THE TEXT BELOW IS THE TRANSCRIPTION OF THE VIDEO COMMENTARY BY FR. FERNANDO ARMELLINI

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A good Sunday to all. 

The liturgy offers us today the final part of the discourse Jesus addressed to his disciples when he sent them to announce that the kingdom of God had come into the world. He had told them not to expect a triumphant reception. The message they are going to announce will disturb the holders of power in the world, both political and religious, because it will upend many things. Therefore, he told them to be vigilant and not be amazed if these powers of the world react even with violence. 

And he ended with a prophecy: “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. I came to set a man at odds with his father, a daughter with her mother, and a daughter-in-law with her mother-in-law; and so a man will have as enemies those of his own house” (Mt 10:34-36). 

These words are somewhat mysterious. What did Jesus want to say? He certainly did not come to incite wars or crusades. We know his message well. He always repudiated violence. Recall what he said to Peter when Peter considered resorting to the sword: ‘Sheathe the sword.’ The new world is not built with the sword. Jesus proclaimed that the builders of peace were blessed. He told his disciples, “Love your enemies—do good to those who hate you so that you can resemble your Father, who is in heaven.” 

So, what sword is it? It is a comparison. Simeon had already used it when addressing the mother of Jesus, who had said, “A sword will pierce your soul.” At that time, the mother of Jesus represented Israel, which would be divided by a sword. With the message that Jesus brought into the world, a division will be created in Israel. 

Simeon had already predicted this. Jesus was referring to the divisions and conflicts that his message would inevitably provoke, even within families. By the time Matthew wrote his gospel, these divisions had already been dramatically evident in Israel. In those years, the fracture between the Christian and Pharisaic communities had occurred, a fracture that has lasted to this day. 

The Pharisee rabbis pronounced excommunication precisely in those years against the כופרים ‘iminím’ = the heretics. Who were these heretics? They were those who had given their allegiance to Christ. Jesus’ disciples were called ‘notzelím’; even today, they are the ‘notzim’… the ‘Nazarenes’… the ‘Christians.’ They were therefore excommunicated and expelled from the synagogue. You couldn’t be ‘Jewish’ and ‘Christian’. They had to choose. The rabbis had said that it was somewhat incompatible. 

It was when the 18 benedictions (Shemoneh Ezreh) were introduced that the ‘birkat aminím’ was added, a curse against the ‘inimím,’ or heretics. It is the twelfth of the ‘burakot.’ Whoever adhered to Christ turned against them with very painful consequences. He was considered a renegade and, as such, was expelled by his relatives. To get an idea, we can imagine what would happen today to a Muslim who wanted to change his religion. It would undoubtedly have consequences, as the family would consider him to have abandoned tradition. 

Whoever became a Christian at that time was in a very painful situation from one day to the next, not only emotionally but also socially and economically; he lost all the assurances he had of being part of the family. He had no right even to inheritance. In this dramatic context, Matthew reminds Christians in his community of the Master’s words. Let’s listen: 

Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is unworthy of me. 

These people, whose families have been marginalized, are suffering… What would we have done? We would have approached them with sweet words, tried to minimize the problem, and told them to be patient. Things will get better. You have to find a middle ground… Jesus does not act that way. As always, Jesus is very radical.

Here, he introduces three very demanding conditions, accompanied by a severe declaration: ‘If you don’t accept my life proposal, you are not worthy of me.’ No rabbi had ever spoken this way, so much so that one day the Jews said to him: “Who do you think you are?” Let’s examine its conditions. 

The first addresses sons and daughters: “Whoever loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me.” It does not say that children should not love their parents. Let’s remember that in a discussion with the Pharisees, Jesus told them: “You are hypocrites because you have canceled God’s commandment to help parents with your traditions.” But if the two loves conflict or there is any misunderstanding, which should be followed? Jesus is very radical: “Whoever loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me.” 

The second condition is addressed to parents: 

Whoever loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 

Nor is he saying here that parents should not love their sons and daughters. The family is sacred and dear to God. 

The love that unites family members is natural and wonderful, blessed by God. It is a love characterized by gratuitousness. Aid within the family is neither quantified nor paid. Everything is done to make others happy. This gratuity is a wonderful love. Where does the problem arise? When a new family is born, separation is necessary. Let’s remember the book of Genesis: “The man will leave his father and mother and unite with his wife.” Since then, the one who marries does not deny his own family of origin, but the point of reference for all options is no longer the father and the mother, but the husband and the wife. And this separation from the parents is necessary. If it is not realized, life is blocked, and a new family is not born. 

We know how many problems arise when this cut is not kept in mind, or when the husband or wife continues to refer to his or her parents. In my town, it is said that when two people get married, they should live in a house where they cannot see the smoke from the road to their parents’ house. Jesus does not invite his disciples to forget or neglect the natural family; just the opposite. He proposes joining another family. A new family is born.

Let us remember that Jesus himself fulfilled this custom with his family in Nazareth when he left Nazareth to live in Capernaum. His family tried to make him return, but what did Jesus say? He said, “Who are my mother and my brothers and sisters? And turning his gaze toward those who were by his side, he said: This is my mother and my brothers. They are the ones who hear the word of God and put it into practice.” This is the new family.

Love for the natural family cannot impede membership in this new family. It is the family where distinctions of race and culture no longer exist, where there is no longer a father and mother, where all are brothers and sisters, and where each person is a son or daughter of God. This is the new family that Jesus proposes. If the old family, the natural family, conflicts with this new family, Jesus says you must make a choice. Now we can understand the phrase: “is not worthy of me.” It is the lover’s affirmation of a desire to involve the loved one in an exclusive relationship. If the loved one does not accept his life proposal because it seems too high and compromising, the young man says, ‘You are not worthy of me; let’s each go our own way.’ Jesus is a jealous lover. He does not admit concessions. He does not accept that there will be lovers, and this distracts him from his love. Jesus wants the heart to be pure and undivided. 

In the Old Testament, God appears as a jealous God. The pagan gods were not jealous. Zeus received sacrifices from his devotees, but if a later one offered sacrifices to Apollo or Dionysius, Zeus would have no problem. But not so the God of Israel. He is the only God who demands exclusive love. He is the benchmark for all options. The first commandment: “You will have no other god besides me … because I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God.” This theme recurs often in the Old Testament: ‘Elí encaná’ = I am a jealous God.

Jesus reveals this face of God. He is jealous. This means that whoever finds Him changes the reference point for all options. Nothing and no one can be put before Him. When He enters a person’s heart, He wants to occupy the whole heart. This is what it means for us today to adhere to Christ. It means that neither anyone nor anything can impede this commitment to love. 

And now, let’s listen to the third condition Jesus sets: 

Whoever does not take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 

What does Jesus mean when he says, “Whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me”? The most common interpretation is the one we hear repeatedly, especially from older people with ailments: ‘Just as Jesus carried his cross, so I resign myself to carry the crosses that life gives me patiently.’ Or maybe, sometimes, we think it’s God who sends these crosses. 

This interpretation is misleading and false. Which cross is Jesus talking about? Since tribulations, diseases, troubles, and misfortunes sooner or later come to all of us, the Son of God didn’t need to come from heaven to tell us that ‘we must bear them with patience.’ A little common sense is enough to understand this. The cross that Jesus speaks about is another one. It is the cross that he has carried. What was that cross?

The cross was the scaffold, that horizontal stick the condemned put on his shoulder at the time of the sentence, and he was taken to the place of execution. He who carried it passed among the people and was held accursed by God, and all designated him as a loser, rejected by all the people. 

Why did religious and political leaders want to condemn Jesus to the torture of the cross? It was the most degrading form of execution. It was reserved for subversives of the established order, the political order. The religious leaders also wanted him to be crucified; he was considered an infamous destroyer of religious and political institutions. In the Jewish religion, those blessed by God were the rich, the well-off, the successful people… these were the ones who had received the blessings of the Lord. The poor, those who had suffered misfortune, were considered punished and accursed. Jesus embraced this cross, but he could have avoided it. It would have been enough if he had said that he would not carry out the proposal of a new world and would not turn around the values of this world. He hadn’t presented a very different face of God preached by religion. If he had done that, they would have left him alone. Jesus embraced the cross. He agreed to be considered accursed by the powers of this world. 

Slaves carried the cross. Note that Jesus does not say you have to accept the crosses that come to you in life; he says you must make a conscious choice to embrace the proposal he makes to you. It is the proposal that Jesus lived. The cross indicates the choice of those who remain slaves, not owners. Those who choose not to belong to themselves… are like slaves who depend on the will of the owner. Jesus says: ‘If you want to be worthy of me, you must make the option of being a slave.’ Of being one who, in the eyes of this world, is considered a failure. Being a person who is not an ‘employer’ but a servant to whom everyone can give orders; everyone can ask for services. 

Who are these owners? They are your brothers and sisters. Whenever they need you, you must feel like their servant. This means ’embracing the cross,’ the cross that Jesus has embraced. The option of being a slave is everyone’s choice. I would say that instead of the word ‘cross,’ it would be enough to use the word ‘love,’ so everything is clear. In our culture, these words sound bad. Today, a realized person knows how to assert himself; even if that means submitting, dominating, and crushing others. Jesus proposes the exact opposite. A successful person spends their whole life paying attention to the needs of their brother and sister. In the last part of the text, Jesus addresses those who have embraced the cross, and here we find sweet words of comfort. Let’s listen: 

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. 

In the last part of the discourse, Jesus speaks of people who must be welcomed. The first to be welcomed are you: “He who receives you receives me.” Who are ‘you’? You are worthy of me because you chose to embrace the cross. In other words, you have chosen to make your life a gift. ‘Go into the world and embody this life proposal… He who receives you receives me.’ 

Jesus trusts us because he considers us worthy of him. Of course, we do not present ourselves as his disciples because we practice some devotions, not something bad, but marginal things. But if we present ourselves as worthy of him, as people who give our lives, then he who receives us receives Jesus’ love proposal. 

The second way of welcoming: “Whoever receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward.” God speaks through the prophets. He does not make his voice heard from heaven through miracles… NO. God’s thought comes through brothers and sisters who are more attuned to the Lord’s thought than others. Introducing God’s thinking into the world is contrary to common sense and to everyone’s way of thinking. These are the prophets who propose humanizing life, proposals that come from heaven. 

We know this very well today, too. Prophets today say that pride and vanity, in which people move, will fail; that the idols on which they prop up life will, in the end, betray you… You accumulate money, but then you leave it here. You have to build life on authentic values. The prophets issue these warnings; those sensitive to God’s thought are the ones God uses to bring his word to the world. 

How do we receive these prophets? Above all, prophets are received by those who receive their message. They are also received by those who give them moral support. Prophets are always uncomfortable because they don’t think like most people. They are often marginalized and persecuted, especially by representatives of power and by those who want to perpetuate what has always been done. Prophets are always innovative, so they need support from those who understand that their word comes from heaven. Prophets are marginalized when we say: ‘… yes, they say good things, but you have to be careful; traditions must be respected; respect simple people who are fond of what has always been done….” And so, people are prevented from receiving the news of the gospel.

Receiving the prophets means that although I am not a prophet, I know that what the prophet says is true and that what my brother and sister say comes from God. And there is a third way to receive the prophet. It is the one we heard in the first reading: to concretely help the one who has this mission. 

Many times, the prophet also needs this help. What does the reward consist of? They will have the same reward as the prophet. This means you: even if you are not a prophet, if you support the prophet and collaborate with his mission, you are part of the mission the prophet is carrying out, and you will also be a builder of the new world born from the message announced by the prophet. 

The third way of receiving: “Whoever receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man’s reward.” The prophet is the one who announces the message from heaven in words. Prophets are necessary. Who is the righteous person? The righteous is the one who, through his life, speaks to you of the message that comes from God. The righteous may not even say a word but speaks to you with his life, embodying the word that comes from heaven. 

Remember what Saint Francis told his brothers: “Always preach the gospel, and if necessary, even with words.” He was referring to preaching through life. He who receives the righteous because he is righteous will receive the reward of the righteous. Welcoming him means being attuned to his life proposal. 

The last request Jesus makes concerns welcoming. “And whoever gives only a cup of cold water to one of these little ones to drink
because the little one is a disciple….” The disciple is always small, sometimes even invisible. In Semitic culture, giving a drink means welcoming him into one’s own house. A glass of fresh water for a disciple is the simplest act of love. “I assure you, you will not be without a reward.” What does this mean? Any kind of support you give a disciple because he is a disciple… This gesture you make will have a positive result, even if it is small. By providing support to a disciple because he is a disciple, you will also be, although in a small part, a builder of the new world. Every gesture of support for the disciple will have a positive result in the history of God. 

I wish you all a good Sunday and a good week.