Sunday, July 2, is the 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time. Mass readings: 2 Kings 4:8-11, 14-16a; Psalm 89:2-3, 16-17, 18-19; Romans 6:3-4, 8-11; Matthew 10:37-42.

In today’s Gospel, the Lord gives four important principles for a disciple. He also teaches on the concept of being worthy of him.

The priority of a disciple: 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.”  

The Lord could not be clearer: We are to love him more than we love anyone or anything else. 

So fundamental is the priority of our love and obedience to him that it eclipses even the most fundamental relationships in our family. Our love and honor for our parents is very important; it is mandated by the Fourth Commandment: “Honor your father and your mother.” 

And yet, even it cannot overrule the most fundamental of all the commandments, the First Commandment: “I am the Lord your God. You shall have no other gods before me.” 

Therefore, even the love and respect owed to parents and the love that parents should have for their children cannot be preferred to the love and obedience we owe to God. 

The same is true for any other relationship. If a spouse, a sibling, a boss or a government official were to try to compel us to act contrary to God’s truth and commands, they have too much power. 

The profundity of a disciple: Jesus speaks strongly and says that such people as this are not “worthy” of me. The Greek word translated here as “worthy” is axios and is related to weights and scales. 

Most literally, the word means “drawing down the scale,” and thus the Lord is saying he far outweighs anything else. We are to assign a greater weightiness in our life to Christ than to the passing treasures and trinkets of the world. We  must take the Lord seriously. His teaching is to carry a weight in our lives. This internal disposition of being worthy of God produces the external behaviors that are worthy of him.

The passion of a disciple: The text says, “… 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.” 

Taking up the cross is a way of “losing” our life, in the sense that it often diminishes our enjoyment of this earthly existence. But in dying to self and to this world, we find our true life: God and the things he offers! We are often willing to take up crosses for worldly gain. We work hard for a paycheck or to earn a college degree. Why not for the Lord? An old song says, “No cross, no crown.” 

The prize of a disciple: The text says, “Whoever receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward … a righteous man’s reward … he will surely not lose his reward.” 

Even now, we can enjoy the fruits of God’s word as we listen to his prophets and see our lives change. In welcoming the Word, I have seen many positive changes. I am less anxious, more patient and more loving than before. I have greater wisdom. I have seen sins and sinful attitudes reduced and graces come alive. 

The cross ushers in the crown. Do you believe this? Do you take the Lord seriously? Do you give weight to and count as worthy the word that he speaks to you?