Readings: 2 Kings 4:8-11, 13-16; Psalm 88; Romans 6:3-4, 8-11; Matthew 10:37-42
Grace and peace to you dear brothers and sisters in the Lord.
The readings of today are very rich and powerful.
In the First Reading, we have an account of how a Shunamite woman was kind to Elisha and how Elisha rewarded her for her kind-heartedness, hospitality, and generosity.
One question that comes to my mind is: How do we repay those who have been kind to us? Those who love and care for us, those who opened the door of their hearts and their homes to us? Those who stood by us when we were forlorn and confused?
Have we been a blessing to them or do we make them regret being so kind and trusting?
In today’s Gospel, Jesus gives us a lot to ponder on.
•He talks about not preferring anyone or anything to Him.
•He talks about generosity and kindness to His ministers; and the reward? Well, the Shunamite woman in the First Reading got this reward.
•He talks about losing our lives for His sake. This is how He puts it:
Anyone who finds his life will lose it; anyone who loses his life for my sake will find it.
Today, let’s reflect on what it means to lose one’s life for His sake.
I. Martyrdom:
This is the immediate meaning of losing one’s life for His sake. This has to do with laying down our lives for the sake of Christ. It is choosing death instead of renouncing the faith. This is what the martyrs did, e.g. the Apostles and many saints in the Church, either canonized or otherwise. The Lord says that anyone who lays his/her life down for the sake of Christ will gain it. Here one sows life and reaps eternal life
II. Laying down one’s life in service of others:
This is when we give ourselves to the service of others. It is a life of complete selflessness and dedication to helping others from the pure motive of the love of God.
I am talking about a life that asks like Elisha: what can I do for others? Great examples are St. Theresa of Calcutta, St. Elizabeth of Hungary, St. Elizabeth of Portugal, Aloysius Gonzaga, St. Francis of Assisi amongst others. These people dedicated their lives to serving others, especially those who had nothing material to give in return.
III. A life surrendered to the Lord/A crucified life:
This is when we give ourselves to the Lord as an offering, when we give Him our will and say like Paul (in Galatians 2:20):
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
This is when we are willing to just live for God, to say “yes” to Him in everything. As St. Paul says in the Second Reading, it is being alive for God. We die to our desires and plans, and we say yes to anything He wants.
This is the greatest way to lose one’s life and those who live like this will realise that what we give to God is never actually lost; rather it is the greatest gain.
Sermon preached by Rev. Fr. Emmanuel Baraka-Gukena Okami on July 2, 2023.