been given by Jesus to instil encouragement and hope in the disciples in the face of failures and discouragement. The reason was most of the Jewish leaders and the elite of Jewish society were totally rejecting Jesus and his message. Hence, the disciples had a doubt whether Jesus’ great project about God’s Kingdom would succeed at all. In answer to this doubt, Jesus told this Parable of the Sower to instil hope in them. He wanted to drive home this message: they should not be discouraged or disappointed even if most of the ‘seeds’ sown by them go wasted or fail to germinate. The seeds refer to the Word of God regarding the Kingdom of God that is sown in people’s heart (13:18). These ‘seeds’ sown by them will not get universal acceptance, especially in the initial stage. In spite of initial failures, they should be faithful to their duty of ‘sowing’ with full hope in God who alone will bring about enormous results in his own time. In other words, In spite of apparent failure, God’s Kingdom will eventually succeed, if the disciples are faithful to their task of sowing seeds of God’s Word – if not a hundredfold, at least sixty and thirty (13:8).

In the second part we get an allegorized version of this parable (13:18-23). It focuses on reception of the ‘seed’ by various kinds of ‘soil.’ It explains the hidden meaning of this parable point by point and applies it to life-situation of the hearers (13:18-23), or their varying responses to "the word of the kingdom" (13:19). Though it is not mentioned directly, it is clear that the sower is Jesus himself who sows the seeds of the Word (of God’s Kingdom, 13:19). The soil or the ground is human heart or the receivers and hearers of the word. The parable contrasts first three types of wasted seeds or fruitless ground with the fourth fruitful one, and explains the reasons why most of the seeds go wasted. The seeds go wasted precisely because they fall on bad or unfit soil, namely footpath, rocky and thorny ground. Therefore, reception and response to the Word of God depends on the type of soil. Here are the different types of receivers who are compared to four types of soil or ground:

(1)  Footpaths are those who do not understand the deeper implications of the Word because of which the evil one is able to snatch away easily what is sown in their hearts (13:19).

(2)  Rocky grounds are those who have no roots because of their superficial faith. Their initial enthusiasm withers away (13:6) and they do not endure when trouble and persecution comes (13:20-21).

(3)  Thorny grounds those who allow the Word to get chocked due to worldly cares and the lure of wealth (13:22).

(4)  Good soil refers to those who are free from all these three obstacles. They take the Word seriously and live by it. They are the ones who bear abundant fruits (13:23). It is clear that the good soil stands for receivers with proper dispositions; and bad soil refers to hearers with improper dispositions.

4.    Application to life                       

Taken in its strict sense, this Parable of the Sower applies to all the sowers – teachers and preachers – of the Word of God. Preaching of the Word, imparting faith to others and inculcating values of God’s Kingdom are like sowing seeds into people’s hearts. There they sprout, grow and yield fruits. As parents, teachers, leaders (religious and civil society’s), guides, pastors, administrators and animators, we are like sowers who sow the seeds of God’s Word or seeds (values) of God’s Kingdom. We also sow seeds of faith in God, good conduct, human and spiritual values, order and discipline in the hearts of those whom we care. But the hearers or receivers – our children, students, subjects, parishioners, co-workers, audience, etc. – are like various types of soil. Most of our words, advice, guidance and directions may go wasted or unheeded. Very little of it may be obeyed or followed up by very few. Nowadays we hear most often parents/ teachers/ superiors complaining about the disobedience of children/ students/ subjects which creates a lot of frustration and discouragement in them. When asked about the reasons for such behaviour, parents mostly cite children’s pride derived from better/higher education, or the bad influence of TV, ‘filmy culture’, mobile phones, computer, video games, internet and bad companions.

Though this is true to a great extent, there are far deeper reasons of which many of the ‘sowers’ may not be aware: (1) What they preach/teach may not be matching with their personal example, due to which children/ students/ subjects do not respect their word and disobey them. Respect to authority is essential for obedience. For example, if children often hear their parents telling them not to fight among themselves but see their mummy and daddy fighting with each other regularly, or hear their teachers telling them not to smoke or drink but see them doing the same things, they lose respect towards them. This loss of respect for their authority results in disobedience. (2) Parents/ teachers/ superiors and those in positions of authority may be regularly criticizing, blaming, condemning and lowering the image of their higher superiors in workplaces or in the Church in front of children/ students. This may create in children disrespect (disobedience) towards any authority by saying or thinking like this: “After all, we know what type of persons these authorities are!” In this situation, today’s parable tells all the above-mentioned ‘sowers’ to make a decision of the mind to practice what they preach, at least to some extent. As they too are weak mortals, whenever they fail to do so (especially when their failure is known to children, students, etc.), if they can cultivate the habit of expressing regrets for their bad example, they will be respected. Instead of going through this humble exercise, many of them yield to the temptation of giving up any advice or correction to anybody out of frustration. Then they go on repeating the same ‘litany’: “Nowadays nobody listens….”

Second type of discouragement comes from repeated failures – failure to succeed in spite of our hard efforts; to get immediate and expected answer to our continual prayers; to reform those who have gone astray or gone wayward; to change people of bad character or disobedient/rebellious behaviour; to get a decent job; to overcome our bad habits; etc. Sometimes all our efforts seem to be useless. When we look at the record of our own spiritual life we wonder how much progress we really have made over the years. When I give homilies during the Holy Mass, I wonder whether it is worth the trouble, since hardly anybody (including myself) changes. A question arises in my mind, why to preach at all and why to take the trouble of writing and publishing these “Gospel Reflections for Life-Promotion.” A thought comes in my mind: What or whose life am I promoting? There is a similar doubt in the minds of many parents whether the trouble they take to bring up their children in the best way possible is worth, since they are not sure whether their children will repay their love in any way.

Failures and disappointments in life may even create doubts in our minds whether there is an Almighty God who rules. The message of today’s parable tells us that there is no quick-fix solution for many problems of life. Change and reform is not like instant coffee or fast food. When we become pessimistic after facing failures after failures, the Lord tells us: “Instead of crying, ‘What wrong have I done to get this,’ be patient and trust in me. Do not give up. Be faithful to your work of ‘sowing’ in season and out of season and leave the result in my hands. I am the Master of your destiny and understand your problems more than you do.” What is our response to God’s assurance?

Further, this parable tells us that we should not lose heart and give up hope at the lack of response to God’s Word or to our efforts to work for his Kingdom. We have to be faithful to our duties and responsibilities and go on doing our good work in spite of indifference, lack of response and rejection from those who are under our care and lack of support from them for our innovative ideas or initiatives. We have to leave the fruit in God’s hands because it is he who brings about his Kingdom. As Mother Teresa used to say, we should always think that we are called by the Lord to be faithful to our tasks and not always to be successful. We need to regret for the times we gave up our efforts and good works at the lack of instant or immediate result – a sign of our faithlessness.

Alternately, the allegorized version of this parable (as explained above) speaks about the fate of the seed in different types of ground or soil. It teaches us that response to God’s Word or to his Kingdom varies according to the type of soil. Footpath refers to those who allow the evil one (devil), bad companions, bad effects of the mass media, to snatch away the values of God’s Kingdom sown in human hearts. Rocky ground refers to those disciples who do not endure as disciples. The reason for their stumbling is the lack of deep roots or depth of faith in them that makes them too weak to resist trouble and persecution on account of God’s Word. When the values of God’s Kingdom conflict with the dominant values of the world or the prevailing culture, they fall away. For example, when God’s justice conflicts with world’s unjust structures and exploitative tactics, they choose the safest and more comfortable ways of the world. Thorny ground refers to those who allow the Word to be chocked by the cares of the world and the lure of wealth. The former refers to our tendency to allow anxiety to drive us instead of God, and the latter our attempt to look for total security in money or wealth by permitting it to rule over our hearts without any reference to God or his providential care. St. Paul warns us that “the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains” (1 Tim 6:10).

Good soil refers to those who fight the devil, are willing to face troubles and persecutions for God’s Kingdom, and are not driven by money or wealth but by God. They hear, understand and obey the Word of God. They bear fruits that prove that they are committed disciples and faithful servants or stewards of God’s Kingdom. There is a clear indication in this parable that initial enthusiasm and joyful reception of God’s Word need not necessarily be a sign of true and committed discipleship. The question is whether a disciple is able to win over the tests of faith or temptations to dilute one’s commitment. True discipleship is measured by perseverance till the end.

As sowers of the seeds of the Kingdom-values, this parable asks us: “Do we carefully prepare the ground or soil in the hearts of receivers of the ‘seeds’, so that they may sprout, grow and yield plentiful harvest?” As receivers or hearers, this parable invites us to examine whether we, like the footpath (wayside), allow the evil power/ bad companions/ secular values to take away the Kingdom-values sown in our hearts; whether, like the rocky ground, our faith is superficial or lacks real depth; whether we, like the thorny ground, allow worldly cares (like taking our work, business and wealth as if these were our gods) to choke those values; or whether we, like the good soil, receive God’s Word with total disposition and live by it.

5.    Response to God's Word

Do we take our responsibility of sowing the seeds of God’s values into the hearts of children and those who are under our care? How often have we given up our efforts and good initiatives because there was no immediate result? As sowers of good values, does what we preach and teach match with what we practice? What kind of soil are we? Is it not true that something of all the four types of soil is found in us, and we need to struggle everyday to increase the percentage of the fourth type – the good soil?

6.    A prayer

Grant, O Lord, that I may place unshakable hope in you when I face doubts and failures. Keep me faithful to my duties and responsibilities without looking for instant success. Amen.

Fourteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (A)

 

Fourteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (A) [Mt 11:25-30]

05.07.2026

Jesus Thanks His Father and Promises Rest for our Souls

Readings: (1) Zech 9:9-10 (2) Rom 8:9.11-13

1.    Theme in brief:

God’s revelation to the little ones and Jesus’ invitation to the burdened

2.    Focus Statement:   

God reveals his mysteries not to the wise and the intelligent, but to the humble and the little ones; through his Son (Jesus) he promises to give rest to those who are restless and are laden with heavy burdens.

3.    Explanation of the text

In today’s gospel Jesus thanks the Father, the Lord of heaven and earth, for revealing his gracious will not to “the wise and the intelligent” but to the “infants” (11:25-26). The "wise and intelligent" may refer to those who reject him and his message. Perhaps it refers in particular to the scribes and Pharisees whom Jesus often accuses of hypocrisy. They take pride in their knowledge of the Law of Moses but “neglect justice, mercy, and faith” (Mt 23:23).

The "infants," on the contrary are those whom the world does not consider wise and prominent. Figuratively, they refer to all the little ones or those who are powerless and helpless, humble and lowly. It is God's gracious will to act in ways that confound human wisdom (11:26), and so these "infants" see what the "wise" cannot – that Jesus is sent by the Father and reveals him (11:27). These little ones are the people to whom the Father chooses to make known his will. In other words, in his prayer to the Father, Jesus contrasts the wise and the intelligent – those who are too proud and arrogant in their knowledge, with the infants – those who are childlike and are open to God’s truth. Jesus has a ‘soft corner’ for this kind of ‘infants’ (11:25), and it is his Father’s gracious will that his Son should show more concern for this category of people (11:26).

We can understand this passage in another way: If we have to enter into the mystery of God’s love for us and be open to his grace, we should have the attitude of ‘infants’ or children (11:25). Only those who are conscious of their littleness and are totally dependent on God (like infants) can advance in their knowledge of the mysteries of God. In other words, if the wise and the intelligent have to grow in the knowledge of God, they too should become like children – humble enough to learn, open and frank, trusting and depending on God.

Jesus alone can reveal exactly what God is like and who are the people of his special favour and concern because of his intimacy or close communion (that is, ‘knowledge’ in biblical sense) with the Father (11:27). Due to this, he has revealed to us the image of an infinitely and boundlessly loving God. Through Jesus we come to know that God chooses the little ones to reveal his will and not those wise ones – the scribes and Pharisees – who think that they know everything. The wise and the powerful fail to recognize that God favours the humble and the lowly.

Therefore, in today’s gospel, Jesus invites not the powerful or the wise to follow him, but the humble who are laden with heavy burdens and the weary (11:28) to come to him, learn from him and experience inner rest (11:29). When he refers to burdens, he has in mind the burden of religious obligations imposed by the scribes and Pharisees in his days (11:28). In another place also in Matthew’s gospel, he speaks about the heavy burdens (that is, multiplication of rules and regulations) laid by the scribes and Pharisees on the shoulders of ordinary people which are too hard to bear (Mt 23:4). Taking up his yoke (11:29) refers to the heavy wooden harness that is fitted over the shoulders of an ox or oxen to enable them to plough through. In the present context, the yoke refers to the burden of the Law of Moses (including its detailed rules) imposed by the religious leaders who demand a servile obedience to it (11:29).

The yoke of Christ becomes easy and his burden light (11:30) because of his promise to deliver people from the burdens of multiplicity of religious laws by reducing them to the one new law or commandment of love. His yoke is easy because following him does not mean observing a law, but following a person who is “meek (gentle) and humble of heart” (11:29) and ready to share our burdens. The rest for our souls promised by him (11:29) could also refer to the gift of salvation, which is far superior to the rest of Sabbath day prescribed in the Mosaic Law. He invites all those who feel that they are burdened with sins, and are in need of salvation, to come to him and find freedom from the burden of sin, internal joy and peace. His invitation to learn from him refers to his invitation to become his disciples, since it is they who learn from the master.  All disciples have to learn or imitate his gentleness and humility to the point of death on a cross (Phil 2:8).

4.    Application to life                     

From Jesus’ prayer to his Father in the first part of today’s gospel, we understand that the Father chooses to make known his will to those who are childlike, are open to his truth and are totally dependent on him. In human society we observe that children depend on people (especially their parents and elders) on things, such as land, property, money and social status.  But in spite of the security provided by these things, we live in an atmosphere of anxiety, stress, fear, insecurity and despair. There are people who carry heavy burdens – burdens of serious sins, guilt generated by past wrongdoings, personal weaknesses or defects of character, bad habits, unforgiving attitudes, bitterness, emotional wounds, doubts of faith, tensions, struggles, anxieties, loneliness and responsibilities of life or work, etc. We have to carry the burdens of our families and work. Sometimes we find even our religious obligations and spiritual duties a burden. For some people life itself becomes a burden. These burdens do cause restlessness and stress in us. It is only by becoming childlike or imitating the children’s qualities of openness and dependence (on God) as well as the gentleness (meekness) and humility of Jesus can we experience inner peace and quietness. 

In spite of all our higher education, qualification, immense knowledge and intellectual calibre, we are fragile human beings and are constantly in need of God’s grace. The more we humble ourselves and accept our limitations, the more we become attuned to so many signs of God’s love even in small things or events. We need to learn this type of humility and gentleness from Jesus. We also need his humility to accept what God reveals to us in good times and bad times. His love lies hidden in whatever happens to us. Thus, as disciples, we are perpetual learners of God’s love from our Master. We learn that as God’s love has no boundaries, so our service and concern should be; as God’s love has no conditions, so we should do good even to those who have done harm to us. The unconditional love of Jesus for those who are burdened with sins and other problems of life as well as those who are weary of life leads him to extend a warm invitation to come to him and learn from him, that is, to imitate his meekness and humility of heart. He invites us to surrender all our burdens before him in humble obedience to God’s will, and experience the peace and inner joy.

In this context, it is worthwhile to mention Archbishop Fulton Sheen’s thoughts on humility or meekness. According to him, the world thinks that meekness is weakness. It wants that we should be aggressive enough to return tit for tat for offences caused to us. Far from being weakness, meekness is the inner strength (spiritual force) that enables us to control aggressiveness and violent nature in each one of us. Without this controlling force, the animal nature in us will come out with full vigour. A meek person is not the one who never fights or reacts. Such a person decides to fight only when a moral principal or a spiritual value is trampled upon, and not when his/her ego is attacked.

The anger of the meek person is directed against injustice and other forms of oppression/ exploitation/ corruption. This type of anger is called justified anger, like the one Jesus showed towards traders and money-changers in the temple of Jerusalem when they were exploiting the people’s religious sentiments by charging higher price for the sheep and doves to be offered for sacrifice (and by giving a lower rate of exchange for foreign coins) in order to make higher profit (Jn 2:13-16). Further, Archbishop Fulton Sheen instructs that humility is not an underestimation of our talents, gifts and qualification, nor is it their exaggeration. If a person who holds a Ph.D. says that he/she is a matriculate, it is not humility at all, but dishonesty. Humility is the recognition of gifts as gifts, faults as faults. Do we have the habit of saying: “I was mistaken” or “I was wrong?”

Pride takes several forms. One of them is called intellectual pride. Though intellectual pursuit and higher education in secular sciences as well as in theology is a great need, those who undergo such training should be on their guard to avoid arrogance. If intellectual pride sets in, we can become unteachable and begin to think we know everything or have heard it before. God does not reveal himself or his loving plans to those who think they know everything and have answers for all problems of life. When we put on this type attitude we forget that only God holds the key to all problems and there is so much to learn from even simple and ordinary people.

Sometimes I am put to shame by the patience of uneducated workers who work in our institutions. When I become restless and impatient at the lack of instant results, they say: “Don’t worry; soon it will be alright.” In order to be worthy to receive God’s revelation, Jesus invites the wise and the intelligent among us to resist pride and become childlike – humble and lowly, open to God and trust in him more our degrees; to trust in his power more than human power. We learn from our Master throughout our life how to take the form of a slave in spite of being equal to God (Phil 2:6-7); how to stoop down and wash the feet of one another like a servant (Jn 13:14); how to use anger for a justified cause and not for protecting our ego; and how to forgive those who challenge us to come down from our crosses.

In modern times we are increasingly becoming fearful, tense, angry, bitter, revengeful, anxious, disappointed, lonely, rejected and restless. All these negative factors have a strong negative effect on our physical, emotional and spiritual health. We need to acknowledge that the root cause of all our heart-problems is our failure to imitate the humble and meek qualities of Jesus. The rest that Jesus promises is not freedom from all troubles but a healing touch and peace with God. This takes place when we learn to place all our burdens before him in faith and make a deep act of surrender. Whenever we find it too difficult to carry our burdens, we must approach Jesus in prayer and say repeatedly: “I humbly accept before you my Lord and God that I am a helpless person. My life has become unmanageable with this entire burden. I am totally dependent on your power and grace for deliverance from this burden. I surrender myself to your power. I place myself into your loving and caring hands. Lead me where you want; do what you want with me.” This sort of surrender can change meaninglessness, restlessness and boredom of life into meaningfulness and inner quietness – the rest for our souls as promised by Christ.

As we saw in the explanation above, another meaning of “rest” is salvation. Since those who are weary of carrying heavy burdens are in need of salvation and freedom, they can experience it in him and through him. If we do anything out of love, even the heaviest burdens can become light. In other words, a genuine love can make even the heaviest burdens light. Lack of love can cause restlessness in our hearts. Christ’s invitation for us is to imitate his humility and compassionate love, that is, to become a humble servant and love as he loved us. It is up to each one of us to accept or reject this invitation. If we accept it, we find liberation and salvation from our selfishness and interior rest (that is, peace) in spite of occasional feelings of restlessness.

5.    Response to God's Word

Do we allow anxiety, stress, fear, insecurity and despair take control of us instead of allowing God to take control of our lives with the humility of a child? What are the heavy burdens that we carry at the moment? If we experience restlessness and lack of inner peace what could be the reason? Do we react only when our ego is attacked, and not when any injustice is done? Do we now and then admit before others that we do not know everything and don’t have answers for all problems of life? Do we depend on God’s power more than our power, and trust him more than our qualifications/talents?  Do we place all our burdens before him in faith and make a deep act of surrender to him in prayer? What are things we learned in this week from our Teacher (Jesus)?

6.    A Prayer

Lord Jesus, give me the strength to bear the cost of humility. When I think that everything depends on me, it tells me that everything depends on you. When I want to be in total control of my life and everything else, it tells me that you are in control. When I think that I know everything and have solutions to all problems, it tells me that my knowledge is limited in spite of my qualifications. Grant that as a disciple, I may learn from you more and more of meekness and humility. Amen.

Thirteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (A)

 

Thirteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (A) [Mt 10:37-42]

28.06.2026

Preferring Christ to One’s Own Family and Living for His Sake

Readings: (1) 2 Kings 4:8-11.14-16 (2) Rom 6:3-4.8-11

1.    Theme in brief

Loyalty to Christ

2.    Focus Statement 

Loyalty to Christ must take precedence over our family affections, if they prevent us from following Christ.

3.    Explanation of the text

Today’s gospel text is about the consequences of living out our faith in Christ in a radical manner. The background of the given text about preferring Christ to one’s own family or blood-relatives is found in Jesus’ affirming the Jewish commandment to love God first, with our whole soul, our whole heart and our whole mind (Mt. 22:37), that is, above all and above everything else. This first commandment calls us to serve God with a singular devotion to the exclusion of all other gods. In today’s text Jesus applies the same principle to himself. Earlier he had already made it clear that following him must take precedence even over a son’s duty to bury his father (Mt 8:22). Now he requires his disciples to love him more than anyone else, even more than their fathers, mothers, sons and daughters in order to become worthy of him (20:37). Such a zealous love for Jesus and his values may sometimes antagonize one’s own family members. If it happens, it is to be taken as a cross of opposition, criticism, rejection, ridicule and intimidation that the disciples must carry in order to become worthy of their Master (10:38).

It is clear that in this text that Jesus wants his disciples to put loyalty to him and his mission above loyalty to their own family, though it may cause painful rift or rejection within one’s own family. He promises that those who “lose” their life by undergoing this type of suffering will find it (10:39) in the form of rewards he promises in the following verses. Losing one’s life also means sacrificing one’s life or taking risks for the sake of Christ or his values. Those who find their life or keep it safe from any involvement or sacrificial service to the needy will ultimately lose everything they gathered for safekeeping.

Jesus says that whoever welcomes his disciples welcomes him…. (10:40). Even in modern times, an assault on an ambassador of a nation is considered as an assault on the nation, and a gift to a child is considered as a gift to parents. Similarly, Jesus says that “welcoming” his disciples is equal to welcoming him and welcoming him is equal to welcoming the Father who sent him (10:40). In this context, “welcoming” could mean, either taking care of their material needs, or listening to them, or respecting them and their message as they represent God. Here Jesus may be indirectly telling all believers to see his presence in his disciples by welcoming them in their midst and treating them with courtesy, respect and even material support.

Further, Jesus speaks about the rewards awaiting those who welcome three categories of people: (1) prophets who are considered as spokespersons of God; (2) righteous persons who obey God and do what is right in his sight or all the faithful servants of God mentioned in the Bible; (3) the little ones who symbolize all the defenceless children, the poor, the marginalized, the powerless and the vulnerable. Prophet’s reward is already mentioned in Mt 5:12: "Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven," and the righteous ones are promised that they "will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father" (Mt 13:43).

Reward promised in today’s text to whoever gives a cup of cold water to the "little ones," is closely related to the Last Judgement (Mt 25:31-46)), where those who gave a drink to one of the thirsty among the least ones are invited by the King to “inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world" (25:34). In this passage even a smallest deed of compassion, such as giving a cup or cold water, done to the least ones is considered to be done for Jesus himself with whom he identifies fully. In Matthew’s gospel, Jesus calls these least ones “my brothers” by Jesus, indicating that they could become most vulnerable “little ones” in their mission work. It is certain that any kind deed or help and support given to any of the three categories of people – prophets, the righteous, and the little ones – will not go unrewarded.

4.    Application to life

In today’s gospel Jesus teaches us that sometimes in order to follow him and to live according to his gospel-values, we may have to displease our own parents and family. Faithful following of Christ may at times bring opposition, criticism and rejection from the members of our own family. Jesus does not advocate disloyalty to family or “don’t care” attitude towards it, but instructs us to put loyalty to him and his gospel much above our loyalty to our own family.

In other words, what Jesus says in today’s gospel is that our loyalty to him must take precedence over our family affections, if they prevent us from following him radically. Even in families which are living in close bonds of natural affections, he can become a cause of rift or conflict, if one member follows him strictly (radically) and the other members do not. At that time, Jesus says, we should not hesitate to sacrifice our natural affections for blood-related family members in order to stand by his values. If we are unable to make sacrifices and renounce our self-interests for the sake of Christ, then we become unworthy of Christ who sacrificed himself totally for our love. It is in this type of sacrifice we get a share of Christ’s cross, which in turn becomes our own personal cross. It is a terribly difficult lesson to practice, since we know “blood is thicker than water.”

The question is whether we are loyal to Christ even at the cost of displeasing those who are near and dear to us. If we extend this message a bit further, we can apply the same thing to young people who have the natural inclination to please their friends and peer group when they do something wrong. They have a tendency to yield to group pressure even if something is immoral or wrong. The question asked by today’s gospel is: Should they place loyalty to their friends above loyalty to Christ and his gospel?

There are two types of Christian families: (1) those which are interested in serving human society or the Church and teach their children the same values; and (2) those which are closed in on themselves or are exclusively for themselves. They teach their children to be selfish and exclusively look for their own economic prosperity or earning maximum wealth even with dishonest means taught by the world. Jesus teaches us that our family, though very dear and important to us, is not a god to be worshipped. He wants us to look beyond our blood-relations, natural affections and purely personal gains. He wants us to work for building up a larger and universal family or community called the Kingdom of God where his qualities of peace, justice and brotherhood would reign. If our natural family prevents us from collaborating with God to build up this universal family, or if our family members become an obstacle to God’s purpose of building up his Kingdom, Jesus tells us in today’s gospel,  we must be willing to hurt our own family or suffer opposition and criticism from our own family members. Do we care to give priority to the Kingdom-values such is truth, justice and peace in our families? If yes, we shall take care not to inculcate worldly values of competition, corruption, intolerance, racial or cast prejudices in our children.

Jesus further teaches in today’s gospel that indifference or unwelcoming attitude towards prophets of God, the righteous and the little ones is indifference or unwelcome to him. Today’s prophets could be anyone who speak for God and stand for the values of his Kingdom. Jesus promises that those who respect them as God’s representatives, listen to them and take care of them will get the same reward reserved to prophets. Today’s righteous persons could be Christians among us who try to live out their faith and are considered holy. Today’s little ones are all the poor, the marginalized, the powerless and the voiceless.

Welcoming all three categories of people, namely the prophets, the righteous ones and the little ones,  may involve costs in terms of money, accommodation or sharing our space with them and put us also in danger of opposition or threats. Sometimes we may not like to welcome prophets and the righteous because their presence can be a threat for ourselves. Their words and admonition may make us aware of the need of change in our lives. Christ is passing by everywhere in my neighbourhood, workplace and on the street. Welcoming people, being kind to them, rendering a helping hand and listening to them is equal to welcoming and treating Christ. He also comes in the guise of the sick, the suffering, the vulnerable and the outcast. Any thoughtfulness and act of kindness to these people is like giving “a cup of cold water.” This small cup could also be given in the form of a smile to a sad face, a word of encouragement, a SMS sent to a troubled heart, a phone-call to a lonely heart, etc.

What are the things we consider as real loss or gain in our life? Only by spending our life for others we can find joy in life. Jesus makes it very clear that none of the believers can make an excuse for not sacrificing anything for the cause of his mission. Even a cup of cold water, that is, the smallest service rendered to others, especially the least ones, makes us worthy followers of Christ. Who are these least ones in our surrounding? Are we concerned about them or indifferent to them?

5.    Response to God's Word

Do we easily give up Christian values when they are opposed by our family members? Do we willingly carry the cross of criticism, condemnation and rejection from our own family members for the sake of Christ and his gospel? Do we show indifference to prophet-like or righteous people? Do we totally disassociate from them? Who are the least ones around our place? What kind deeds can we do to such people?

6.    A Prayer

Lord Jesus, give us the courage and strength to carry the cross of opposition, criticism and rejection by our own family members when we live your gospel-values in a radical manner. May we place our loyalty to you above loyalty tom our own family. Amen.

 

Twelfth Sunday of Orddinary Time (A)

 

Twelfth Sunday of Ordinary Time (A) [Mt 10:26-33]

21.06.2026

Confessing and Denying Christ

Readings: (1) Jer 20:10-13 (2) Rom 5:12-15

1.    Theme in brief

Confessing Christ or denying him in spite of fear

2.    Focus Statement 

We should not be afraid of professing our faith in Christ before the people who oppose him or his values, and be convinced of God’s care and protection even in persecution.

3.    Explanation of the text

Today’s Gospel text is about the instructions given by Jesus to his disciples as he sends them on his mission.  He tells them to be prepared to face opposition, rejection and persecution as they preach and teach. In such situations, his message to his disciples – repeated three times in today’s gospel – is, not to fear or panic (10:26, 28, 31).

First reason not to be afraid is found in his assurance that their opponents will not succeed in their evil designs since God will expose their hidden motives or designs and bring to light all their evil deeds (10:26). Or it could mean, their persecutors will not be ale to hide their evil designs and deeds on the Judgement Day. Or it could also mean, in their missionary preaching and witness they will uncover all the hidden values of the Kingdom of God that are not made known openly till now (10:26). He asks them to proclaim in the light and from housetops what he has told them privately till now (10:27). Their only fear should be to lose courage to confess Jesus before the world.

Second reason for not fearing is the consideration that the power of world’s rulers is limited to killing only the body and not the soul (10:28). Here Jesus hints at the highest type of fear they may have to face, namely, the danger or threat of death for proclaiming the gospel or for living the gospel-values. Though he admits that the world’s authorities do have such powers, they need not fear them as if they were gods. They should rather fear God alone who has the power to kill both the body and the soul (10:28).  

Third reason for not fearing the world’s authorities is God’s providential care and protection even in persecution. Jesus reassures his disciples that God is not like the world’s rulers. If he cares for sparrows that that are sold two for a penny, how is that he will not care for them who are “of more value than many sparrows” (10:20-31). He has so intimate knowledge of them that even the hairs of their head are counted (10:30). If so, they should put their total trust is such a caring God and use it as an antidote for natural fears.

Finally, Jesus calls for total loyalty to him and his gospel from his disciples. Acknowledging and confessing him before the people of the world will lead to his acknowledgement of them before the Father, and denying him before people will have the consequence of denying them before the Father on the Judgement Day (10:32-33).

4.    Application to life

Fear is so much inherent in human nature from the time of birth. There are so many fears in us – both real and imaginary. The following fear often haunt the conscious and subconscious mind of many of us – fear of being robbed, of being attacked by an enemy, of remaining unemployed, of losing a job, of being killed in a bomb blast or accident, of ridicule/ criticism/ negative remarks by others, of public speaking, of dreadful sicknesses like cancer and heart attack, of being left alone in old age, of losing one’s dignity and reputation, of breakage of relationships, of our children getting into deviant or criminal behaviour, of natural or man-made calamities (like accidents, floods, earthquakes, cyclones), of untimely or unprepared death, etc. Besides these natural fears, today’s gospel speaks about the fear of opposition, rejection and persecution that we may have to face when we preach and teach the message of Christ, or when we try to uphold and live by his values. We have also fears of what others may think of us or say to us, especially when we try to behave a little different from the general trends in our society.

The imaginary or unrealistic (baseless) fears are our worst masters who control or drive us to wrong directions such as depression, disappointment, meaninglessness, emptiness, etc. Fears are the driving force behind all blunders, wrong decisions, misrule. misdeeds, injustice or even dictatorships of our opponents in the family, neighbourhood, political and administrative circles or the business world. Just as Jesus warned his disciples about the inevitability of threats to their life, persecution and opposition in their mission, today he reminds us also about this reality when we stand firm on his gospel-values. Witnessing to Christ and confessing him before others may result in persecution, opposition, mockery and intimidation for us. Living Christian values in a radical manner in a world that promotes contrary values may bring a lot of troubles and discomfort to us.  

Even today, the message of the gospel brings to light all the evil designs and crooked motives of the powerful, especially when they make use of their power to exploit the poor and the defenceless. If the Church is really a witnessing Church, it may become a suffering Church. Our Christian life is either a witness to Christ or a counter-witness, and a confession or a denial of Christ. Whenever we live a life different from the general trend of the world and do not conform to its standards, people ask the reasons for behaving differently. They do so in our workplaces, neighbourhood and social events. That is an opportunity for us to confess Christ directly or indirectly. Do we become cowards or shy about confessing Christ at those moments?

Though sometimes we may keep our Christian identity a secret where there is life-threatening situation, it is not a secret to be hidden at all times. We are called to confess Christ both with our lips and deeds. Sometimes our actions speak louder than our words. We need to question today whether our actions are Christlike. Jesus tells us bluntly, if we deny him before others he will also deny us before the Father on the Judgement Day. The way we live our Christian life, will either witness to Christ or deny him. Sometimes by keeping silence at injustice, dishonesty and immorality around us, we deny Christ. We also deny him by living a life quite contrary to what we profess. Today’s text asks us the question whether we are willing to suffer for our faith. Out of fear sometimes we may hide our faith rather than bring it to light and proclaim it from the housetop, as Jesus tells us in today’s gospel.

William Barclay in his Daily Study Bible says that we can deny Christ in three ways: with our words, by our silence and by our actions. Sometimes we need to show in our words that as Christians we cannot conform to all the values of the world and are called to live a life different from the world. Sometimes we are afraid to speak anything against evil and fail to take a stand for Christ’s standards. To be safe, we just keep silence in the face of evil. For instance, our vocation is to uphold the sanctity or sacredness of life in a world where is denied due to countless misdeeds against human life. When human life is threatened from womb to tomb we are not to remain silent spectators. Or, take for example, the value of equality of all humans. When this is denied by racial or caste prejudices, discrimination, inhuman treatments, hatred, etc., we are not to remain silent. Jesus tells us not fear those who have power only to kill the body, but rather fear God who has power to destroy both the body and soul. The question today’s gospel places before us is: whom do we fear: God, or worldly powers?

Robin Sharma rightly says: "We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark. The real tragedy of life is when an adult is afraid of the light.” Jesus says in today’s gospel that we should not be afraid to speak in the light, or proclaim the truth from housetops what we hear from him in the secret of our hearts, in prayer and reflection on his Word. Quite often we are afraid of saying and doing what is right. The light of the Risen Lord can free us from the chains of fears (especially, imaginary or baseless ones), if we really believe in the power of his resurrection. If the Risen Lord is with us and for us, who or what can be against us (Rom 8:31-39)? When our fears (whether real or imaginary) take control of us and rule over our minds, they keep us chained and locked within the narrow space of our own souls. Instead of the Lord directing our lives, these fears become an independent force driving us where we may not like to go. Just as Jesus advised his disciples not to let their fears rule over them or win a mastery over them, he tells us the same. When we allow our fears to be our masters, we stop professing our faith in Christ before the people who oppose his values. Then they will enslave us and hinder our witnessing role or doing our mission.

In today’s gospel, Jesus assures us of God’s providential care and protection even in times of threats, opposition and persecution. Jesus reassures us that God is not like the world’s rulers. First of all, if he takes care of sparrows and other creatures of the earth so wonderfully, why will he not take care of us? Are we not of more value than these creatures? Whenever we are dismayed by fears, let us tune in the popular song in our minds: “Be not dismayed whatever betide, God will take care of you. Beneath his wings of love abide, God will take care of you.” Jesus invites us to put our total trust in a caring God and entrust our fears into his hands. Armed with a firm faith, we need to admit our powerlessness to change the things we cannot, and surrender our lives into the hands of the living Lord. After all, as Jesus says, the powers of the world can destroy only the body and not the soul. Since God has power over both, our reverential fear or total devotion should be rendered to God alone. Our outer security may come from walled compounds, grill-gates, locks, bodyguards, bullet-proof vests, masks, protective parents and companions; but our inner security comes from the power of the Risen Lord and his gift of peace – inner harmony. With his power we can overcome fear of hardship, distress, danger, persecution, peril and death. Let us place the bundle of fears before the living Lord and ask him to liberate us from all imaginary fears and give us the grace to face realistic fears with courage.

5.    Response to God's Word

What are the real and imaginary fears that prevent us from confessing Christ before the world? What are ways we deny Christ in words, by silence and by our actions? Do we allow our fears to be our masters and drive us? Do we trust in God’s care and protection when we face opposition, rejection and persecution for the sake of the gospel?

6.    A Prayer

Lord Jesus, whenever we take a firm stand on your values, the world may oppose, reject, persecute or intimidate us. Give us the courage to remain firm in our proclamation of your values and not to look always for approval of the world. Amen.