Sunday:       13 TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
Date:         JUNE 27, 1999
Year:         A
The readings: [2 Kgs. 4:8-11, 14-6; Rom. 6:3-4, 8-11; Mt. 10:37-42]
The message:  LET US WALK IN THE NEWNESS OF LIFE.
Prepared by:  CATHOLIC DOORS MINISTRY
Total words:  995

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My brothers and sisters in Jesus, in today's readings, you heard the Holy Spirit calling out to you to walk in the newness of life.

In the Name of the Holy Trinity, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, you received the Church Sacrament of Baptism. Through faith in Jesus and the Sacrament of Baptism, you died with Jesus, you were buried with Him and you resurrected with Him. Through the Sacrament of Baptism, you received a new heart and spirit. Through Jesus, now indebted to Him for ever for the promise of the inheritance of the Kingdom of God, you are called to walk in the newness of life.

Having died with Christ, you are now dead to sin. You are not the same anymore. When you were born, having been contaminated by the original sin, you were called to be deprived of the eternal glory of the children of God. Through Christ, in the blessed hope of eternal life in the heavenly Kingdom, you received a new heart and spirit of the godly seed. Through your new nature, you longs for what is righteous. You seek to worship God in spirit. You seek to shine in the fruit of the Holy Spirit. You seek to humble yourself in service to the Lord God. You seek to do all what is good and pure as a child of God.

Above this great gift of the new creation within you, you have received the indwelling Holy Spirit. Through the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, you now have the power to renounce mortal sins. You now have the power to say, "no" to all sins. As such, do not let sinful passions have control over your mortal bodies.

My brothers and sisters, through the gift of new life, you have found the spiritual meaning of living your faith in Christ. You have learned that you must love God first, with your whole soul, your whole heart and your whole mind, for He is the provider of all things. That is the first commandment. You must love God more than anyone else, even your parents, your spouse, your children and all your wealth of this world. If you love God any less than that, you are not worthy of Him. If such love makes others jealous, than that is the cross that you must bear. It is better for you to suffer a little bit now and to lose a parent, a spouse or a child than to lose the love of God and the gift of eternal life that awaits you. None of them, your parent, your spouse or your child can secure your salvation.

The second commandment is that you must love your neighbour as you love yourself. There are no greater commandments than these two.

Based on the spiritual laws, the goodness that you perform today towards others in love will be rewarded accordingly in Heaven. In today's First Reading, you saw the goodness of the wealthy lady towards Elisha. In love, she provided him with a place to stay. In return, the Lord God promised her a son through Elisha. By welcoming a prophet, she received a reward worthy of a prophet's reward. By the measure that you show love and kindness towards others, that same measure will be used for you when you appear before the Lord Jesus for judgment.

Your reward will be according to your works. If you are persecuted because of your goodness, "Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in Heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you." [Mt. 5:12]

Whenever you give to the Church or perform charity towards others, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do so that they may be praised by others. They have already received their reward. [Mt. 6:2] Give your alms in secret so your Father in Heaven who sees all will reward you. [Mt. 6:4]

Always remember that "The one who plants and the one who waters have a common purpose, and each will receive wages according to the labour of each." [1 Cor. 3:8] Each will receive wages according to his labour because "The labourer deserves to be paid." [1 Tim. 5:18]

Most important of all, have faith my brothers and sisters. For "Without faith it is impossible to please God, for whoever would approach him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him." [Heb. 11:6]

Allow me to tell you something that some of you may not know about the Heavenly reward that awaits you for the works that you perform while walking the newness of life in Christ. When you work for someone and they pay you, is that a gift? No, "to one who works, wages are not reckoned as a gift but as something due." [Rom. 4:4] When you do spiritual works, you are pilling up Heavenly treasures. On the day "when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will win the crown of glory that never fades away." [1 Pet. 5:4]

Your goal in this life my brothers and sisters should be to gather as much as you can because you do not know the day when the Lord will call you. You have to run the race in such a way that you may win it, always remembering that only one will receive the greatest crown. [1 Cor. 9:24] You must lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, so you may run with perseverance the race that is set before you, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of your faith" [Heb. 12:1-2]

As athletes exercise self-control in all things to receive a perishable wreath, you must exercise self-control in all things to receive an imperishable one. [1 Cor. 9:25]

"Blessed is anyone who endures temptation. Such a one has stood the test and will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love Him." [Jas. 1:12] He has walked the newness of life according to his calling.

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The readings...

[The readings were taken from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible (C) 1989 Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Church of Christ in the United States of America.]

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First Reading...

"One day Elisha was passing through Shunem, where a wealthy woman lived, who urged him to have a meal. So whenever he passed that way, he would stop there for a meal. She said to her husband, 'Look, I am sure that this man who regularly passes our way is a holy man of God. Let us make a small roof chamber with walls, and put there for him a bed, a table, a chair, and a lamp, so that he can stay there whenever he comes to us.' One day when he came there, he went up to the chamber and lay down there. He said, 'What then may be done for her?' Gehazi answered, 'Well, she has no son, and her husband is old.' He said, 'Call her.' When he had called her, she stood at the door. He said, 'At this season, in due time, you shall embrace a son.' She replied, 'No, my lord, O man of God; do not deceive your servant.'" [2 Kgs 4:8-11, 14-6]

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Second Reading...

"Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the father, so we too might walk in the newness of life. But if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. The death he died, he died to sin, once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore, do not let sin exercise dominion in your mortal bodies, to make you obey their passions." [Rom. 6:3-4, 8-11]

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Gospel Reading...

"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 the cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet's reward; and whoever welcomes a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive the reward of the righteous; and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple - truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward." [Mt. 10:37-42]

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