July 14, 2025
Memorial of Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, Virgin [In the
Dioceses of the United States]
Lectionary: 389
Reading 1
A new king, who knew nothing of Joseph, came to power in
Egypt.
He said to his subjects, "Look how numerous and powerful
the people of the children of Israel are growing, more so than we ourselves!
Come, let us deal shrewdly with them to stop their increase;
otherwise, in time of war they too may join our enemies
to fight against us, and so leave our country."
Accordingly, taskmasters were set over the children of Israel
to oppress them with forced labor.
Thus they had to build for Pharaoh
the supply cities of Pithom and Raamses.
Yet the more they were oppressed,
the more they multiplied and spread.
The Egyptians, then, dreaded the children of Israel
and reduced them to cruel slavery,
making life bitter for them with hard work in mortar and brick
and all kinds of field work—the whole cruel fate of slaves.
Pharaoh then commanded all his subjects,
"Throw into the river every boy that is born to the Hebrews,
but you may let all the girls live."
Responsorial Psalm
R. (8a) Our help is in the name of the Lord.
Had not the LORD been with us–
let Israel say, had not the LORD been with us–
When men rose up against us,
then would they have swallowed us alive,
When their fury was inflamed against us.
R. Our help is in the name of the Lord.
Then would the waters have overwhelmed us;
The torrent would have swept over us;
over us then would have swept
the raging waters.
Blessed be the LORD, who did not leave us
a prey to their teeth.
R. Our help is in the name of the Lord.
We were rescued like a bird
from the fowlers' snare;
Broken was the snare,
and we were freed.
Our help is in the name of the LORD,
who made heaven and earth.
R. Our help is in the name of the Lord.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness,
for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Jesus said to his Apostles:
"Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth.
I have come to bring not peace but the sword.
For I have come to set
a man against his father,
a daughter against her mother,
and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;
and one's enemies will be those of his household.
"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 righteous
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 he is a disciple–
amen, I say to you, he will surely not lose his reward."
When Jesus finished giving these commands to his Twelve disciples,
he went away from that place to teach and to preach in their towns.
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/071425.cfm
Commentary on
Exodus 1:8-14,22
Immediately following the end of Genesis, we move into
reading the next book of the Pentateuch, the book of the Exodus (Greek, Exodos)
or the ‘Going Out’. The ‘Going In’ was partially realised by the crossing of
the Jordan River into the Promised Land, but only fully completed with the
resurrection and ascension of the crucified Jesus the Christ.
The book tells of the departure of the Israelites from a
life of slavery in Egypt. We saw that the last word in Genesis was “Egypt.”
However, a long period has passed since the death of Joseph and the present
plight of God’s People under the Pharaohs. Exodus recounts the oppression by
the Egyptians of the ever-increasing descendants of Jacob followed by their
miraculous deliverance by God through Moses, who led them across the Red Sea to
Mount Sinai where they entered into a special covenant with the Lord.
These events were of prime importance to the Chosen People,
who became an independent nation having a unique relationship with God. Through
Moses, God gave to the Israelites at Mount Sinai the “Law”: the moral, civil
and ritual legislation by which they were to become a holy people, in whom the
promise of a Saviour for all mankind would be fulfilled.
We will spend the next three weeks going through this book.
There are two central themes:
- the
slavery and the deliverance from slavery in Egypt (Exod 1:1—15:21) and
- the
Covenant on Sinai (Exod 19:1—40:38).
Connecting these two is the secondary theme of the Journey
through the Wilderness (Exod 15:22—18:27).
The central figure is Moses, arguably Israel’s greatest
prophet. It is he who will lead his people out of the bondage in Egypt to the
foot of Mount Sinai. There, in a majestic and dramatic setting, God makes a
solemn alliance with his people and hands down his law, the law which is at the
heart of Israel’s life, and around which the whole of the Old Testament
revolves.
At the end of Genesis we saw how Joseph had brought his
people to live in Egypt under very favourable conditions. The opening paragraph
of Exodus makes the link between that time and the present. The 11 brothers of
Joseph, the sons of Jacob-Israel, had settled in Egypt and we are told that
altogether, Jacob had 70 direct descendants (literally, ‘coming from the loins
of Jacob’), presumably by a multiplicity of wives.
Now, some 400 years later the situation has changed:
…a new king arose over Egypt who did not know Joseph.
Pharaoh, in Egyptian, is Per-aa, meaning ‘the great House’
and was the usual designation of the Palace or the Court, but from the 18th
Dynasty onwards, referred to the king’s own person.
He resented the growing numbers and the increasing power of
the Hebrews in his kingdom:
He said to his people, “Look, the Israelite people are
more numerous and more powerful than we. Come, let us deal shrewdly with them,
or they will increase and, in the event of war, join our enemies and fight
against us and escape from the land.”
The implication is that an important source of slave labour
would be lost. Ironically, they would in fact leave the country, but with the
help of an ally the Pharaoh had not taken into account.
It was the beginning of the long and sad story of
antisemitism and of all kinds of racial and ethnic discrimination—by no means a
thing of the past now, some 3,000 years later.
The Pharaoh took two steps to subjugate the Hebrews: first,
they were reduced to doing forced labour under Egyptian taskmasters. For their
massive undertakings the kings of this time in general always used forced
labour. In Israel, David was to do so (2 Sam 20:24) and Solomon even more so in
his building of the Temple. The Hebrews were involved in major construction
projects, specifically, the building of the supply or store cities of Pithom
and Rameses. Rameses was the residence in the Nile Delta of Pharaoh Rameses II.
It is now identified with either the contemporary town of Tanis or Qantir.
Yet, the greater the oppression, the more the Hebrew
population increased. As a result, the working conditions became even more severe,
and the Hebrews were virtually reduced to slavery and doing the most difficult
work.
It is part of our reading, but it is interesting to note
that the Pharaoh told the Hebrew midwives:
When you act as midwives to the Hebrew women and see them
on the birthstool, if it is a son, kill him, but if it is a daughter, she shall
live.
The midwives, however, “feared God” and disobeyed the
ruling. When called to account, they replied:
…the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women, for
they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife comes to them.
Finally though:
Pharaoh commanded all his people, “Every son that is born
to the Hebrews you shall throw into the Nile, but you shall let every daughter
live.”
The stage is being set for the birth of one particular
boy—Moses—and God’s intervention on behalf of his suffering people.
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Commentary on
Matthew 10:34—11:1
Today, we come to the final part of Jesus’ apostolic
discourse in chapter 10. At a first reading, today’s passage could be puzzling,
if not to say highly disturbing to some. Jesus seems to contradict everything
that he has said and done so far.
Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the
earth; I have not come to bring peace but a sword.
But do we not call Jesus the Prince of Peace? Does Jesus not
say during the Last Supper discourse in John’s Gospel (14:27) that he has come
to give his peace to his disciples, a peace that no one will ever be able to
take away from them?
And Jesus goes on to apply to himself a passage from the
prophet Micah (7:6):
For I have come to set a man against his father,
and a daughter against her mother,
and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law,
and one’s foes will be members of one’s own household.
It sounds a terrible thing for Jesus our Saviour to be
saying. But it expresses, not what he wants to happen, but what he sees as an
inevitable outcome of his message of love. It says more about us than about
him.
Unfortunately, what Jesus says has only been confirmed again
and again. We have mentioned before the paradox that the message of Jesus about
truth, love, justice and freedom for people everywhere is seen by some as
highly subversive and dangerous. And people who subscribe to this vision of
Jesus and try to implement it in their lives are likely to run into headlong
opposition with those who have a totally different vision of life and who see
Jesus’ vision as a real threat to their interests. In a world of conflicting
ideologies, philosophies, cultures, traditions, ethnic and religious
identities, to declare that one is opting for the Way of Jesus is often to
invite opposition, persecution and even death.
What Jesus says here is a fact—and was already a known
experience when this Gospel was written. Christianity divided families and, in
some places, it still does. But people who see and understand and accept the
vision of life that Jesus offers know they have no choice but to follow it,
even if close family members object. To go with Christ is to enter a new
family, with new bonds—a family which, for its part, does not at all reject
those who reject it. The Christian may be hounded and hated and expelled by
family members, but that is not the way he or she is going to respond to them.
On the contrary, the dearest wish of the new Christian is for family members to
be able to see what he or she sees and, until they do, that new Christian will
pray for them, bless them and love them.
Jesus then goes on to lay down the conditions necessary to
be a genuine disciple.
Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy
of me…
In many cultures this is a hard saying and seems to fly in
the face of the filial piety and respect for the authority of elders which is
at the heart of such societies.
It is not, in fact, a conflict. Love and respect for family
members is a very high value for the Christian, but there are even higher
values which may take precedence. Filial piety and parental authority can be
very inward-looking, too centred on just this group of people. Racial, national
and religious identity can also be very narrow and intolerant in its
understanding.
Christianity is outward-looking and realises that there are
people out there whose needs are even prior to those of my family. To the
Christian, his blood family are only some among many brothers and sisters who
have to be loved, served and cared for. One is also never bound to follow
family requirements which would be against such values as truth, love, justice
and honesty. As a Christian, I cannot obey a parent or other family member who
practices dishonesty in business, who cheats, who sexually abuses, who
practices racism or narrow-minded nationalism and the like and urges me to do
the same.
Jesus, as the Word of God, stands for a level of truth and
integrity and love which is the ultimate measure of all that I do and say. I
cannot conform to the wishes of anyone, however close, who falls short of that
measure. But my Christian love and concern for that person will not be
diminished, in spite of how I may be treated.
To live like this can at time involve pain, separation,
intense suffering and even death. This, I think, is what Jesus means when he
says that I am not worthy of him unless I am willing to take my cross and walk
with him. There is a price to be paid for being true and loving and just. This also
is what he means by ‘finding’ life and ‘losing’ my life. To ‘find’ life is to
take the easy way of accommodation and compromise, not to mention material gain
and pleasure; to ‘lose’ is to let go and let Jesus take charge. Of course, as
Jesus points out, in the long run it is the ‘losers’ who find and the ‘finders’
who lose.
The discourse ends with some advice about finding Jesus in
other people, especially his own followers. Anyone who welcomes a follower of
Jesus, whether that person is a ‘prophet’ (a missionary) or a ‘holy man’ (an
ordinary Christian), welcomes Jesus himself and welcomes the Father also. Even
giving a cup of cold water to someone who is a Christian will not go
unrewarded.
The discourse is then clearly brought to an end by Matthew,
saying:
…when Jesus had finished instructing his twelve
disciples, he went on from there to teach and proclaim his message in their
cities.
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https://livingspace.sacredspace.ie/o1152g/
Monday,
July 14, 2025
Ordinary Time
Opening Prayer
God our
Father, Your light of truth guides us to the way of Christ. May all who follow
Him reject what is contrary to the gospel.
We ask this through our Lord
Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one
God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Gospel Reading - Matthew 10: 34-11: 1
Jesus
said to his Apostles: "Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon
the earth. I have come to bring not peace but the sword. For I have come to set
a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law
against her mother-in-law; and one's enemies will be those of his household.
"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 righteous 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 he is a disciple– amen, I say to you, he
will surely not lose his reward." When Jesus finished giving these commands
to his Twelve disciples, he went away from that place to teach and to preach in
their towns.
Reflection
In May of last year, the V
Conference of Latin American Bishops, which was held in Aparecida in the north
of Brazil, wrote a very important document on the theme: “Disciples and
Missionaries of Jesus Christ, so that our peoples may have life.” The discourse
of the mission of chapter 10 of the Gospel of Matthew offers much light in
helping to carry out the mission as disciples and missionaries of Jesus Christ.
The Gospel today presents to us the last part of this discourse of the mission.
•
Matthew 10: 34-36: I have not come to bring peace to
the earth but the sword. Jesus always speaks of peace (Mt 5: 9; Mk 9: 50; Lk 1:
79; 10: 5; 19: 38; 24: 36; Jn 14: 27; 16: 33; 20: 21, 26). How can we
understand the statement in today’s Gospel which seems to say the contrary: “Do
not think that I have come to bring peace on earth; no, I have not come to
bring peace but the sword.” This affirmation does not mean that Jesus was in
favor of division and the sword. No! Jesus wants neither the sword (Jn 18: 11)
nor division. He wants the union of all in truth (cf. Jn 17: 17-23). At that
time, the announcement of the truth that He, Jesus of Nazareth, was the Messiah
became a reason of great division among the Jews. In the same family or
community, some were in favor and others were radically contrary. In this sense
the Good News of Jesus was truly a source of division, a “sign of
contradiction” (Lk 2: 34) or, as Jesus said, He was bringing the sword. In this
way the other warning is understood: “I have come to set son against father,
daughter against mother, daughter-in-law against mother-in-law; a person’s
enemies will be the members of his own household.” In fact, that was what was
happening in the families and in the communities: much division, much
discussion, the consequence of the announcement of the Good News among the Jews
of that time, because some accepted while others rejected. Today the same thing
happens. Many times, when the Church renews itself, the appeal to the Good News
becomes a ‘sign of contradiction’ and of division. People who for years have
lived comfortably in their routine of Christian life do not want to allow
themselves to be bothered by the ‘innovations’ of Vatican Council II. Disturbed
by the changes, they used all their intelligence to find arguments in defense
of their opinions and to condemn the changes, considering them contrary to what
they thought was the true faith.
•
Matthew 10: 37: No one who prefers father or mother to
Me is worthy of Me. Luke gives this same statement, but much more demanding.
Literally he says, “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and
mother, his sons and brothers, his sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be
My disciple” (Lk 14: 26). How can this affirmation of Jesus be combined with
the other one in which He says to observe the fourth commandment: love and
honor father and mother? (Mk 7: 10-12; Mt 19: 19). (The Greek word used in Luke
is μισέω, which has slightly different meaning than how hate is used in English. It’s usage
means “to love less,” to denounce (comparatively) between the two. It does not
carry the animosity we commonly associate with hate.) However, two
observations: (1) The fundamental criterion on which Jesus insists always is
this one: the Good News of God should be the supreme value of our life. In our
life there can be no greater value. (2) The economic and social situation at
the time of Jesus was such that the families were obliged to close themselves
up in themselves. They no longer had the conditions to respect the obligations
of human community living together as, for example, sharing, hospitality,
invitation to a meal, and the acceptance of the excluded. This individualistic
closing up in self, caused by the national and international situation,
produced distortion:
(1) It made
life in community impossible
(2) It limited
the commandment “honor father and mother” exclusively to the small family
nucleus and no longer to the larger family of the community
(3) It
prevented the full manifestation of the Good News of God, because if God is
Father/Mother we are brothers and sisters of one another. And this truth should
be expressed in the life of the community. A living and fraternal community is
the mirror of the face of God. Living together without community is a mirror
which disfigures the face of God.
In this context, the request
of Jesus, “to hate father and mother” means that the disciples should overcome
the individualistic closing up of the small family on itself, and extend it to
the community dimension, preferring to communal love to limiting it to familial
love. Jesus Himself put into practice what He taught others. His family wanted
to call Him to close Himself up in self. When they told Him, “Look, Your mother
and Your brothers are outside and they are looking for You,” He answered: “Who
is My mother, and who are My brothers?” Looking at the people around Him He
said: “Behold, My mother and My brothers. Anyone who does the will of God is My
brother, My sister and My mother” (Mk 3: 32-35). He extends the family! This
was and continues to be, even today for the small family, the only way to be
able to keep and transmit the values which He believes.
•
Matthew 10: 38-39: The demands of the mission of the
disciples. In these two verses, Jesus gives important and demanding advice: (a)
To take up the cross and follow Jesus: Anyone who does not take his cross and
follow in My footsteps is not worthy of Me. In order to perceive all the
significance and importance of this first advice, keep in mind the witness of
Saint Paul: “But as for me, it is not of the question that I should boast at
all, except of the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom the world has
been crucified to me and I to the world” (Gal 6: 14). To carry the cross
presupposes, even now, a radical drawing away from the sinful system which
reigns in the world. (b) To have the courage to give one’s life: “Anyone who
finds his life will lose it; anyone who loses his life for My sake will find
it.” Only the one who in life has been capable of giving himself totally to
others will feel fulfilled. This second piece of advice confirms the deepest
human experience; the source of life is in the gift of life. In giving one
receives. “If the grain of wheat does not die …” (Jn 12: 24).
•
Matthew 10: 40: The identification of the disciple
with Jesus and with God Himself. This human experience of contribution and of
the gift received has a clarification, a deepening: “Anyone who welcomes you
welcomes Me: and anyone who welcomes Me welcomes the One who sent Me.” In the
total gift of self, the disciple identifies himself with Jesus; there the
encounter with God takes place, and God allows Himself to be found by the one
who seeks Him.
•
Matthew 10: 41-42: The reward of the prophet, of the
just and of the disciple. The discourse of the Mission ends with one sentence
on reward: “Anyone who welcomes a prophet because he is a prophet will have a
prophet’s reward; and anyone who welcomes an upright person because he
is upright will have the
reward of an upright person. If anyone gives so much as a cup of cold water to
one of these little ones, because he is a disciple, then in truth I tell you,
he will most certainly not go without reward.” In this statement the sequence
is very meaningful: the prophet is recognized because of his mission as one
sent by God. The upright person is recognized by his behavior, by his perfect
way of observing the law of God. The disciple is recognized by no quality or
mission, but simply by his social condition of being least among the people.
The Kingdom is not made of great things. It is like a very big house which is
constructed with small bricks. Anyone who despises the brick will have great
difficulty in constructing the house. Even a glass of water serves as a brick
for the construction of the Kingdom.
•
Matthew 11: 1: The end of the discourse of the
mission. When Jesus had finished instructing His twelve disciples, He moved
from there to teach and preach in their towns. Now Jesus leaves to put into
practice what He has taught. We will see this in chapters 11 and 12 of the
Gospel of Matthew.
Personal Questions
•
To lose life in order to gain life. Have you had some
experience of having felt rewarded for an act of donation or gratuity for
others?
•
He who welcomes you welcomes Me, and who welcomes Me,
welcomes the One who sent Me. Stop and think about what Jesus says here: He and
God Himself identify themselves with you.
Concluding Prayer
How blessed are those who
live in Your house; they shall praise You continually. Blessed those who find
their strength in You, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage. (Ps 84: 4-5)
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