Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary time –Year ATHE CHRISTIAN REWARD2 Kings 4: 8-11, 14-16
Romans 6:3-4, 8-11
Mathew 10:37-42
Dear friends in Christ Jesus how are you all? Today our world is world of rewards. Everyone on this earth expecting some kinds of reward form others. One day a mother asked her son to buy something from the shop. The boy promptly replied if I go the shop what will you give me? The workers ask a reward for their work, the achievers expect reward for their achievement etc; in the same way today God also wants to give you reward. How many of you desire and want the reward from God? What kind of reward that you want to receive from God? Because the Bible speaks of so many rewards, for example: Reward in the time of persecution Mt 5:12 reward for love Mt 5:46, reward for practicing your piety Mt 6:1, reward for prayers Mt6:6, reward for fasting Mt 6:18, reward for giving alms, and today’s liturgy speaks of Prophet’s reward and righteous man’s reward. So what kind of reward that you want today?
Today let us reflect the Prophet’s reward and righteous man’s reward.
01. The Prophet’s Reward
The prophet’s reward is the fulfillment of the prophetic word. There are two ways of receiving the prophet’s reward. Firstly, do in the way what the prophet does. Ex: Elisha followed Elijah and obtained the double portion of Elijah’s reward. Elijah said to, Elisha “Ask what I shall do for you before I am taken from you.” And Elisha said, “Please, let a double portion of your spirit be upon me” 2 Kings 2:9. Secondly, when you welcome a prophet as a prophet and you will receive his reward. For example you might not have heard the word of God for yourselves, yet you trust and obey the word of the prophet by the act of faith. Thus you will receive the reward.
In today’s first reading the Shunammite Woman receives a reward from Prophet Elisha. She welcomed prophet Elisha into her house not only that she said to her husband, “Behold now I perceive that this is a holy man of God passing by us continually. “Please, let us make a little room in our upper chamber and let us set a bed for him there, and a table and a chair and a lamp stand; so that he can stay there whenever he comes to us” thus Elisha the God’s servant was taken care well and she receives a beautiful reward of a child. Because she was childless and aged but by the word of the prophet “the woman conceived and bore a son at that season the next year, as Elisha had said to her. This reward is the easiest way to achieve in our lives. Because the 5th commandments of the church teaches us that “to contribute to the support of the pastors” and in the Gospel too Jesus tells us “whoever in the name of a disciple gives to one of these little ones even a cup of water to drink, truly I say to you, he shall not lose his reward”. Let us care for God’s people and obtain the reward from God.
02. Righteous man’s reward.
Righteous man’s reward means God rewards righteous man. The reward or the fruits of righteousness is well explained in the Bible. For example psalm 18: 20 we read that “The LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness”. Mt 6:33 “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you”. Thus God rewards people by their righteous acts.
How can we get these rewards?
On this earth the reward is given by seeing our hard work, ability, talents, etc. but God rewards people by seeing their trust and obedience in God. For example in the Old Testament we read that Abraham was considered righteous man because of his total faith in God. And his faith corresponds to his action of obedience. “Abraham believed in the lord; and he reckoned it to him as righteousness” Gen 15:6 and Romans 4:3 “for what does the scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteous.” so dear friends, let us place our trust in God and obey whatever God commands us do in order to obtain the reward from God.
What are the things God commands us today?
Through the Gospel God commands three things today.
01. He who loves the father or the mother more than Me, is not worthy of Me.
Our first prime duty is to love God and then to love our parents. Yesterday one of my friend said to me I love my parents. Because God cannot be present physically on this earth so he created mothers. So if I love my parents will it not be equal to love God? What is your answer?
Dear friends, loving parents and loving God cannot be equalized. First and foremost we must be clear that our parents are not God. Secondly, if our parents are God, then how come at times their ways are wrong? You might have seen in the family the small kids will be imitating the style, speech, action of their parents. When the children imitate like the parents they are imitating the actions of the parents and the kids are not parents. Kids are always kids and parents are always parents. In the same way God is different and parents are different. Loving parents cannot be equalized as loving God. When God created human beings He created us in His own image not God Himself.
And I have replied to my friend saying you see your parents like God it is well and good. And when you look at my parents, how do you feel? He said; your parents are your parents, I do not see anything in them. It is here we make mistakes. I said, you are able to see God’s presence in your parents in the someway you must see God’s presence in other parents too. If you are not able to see God’s presence in others then you cannot say loving parents is equal to loving God. Because God’s love is not selfish love rather his love is selfless love.
There is a story in the Jewish tradition in the history of crossing the red sea. While the Israelites crossed the red sea; Moses stretched out his hand over the sea the waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen, even Pharaoh’s entire army that had gone into the sea after them; not even one of them remained. When the angels saw the great works, they were singing the songs of praises to God for his mighty works. But God looked dismal and sad; He came to the angels and said ‘my creation is dying in the sea; here you are all joyfully singing the praises’ thus God expressed his love even to his enemies. Yes dear friends this is what God’s love. In the same way on the cross Jesus said Lord forgive them they do not know what they are doing. Even in the suffering at the cross Jesus showed his merciful love to his enemies. Today whom do we love first our parents or God?
02. He who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.
Today whom do we love first? Our children? Or God? Dear friends are children are God’s gifts. But we hold on to the gifts rather than the person who gives the gifts. In the life of Abraham we find that he loved Isaac his son at the same time he loved God first. Thus he remains as father of faith even today. Today we exhibit our love in so many ways towards our children. For example, all the parents love children. As an expression of their love they give them protection, good education, shelter and help them to attain their desired future. In the same way how do we exhibit that we love God in our lives. In the first reading the Shunammite Woman exhibited her love of God by taking care of the prophet Elisha. And in the gospel reading too Jesus tells us that whoever in the name of a disciple gives to one of these little ones even a cup of cold water to drink, truly I say to you, he shall not lose his reward. Thus in what are the ways we exhibit our love towards God?
03. Whoever does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.
Every religion has some kinds of symbol to show to the world that he or she belongs to this religion or that religion. In the same way, what is the symbol of Christianity? Cross is a symbol of Christianity. Dear friends just look at your neck and check how many of you wearing a chain around your neck with cross? Cross is our Christian symbol, model of perfect love of Jesus to the mankind and we feel ashamed or afraid to wear or carry the symbol with us. If we find difficult to carry the image of cross how can we carry the cross of our life? Jesus tells us to carry our own cross and follow Him. Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies only then new life will come from it. If each one of us wants to experience God and get reward from Jesus then joyfully we need to accept the Cross in total faith and love.
Dear friends God is waiting to give reward to each one of us. It is up to us to choose it. Let us choose what kind of reward we desire for. Jesus himself is reward for all of us. In and through the baptism we become sons and daughters of God. So today’s liturgy calls us to live our son ship and daughter’s ship and to become the heirs of the Kingdom. So for this coming week let us pray for this grace to become God’s centeredness and other centeredness.
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