I, Paul, am already being poured out like a libation, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith. From now on the crown of righteousness awaits me, which the Lord, the just judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me, but to all who have longed for his appearance.
The Lord stood by me and gave me strength, so that through me the proclamation might be completed and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I was rescued from the lion’s mouth. The Lord will rescue me from every evil threat and will bring me safe to his heavenly Kingdom. To him be glory forever and ever. Amen.
The Word of the Lord.
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John Stephen Akhwari was chosen to represent Tanzania in the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City.
Though his chances of winning the marathon were slim, they dropped to zero after he was nearly trampled to death by a group of other runners jockeying for position.
In a matter of seconds, Akhwari fell to the ground, gashed and dislocated his knee, and smashed his shoulder against the pavement.
After receiving emergency medical treatment, he pushed the doctors away, got up on his own and continued the race.
Almost an hour after a winner was crowned – and nearly every spectator left the stadium – Akhwari stumbled across the finish line, his bandages flapping in the wind.
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When asked why he didn’t quit, Akhwari said, “My country did not send me 5,000 miles to start the race. They sent me 5,000 miles to finish the race.”
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Today we celebrate the lives of Saints Peter and Paul, men who ran the race of life to the finish and kept the faith.
In spite of being persecuted, or beaten, shipwrecked, stoned, imprisoned, or left for dead, they never gave up.
Even when they knew death was near, they trusted, in the words of Saint Paul, “All that awaits me now is the crown of righteousness.”
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Like Saints Peter and Paul, God did not create us simply to start running the race of faith; rather, to finish it.
What are some of the challenges we have faced along the way? And what have been some of the consolations?
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May Peter and Paul intercede for us from the finish line, that we would pine for what they did: eternal life, sealed with the crown of righteousness.
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Image credits: (1) Saints Peter and Paul, National Catholic Register (2) Sara’s Reflections, WordPress (3) Pinterest
Jesus said to his apostles: “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; and whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.””Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me. 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. 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.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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“Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me.”
It’s easy for any of us to wish a strong gust of wind came and blew this page right out of Matthew’s Gospel. At first glance, it can seem like a swipe at families, as if Jesus is contradicting the 4th Commandment, “honor your father and your mother.”
Families are precious. They’re the building block of a healthy society, and are often the source of our most intimate relationships. But, the Lord is cautioning us that the same network of people can also impede us from doing his will.
Occasionally, family customs, traditions, or expectations can become like old wineskins; incapable of being stretched or changed by grace. As a result, we are forced to choose where our deepest loyalty lies.
This is a tension the Lord himself experienced.
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Consider what happened when Jesus was twelve. After his family went to Jerusalem on pilgrimage, he chose to stay behind.
When Mary realized Jesus wasn’t in their caravan, she searched frantically for him for two awful days. When she finally found him in the Temple conversing with the religious scholars, Mary scolded him, “Son, why have you done this to us?”
Jesus simply responded, “Did you not know I must be about my Father’s business?”
Or twenty years later, when he was preaching inside someone’s home. He was interrupted by someone telling him, “Your mother and your brothers are outside asking for you.”
They hadn’t come to ask Jesus what time he would be home or what he wanted for dinner. No. Mark tells us, his family thought he was literally, “out of his mind.”
They were afraid that Christ’s teachings would sound revolutionary; that they’d get him in trouble with the authorities.
And they were right!
But Jesus doubled down just as he did as a boy in the Temple. Distinguishing his heavenly family from his earthly family, he proclaimed, “Who are my mother and my brothers? Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”
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It’s a harrowing scene, complicated by family dynamics, which believers throughout the centuries have also experienced. Consider Saint Francis of Assisi.
Francis grew up with privilege. But from an early age, he felt a strong attraction to the poor.
One day, while he was selling his father’s fine linens in the marketplace, a beggar approached him, asking for alms. So, Francis emptied his pockets and gave the beggar everything he had.
When the story reached his family, he was roundly mocked then scolded by his father. Sometime thereafter, Francis literally stripped himself bare before his bishop in the public square, renouncing his family fortune… and his disapproving father.
In that moment, I wonder if the words from today’s Gospel came to his mind. “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me… and whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me.”
As dramatic as that scene was, God had even bigger plans for Francis; that was only one of a thousand times he would renounce the world, earthly comforts, and even his family, for the sake of the Gospel.
Yet, 800 years later, the world continues to be inspired by his Christian life and example.
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So, what might this Gospel passage look like concretely for us today?
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Personally, I can share how deeply I’ve grappled with it, having made several decisions to put God first in my life, which was unpopular with my family at the time… and still may be with some today.
I converted to Catholicism in college while my entire family, with the exception of my brother, was Protestant… or not religious at all. Then I heard the call to become a Catholic priest, so I entered the seminary.
Two years later, I left my family further behind, as I moved from New Jersey to Rome, continuing my studies. Then I chose to stay in Rome while my mother was dying from cancer.
Although the Archdiocese of Newark graciously provided me with three different opportunities to visit Mom during her illness, choosing to return to Rome after each visit was an excruciating decision, putting real flesh and bones on today’s Gospel.
“Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me,” Jesus says.
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Maybe some of you are facing a similar decision today.
You feel called to go away for college; to leave the secular world for mission-based work; to accept an unplanned pregnancy; to marry a particular person; to distance yourself from toxic family relationships; to enter religious life…
To step out into the deep in some way, perhaps tearing old family wineskins, trusting that’s exactly where God is calling you to go.
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May the Lord give us the grace to take him at his word, taking up our crosses, to follow hm into the unknown. Mysteriously, doing so will lead to the deepest sense of fulfillment, and life in abundance.
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Image credits: (1) Restoring Balance Counseling (2) Facebook (3) Jennifer Dukes Lee
When Jesus came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him. And then a leper approached, did him homage, and said, “Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean.” He stretched out his hand, touched him, and said, “I will do it. Be made clean.” His leprosy was cleansed immediately. Then Jesus said to him, “See that you tell no one, but go show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses prescribed; that will be proof for them.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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After the fall of the Romanian dictator, Nicolae Ceausescu, in 1989, numerous orphanages were opened to the world’s eyes. Thousands of children were discovered after having lived for years in unimaginable conditions.
Many were so neglected they could not relate to others. They could not speak. They could not give or receive affection. Psychologists believed these children’s inability to relate to other people was the result of being denied the gift of human touch… for most of their life.
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In today’s Gospel, a leper falls at the feet of Jesus after years of neglect. The curse of leprosy was not only physical; it was also psychological, spiritual, and emotional. Lepers were forced to separate themselves from the rest of humanity.
According to Jewish Law, they had to keep their hair disheveled, wear a bell around their neck, and whenever another person neared, they’d have to shout, “Unclean! Unclean!”
I wonder how long it had been since this poor leper experienced the gift of human touch. A year? Two years? Ten?
Imagine going just a month without a hug, a handshake, or a pat on your back.
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Suddenly, this leper’s luck changes. He spots Jesus off in the distance. Barreling through the crowds like a bowling ball, he throws himself down, and in a stunning display of faith says, “Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean.”
Notice his confidence and his humility. He doesn’t doubt the Lord’s power to heal, but he doesn’t demand it either; he simply begs for Jesus to heal him.
The Lord could’ve done so simply with the power of his voice. But Jesus kneels down and touches him, ending that awful streak of human neglect, revealing the Lord’s love for humanity, even in our “uncleanliness.”
This foreshadows what Jesus will do for all of humanity when he takes our sins upon himself, dying on a cross.
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So, what does this all mean?
There is no limit to the Lord’s compassion, certainly for the sick, the suffering, and the neglected. And part of our mission as Christians is to embody that same divine love, extending it to others.
So, how might I be an agent of compassion and healing today?
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Image credits: (1) Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo (2) Bible Teaching Notes (3) Heal – Word for Life Says
