Scripture Study for
Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
2 Kings 4:8–11, 14–16a / Psalm 89:2a / Romans 6:3–4, 8–11 / Matthew 10:37–42
<< Back to LECTIONARY RESOURCES
Understanding the Word
By Br. John R. Barker, OFM
The stories of Elisha are filled with examples of God saving people in distress. Through the young prophet God purifies water for one city; fills all the empty vessels of a poor widow with oil, saving her from creditors; cures a stew that has been poisoned; heals a foreigner of leprosy. Gratitude to the prophet was thus really gratitude to God. In the reading we see also the prophet’s gratitude, expressed through the promise of a child for an elderly couple. The woman does indeed have a son (who will fall ill, die, and be raised by the prophet), once again showing that the God of Israel is a God a life.
Paul has been arguing that the death of Christ brought an end to the reign of sin and death. How does this work? When one is in bondage to someone, Paul says, that bondage naturally ends when we die (6:7). In the same way, if we die with Christ in baptism we are freed from bondage to sin. We are also raised with him and are freed from the power of sin and death. Paul’s larger point here is ethical: because Christians have died to sin, and are no longer under its power, they must stop acting as if they were. They must start living for God, not continuing to serve sin.
Jesus warns his disciples that the gospel will not be received in all quarters and that he will prove, both during and after his earthly life, to be a cause of division. His followers should know that being his disciple will be the hardest thing they have ever had to do, requiring more of them than they imagine: losing family, even their lives. They will have to “take up their crosses,” the instrument of their deaths. Yet this death will lead to life—a promise only those who have faith in Jesus can believe. Even those who receive the one who proclaims the gospel will gain their reward. Both those who sacrifice for Jesus and those who receive them are assured that their efforts will redound to them in the end.