Thirteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Mt. 10:37-42) “Can I Help?”

Thirteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time (Mt. 10:37-42) “Can I Help?”

        Few of us ask strangers to stay with us.  If someone were to show up at our door unannounced, expecting to be a guest, we would probably think that was rude.  Why won’t you stay in a hotel, we might think?  We might even pay for the hotel room rather than have someone interrupt our routine.

        But that wasn’t the attitude of 1st century Palestine.  No viable hotels existed in most villages.  Also, there were no phones, no computers, no reliable mail service so that one could ask permission to stay as a guest in another person’s home. 

        Hospitality wasn’t considered a favor.  No, it was considered a moral imperative.  If a person didn’t offer a place to stay it was impolite.  The desert climate that Jesus lived in was extremely unforgiving.  Temperatures were scorching hot in the daytime.  At night it was freezing cold.  Finding a suitable shelter could be a matter of life and death. 

If a holy man (traveling prophet) was seeking shelter, it was even more important to offer them a place.  Such travelers weren’t uncommon.  The prophets were like emissaries.  Important people had to send messengers to conduct business matters.  At any given time, messengers were crisscrossing the ancient world.  Hopefully, they had friends in the places they wanted to stay at night, but a lot of times they didn’t.  All they might have is a letter from the important individual they were representing.  Usually, that was good enough.  To turn away such a messenger, would be like turning away the person they represented.  People didn’t want to insult influential people.  At some point in the future, they might need their help.  If the messenger was God’s agent there was even more of a sense of obligation.  What would happen if a person refused to help God?

      Traveling evangelists aren’t common today.  Most don’t want to stay in private homes.  If they come to preach at a church, they might expect to be put up at a nice hotel.  What is our obligation?  The most popular slogan in the Catholic Church today is that we are to be “missionary disciples.”  How do we assist in spreading the word?  All through history there have been different ways of doing this.

        A story is told of a cobbler who lived long ago.  As a boy he wanted to be a preacher.  He longed to spread the word of God.  Just as he was about to go off to seminary his father died leaving his mother with five children.  The man immediately went to work for a cobbler so that he would have a trade to support his family.  Eventually, he started his own shop.  For twenty years he labored.  By the time he could go to seminary it was too late.  He had his own family.  His lot in life was to be a cobbler.

        To his delight, his youngest brother announced that he was going to be a preacher.  When he was ordained, he began to travel around the country.  He was successful.  One day his older brother asked him to stop by his shop.  He handed him a pair of new shoes.  He said, “I want you to wear these wherever you walk.  I also want you to wear them when you step onto the pulpit.  If they need repair, I will do it for free.  In this way I will be helping spread the word of God.  And that will be enough for me.”

        Not many of us will be traveling preachers, but that does not mean we can’t help in spreading the word.  When I was in the seminary, our small university needed major repairs.  A monastery was connected to the school.  The monks lived in a hundred-year-old building that was unsafe.  The monks undertook a capital campaign hoping to raise millions of dollars.  The monks had never asked for help like this before.  On the surface it seemed like an overwhelming task.

        One priest went to see people to ask for larger donations.  He thought he would rather be digging the foundations by hand than to seek contributions.  Usually, the reception he got was cool.  He had to really do a sales job.  To his surprise one day a couple greeted him warmly.  The man and wife told the priest.  “In medieval times only Kings and Queens and nobility could afford to build monasteries, schools, and churches.  We came from quite humble beginnings.  God has blessed us with material wealth.  We never thought we would have what we do.  God is asking us for help through you.  How can we refuse?  We will have a part in the ministry of every priest who goes out to serve the church.”  And then they gave their gift.

        Do we take the opportunity to be a part of helping spread the word of God?  We might not be the minister preaching the word, but we can provide support so the message can be proclaimed.  We might be asked to give some a place to stay or a pair of shoes.  And then again, it might be something as big as funding a church or school for those in need.  The important thing is we capitalize on the opportunities to help when Christ’s ambassadors come to us.

Reflection Questions:

1.  Have I spread the message of Jesus where I work?  Have I spread the Good News where I go to school?

2.  What are some indirect ways of spreading God’s word?  Am I happy to be in the background and help?

Dear Parishioners,

         Our Sacred Justice Committee is starting a special small group program called Good News People.  The goals of the program are to help people to engage in their Catholic faith as they share prayer, reading of Scripture, spiritual practices, and dialogue. 

        The second goal of the program is to communicate hope as participants explore the possibilities that a faithful commitment to the gospel can bring.  The third goal is to open people’s hearts to a greater love be encountering the Biblical witness of Jesus in the Gospel.

        Often it seems like we come to Mass and then walk out of the church wondering what we can do next.  If you want to stretch yourself, this is an opportunity.  Small groups are always a way of bringing our faith alive and building community.

        I encouraged the Sacred Justice Committee to start this process now.  Summertime is an opportunity for leisure.  Leisure is not just sitting under a shade tree sipping lemonade, but it is about growing, learning, and being enlivened.  I would encourage anyone to join the Good News People process. 

        May Our Lady pray for us and for our fragile planet.

         Fr. Mark