13^th Sun in Ord Time  SJU June 28, 2026

Gospel  Matthew 10:37-42

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.”

 

13^th of the Year   SJU 11 AM  June 28, 2026

Suddenly it is the middle of summer, a favorite time for many of us because of the long hours of light and the lively colors of the season:  the flowers and the blue skies.   As I speak families are setting up their Sunday barbecues just a mile or two away in West Fairmount Park.   The John B. Kelly Pool there will open at Noon.   We will try to finish on time.  But putting God first as we are encouraged to do in today’s gospel, we bring ourselves into the Chapel here with its own beautiful windows and we give thanks for the leisure of the season.  Some of us might welcome silence right now.   So yes, I will be brief to allow for that.

Our three readings are intriguing.   I comment on the first reading about the prophet Elisha and also the gospel.    Jesus in the gospel reminds us that before anything else in our lives God comes first.   Indeed, before any person, God comes first, first even for parents who adore their beautiful children.   Parents must love God first.   It is God who presents children as gifts for parents to love and nourish.   Parents are called by God to this love of their children.   In general, of course, all of us, parents or not, are to lose and then rediscover life in the love and service of others.

The gospel goes on:  A sentence or two later Jesus talks about welcoming prophets.   Whoever receives a prophet because the person is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward.   This phrase about reward for those who welcome prophets occurs, as I indicated, in today’s gospel.  But let us go to the first reading from the Second Book of Kings where “reward” is what happens after the Old Testament prophet Elisha is welcome by a woman and her husband.  This story about Elisha and his hostess comes to us from nearly three thousand years ago.  

 A woman suggests to her husband that they provide hospitality for the prophet Elisha.   And so they do.    Elisha discovers that the woman and her husband are childless, this in a culture where a woman unable to have children is considered a humiliating failure and even someone punished in this way by God.   Elisha therefore plans a reward for her.   The prophet summons the woman and says to her:  “This time next year, you will be fondling a baby son.”  Yes, the point Jesus made in the gospel is clear here:  Whoever receives a prophet because the person is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward.

Jesus also claims that simple gestures extended even to the least important disciple are also worthy of reward.  The gesture need not be room and board for a famous prophet.   Even the person who sees a thirsty disciple (repeat a thirsty disciple) and rushes in with a drink of cold water for that disciple, no matter how unimportant he or she is, will surely not go without a reward.

First of all, Jesus tells us, the thirsty person must be recognized as a disciple.   On occasion, to give an evident example, I see two women from the local Protestant church standing on the sidewalk on 54^th St. across from the Hagan Arena.    They have a large sign proclaiming how Jesus comes to save us.  They are eager to engage those passing by in conversation and to hand out flyers with invitations to their church.   Yes, I could offer them a drink but Jesus is not discussing such an offer as a part of a simple transaction, that is, not every drink offered automatically means we earn something from God.   No, offering a drink must be part of an act of love and support for the disciple.    Yes, give those two women glasses of water and also exchange praise and thanks to God while doing this.   Such a gesture benefiting thirsty sidewalk preachers is praiseworthy in God’s sight.  

But let’s be clear a disciple is any human being offering love or service to any other human being.  The simple encouragement of such a person is like a glass of cold water feeding the person’s desire to assist others, important as a glass of cold water offered to a thirsty Pope.

Yes, a thirsty Pope.  And Pope Leo is surely thirsty.    Let me conclude with his timely request.    Day after day he is thirsting for peace.  Two days ago on Friday once again the Pope repeated his condemnation of war.  This time during an address to the Cardinals of the Catholic Church gathered in Rome.   I quote:  “War is never worthy of humanity, and it is never blessed by God, because, even if we are equipped with high-tech weapons, the Creator has endowed us with intelligence and free will to resolve conflicts as human beings and not as beasts. That the unity of the human family takes precedence over individual peoples and states is not merely a biological fact; it is an ethical principle. Peace is a duty of justice because we are one human family, a ‘magnifica humanitas’ that finds its head and redeemer in Christ.” 

I know that Jesus is enjoying the peace and blessings of heavenly joy in the life of the resurrection.    Theologians think of Jesus as first offering sympathy to those of us who are still suffering on this earth and also as sending us the Spirit to strengthen us.    But I sometimes imagine Jesus looking at Magnifica Humanitas in deep sorrow when he sees the children who are starving and the families who are losing loved ones in war.    Theologians tell me, however, that in heaven there is no sorrow or suffering.   So I have to imagine that Jesus already suffered all things for us while on earth.  

As the Pope indicates the Spirit is sent to inspire us to use our intelligence and free will to bring peace to this earth.   Our glasses of cold water, our simple gestures, are part of the package.

Even a glass of water, and even any gesture of encouragement, offered to anyone seeking to do God’s will not go without reward.