Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Cycle A)
Taking up the Cross Lectionary: 97 Reading 1 - 2 Kings 4:8-11, 14-16a Responsorial Psalm - Psalm 89:2-3, 16-19 Reading 2 - Romans 6:3-4, 8-11 Alleluia - 1 Peter 2:9 Gospel - Matthew 10:37-42 Welcoming Christ, Welcoming the Cross ... LESSON: The Cost and the Welcome My brothers and sisters in Christ, today's Gospel ends a long discourse in Matthew chapter 10, where Jesus has been preparing his disciples for mission. He has warned them about persecution, about division, even about being hated for his name. And now, at the very end, he gives us these striking words: "Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me… whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me." These are hard sayings. They almost seem to contradict everything Jesus teaches elsewhere about honoring father and mother, about loving our neighbor, about the sanctity of family life. So what is going on here? Jesus is not telling us to love our famili...
