25, 1993
The Message -- for Catholics of Southwestern Indiana
9
-- Commentary --
Renunciation of family: Taking up the cross
Gospel commentary for
June 27, 1993, Thirteenth Sun-
day in ordinary time, Cycle A:
Itftthew 10:37-42.
Last Sunday we heard a part
ssion instructions to
disciples. Such instructions
found in Mark, Matthew, and
with considerable differ-
ences among them. Like other
8erraons of Jesus reported in
Matthew, the "mission sermon"
Should be thought of as a collec-
tion of various sayings of Jesus
spoken at different times. These
Were handed down orally while
3aeing adapted and changed to express the vari-
ons of the diverse churches from
d gospels originate. This accounts for
ifferences and sometimes even contradic-
BCN FATHER
DILGER
COLUMNIST
Our gospel reading today is taken from the
deof the mission sermon of Jesus in Matthew.
ere are some harsh statements setting out the
for following Jesus. Anyone who
father and mother, son and daughter, more
is not worthy of him, or as Luke
"cannot be a disciple of Jesus." Luke is
more emphatic in this harsh requirement.
of loving Jesus more than family as in
Luke asks disciples of Jesus to "hate
d mother, wife and children, brothers
isters, and even one's own life." Both
and Luke depend on the lost "Gospel
for this statement. The author of "O" seems
been a radically conservative Christian
reveling in a harsh Christianity of
absolute demands spiced with
threats of fiery punishments.
Today we would say -- "more
Catholic than the Pope."
The idea of abandoning fam-
ily for the service of God is also
found in the Old Testament. In
Deuteronomy 33:9 we read of
Levi that he said of his mother
and father: "I regard them not,"
that he disowned his brothers and
ignored his children. Levi would
have made an ideal pre-Vatican II
Christian of the most severe type.
An example of required abandon-
ment is the case of Elijah expect-
ing Elisha to follow him in a prophetic vocation
without even saying farewell to his parents.
Our interpretation of the demand of
Matthew's Jesus of loving family less or of hating
family and life as in Luke should be understood
in light of another harsh statement found in the
gospels: "If your hand or foot cause you to sin,
cut if off and throw it away." Not even the most
fundamentalist of Christians would interpret
this statement literally. Rather it means that we
should go to great lengths to avoid sin. Thus
putting family second to Jesus means that those
who receive a special call to follow Jesus would
set aside whatever prevents them from fulfilling
the special mission to which God calls them.
Another harsh statement now follows: "Those
who do not take up their cross and follow me are
not worthy of me," or, as Luke says it: "cannot
be my disciple." This is the first mention of the
dreaded word "cross" by Matthew. At a distance
of almost two thousand years, and a spiritualiza-
tion process that has turned the mode of execu-
tion of slaves and rebels into a sign of God's love
and salvation, we can hardly understand the hor-
ror such a saying must have engendered in a
would-be disciple of Jesus in the first century.
Since in Mark, Matthew, and Luke, Jesus did
not even carry his own cross, the saying is even
more startling. It meant without any qualifica-
tions that any Christian must be willing to be
crucified as was Jesus and other early martyrs
The process of reinterpretation begins with Luke
9:23. Luke quotes the saying about taking up the
cross but says: "If any would come after me, let
them DENY themselves and take up their cross
DAILY and follow me." In other words, "taking
up the cross has taken on the meaning of self-de-
nial, mortification, penance, rather than physical
crucifixion.
What these sayings tell us is that following
Jesus is a momentous decision. Such a decision
was not taken lightly when the gospels were
written, nor may it be taken lightly today. In
some areas of the world such a decision can still
mean martyrdom, even if not by crucifixion. For
most of us the decision to follow Jesus still in-
volves family in the sense that the call to a spe-
cial missionary vocation is a sanctifying not only
of the one called but of the family from which
the person comes. In the sense that Luke gave to
"taking up the cross," this involves everyone
called to holiness. No Christian can be free of the
self-denial and penitential change of life required
to follow Jesus.
Other readings: II Kings 4:8-11,14-16; Rom
6: 3-4, 8-11.
Peoples
ust
Company
SOUTH MAIN STREET
P.O. BOX 191
INDIANA 4744" 1
NOTICE
number for
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ticket holder left our
before the number
iced and
e forward with
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Catholic Church
SUmmer Social
(June 13th)
Quilt Committee
Phone: 295-2225
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Special Jubilarians
Ralph and Ruth (Holtman) Bezy of Vincennes will celebrate
their fifty-fifth wedding anniversary with a Mass of Thanks-
giving June 26 at Sacred Heart Church, Vincennes and with a
family dinner. The couple requests no gifts. They were mar-
ried June 22, 1938, at St. John Church, Vincennes. They are
the parents of two children, James of Lombard, I11., and
Stephen of Indianapolis. They have four grandchildren. He is
a retired construction electrician.
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Dow and Agnes (Lorey} Apple of Jasper will €:elebrate their
sixtieth wedding anniversary with a Mass of Thanksgiving at
11 a.m. June 27 at St. Joseph Church, Jasper. Following a
family dinner, an Open House and reception will be held
from 3 to 5 p.m. at Sultan's Run. The couple requests no gifts.
They were married June 27, 1933, at St. Benedict Church,
Evansville, "'h Father Martin Hoppenjans officiating. They
are the parents of two children, Nancy Larkin and Gerald
Apple, both of Jasper. They have seven grandchildren and six
great-grandchildren.
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