Word to the Wise
Monday, July 17, 2017 - Monday in the 15th Week in Ordinary Time
[Exod 1:8-14, 22 and Matt 10:34—11:1]"And whoever gives only a cup of cold water to one of these little ones to drink because he is a disciple - amen, I say to you, he will surely not lose his reward." [Matthew]
These words come at the end of Jesus' "missionary discourse" in the Gospel According to Matthew, which takes up the whole of chapter 10. The challenges and rewards of discipleship are placed before us - especially the challenges. A whole new set of priorities for life is established. Everything must hinge on faith in Jesus. All relationships, no matter how close, are to be viewed first and foremost in the light of the disciple's relationship to Jesus. This new priority can lead to persecution and violence against a disciple. Those, however, who "receive" a prophet or disciple because that person is a prophet or disciple will be rewarded. The lines about a cup of cold water can direct us to chapter 25:31-45 and the "Final Judgment" scene in which Jesus tells the beloved that "as often as you did it for the least of my brethren, you did it for me."
In short, the disciple becomes the "real presence" of Christ to those who receive him or her. An act of love toward a disciple is an act of love toward Christ. An act of love by a disciple is an act of love by Christ. Seen in that perspective, the "re-ordering" of all relationships and priorities for true discipleship makes sense because it is precisely that re-ordering that gives meaning to all other aspects of life. Pope Francis' wonderful apostolic exhortation, THE JOY OF THE GOSPEL, in paragraph 120 says, "Every Christian is a missionary to the extent that he or she has encountered the love of God in Christ Jesus: we no longer say that we are 'disciples' and 'missionaries,' but that we are always 'missionary disciples.'" AMEN
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