Arulvakku

28.06.2020 — Welcoming relationships

13th Sunday in Ordinary Time – 28th June 2020 — Gospel: Mt 10,37-42

Welcoming relationships

The final verses in the sermon affirm two triads. The first builds the relationships between disciples, Jesus, and God (10,40). The second denotes the reward due to those who welcome prophets, the righteous, and the little ones (10,41-42).

In the first triads, the disciples represent the full presence and power of Jesus, just as Jesus bears the full presence and power of God. As mediator, Jesus affirms the full, real, integral, and authoritative relationships between the disciples, Jesus and God. In many ways, Matthew underlines that Jesus shares not only divine power and presence, but makes accessible this power with his disciples in their ministry (10,1.8; 14,22-33; 28,18-20). Indeed this missionary discourse makes clear of God’s power that is now at work not only in Jesus, but in and through his disciples. The integral relationships between the disciples, Jesus, and God replace the disciple’s broken relationships with family and society (10,34-38). For this reason, Jesus encourages his disciples to put Jesus’ mission above family loyalties. Apparently, the vocation of disciples necessarily relativizes all other relations and obligations – whether to family, party, corporation – in favour of the new family.

The second triad of relationships – prophets, the righteous, and “little ones” – also imply a hierarchy within the community. Prophets and the righteous seems to be much more important than little ones, who are most vulnerable members of the community (18,1-14). The identification of the little ones, in need of a cup of cold water, elevates the least member of the community into a position equal in importance to that of prophets and righteous ones. In another sense, these three designations do not differentiate members of the community so much as they are interrelated in the aspects of Christ-discipleship. The prophetic dimension has to do with proclamation and miraculous demonstrations of divine power. Righteousness is the enduring pursuit of justice and of the healing and restoration of relationships. The vulnerability of little ones demonstrates that the mission is wholly dependent on God’s power and presence. Dependence on God is crucial to the integrity and distinctive character of this alternative community Jesus is building. 

The theme that binds these two triads of relationships is “welcoming”, which is at the heart of every relationship in this section and an important value among the communities in which Jesus ministered. Jesus draws attention to their specificity: 1) welcoming prophets as prophets, who expect opposition and violence at the hands of the powers (5,11-12; 23,29-36); 2) welcoming the righteous as those who work for justice, usually risking their lives to do so; and 3)  offering a cup of cold water to the little ones “in the name of a disciple”.  These acts of welcoming surpasses basic human needs, such as food, water, and shelter. For the disciple, this hospitality ruptures most important family relationships and constitutes integral relationships with Jesus and God.