Before focusing our reflection on the Gospel passage, I would like to recall the first scripture for today, the account of Elisha and the Shunammite woman.

The First and Second Book of Kings covers a period in Jewish history before the horrific Babylonian invasion of 538 BC, and the mass deportations that followed. The Books weave the lives of the great prophet Elijah and his successor Elisha into the political history that spanned their lifetimes.

This story about Elisha teaches a beautiful moral which Jesus will carry into his teaching in today’s Gospel passage. The story is a simple one. A “woman of influence” invited Elisha to dine in her home. As time went on he stayed with her and her husband many times. Eventually the woman was given permission to construct a guest room for Elisha and his servant Gehazi on her rooftop so that the prophet would have a comfortable place to stay whenever he came to the area.

Elisha was touched by her generosity, and her desire to care for his welfare. He was, what might be called, “the court prophet.” He was God’s representative to the king and his generals. He would offer them advice and deliver God’s messages to them. So in appreciation, Elisha asked the woman if he could say a good word to the king on her behalf – a political reward. She replied that she had no need for such a reward. So Elisha asked Gehazi what he thought could be done to reward her. Gehazi answered his question; “She has no son and her husband is getting on in years.” Gehazi was then asked to bring the woman to Elisha. She reverently stood outside the door of his room. He then made a spectacular announcement to her, “This time next year you will be fondling a baby son.”

This story mirrors the story of Abraham in the Book of Genesis. He gave hospitality to three men who were walking by his tent during the heat of the day. He invited them in, washed their feet, gave them something to drink, and cooked a banquet for them. After the dinner they announced to him that he would have a son even though he was old, and Sarah was well beyond childbearing age. The moral of both stories is quite clear. Selfless hospitality will reap an unimaginable reward from God.

In the second part of today’s Gospel passage Jesus builds upon this moral. “Whoever receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man’s reward.” (Matthew 10:41) Jesus doesn’t specify the reward but implies that it will be like Abraham’s, Sarah’s and the Shunammite woman’s. God will touch that part of their lives that is unfulfilled. Selflessness will always reap a profound reward from God.

But Jesus is not merely moralizing about hospitality, he’s extending the principle in order to define the spiritual prerequisites for discipleship. The first part of the passage enumerates them. “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves daughter or son more then me is not worthy of me.” (Matthew 10:37) The selflessness of the disciple must be rooted in an expansive love that transcends even the powerful bonds of family. It must be a selflessness like that of Jesus himself. “Whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me.” (Matthew 10:38)

Jesus is demanding a radical response from us, his disciples. We must be brave enough to lose ourselves, to abandon our ego, to empty ourselves, to love ourselves out of existence. “Whoever finds his life will loose it, and whoever looses his life for my sake will find it.” (Matthew 10:39)

In last week’s Gospel passage from the same chapter 10, Jesus told the disciples three times, “Do not be afraid!” We’re all afraid, aren’t we? Look what he’s asking of us. In John’s Gospel Jesus put it this way. “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit.” (John 12:24) The only way we can become who we truly are, who God created us to be, is to abandon our false self – to let it die so that the true self can emerge. This is a universal mystical principle. Many people think that it’s only part of Hindu and Buddhist spiritual teaching, but Jesus understood very well this teaching of the sages. However, for him, this was only a platform from which to leap to a reality none of the sages could ever have imagined!

“Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me.” (Matthew 10:40) Here Jesus is telling his disciples, his messengers, who have been called, and have accepted to carry his teaching, that their work is so much more than repetition of his teachings. Because they have died to themselves he is living in them. They have become his real presence. “Whoever receives you receives me.” In us, he continues to draw the world to himself. In him, with him, and through him, the world is consecrated and selflessly offered to the Father.

When we speak of the Eucharist, we refer to the “real presence of Christ,” the abiding presence of the resurrected Lord under the appearance of bread and wine. Jesus is telling us that we are his “real presence,” so that through us the work of redemption continues.

Don’t be afraid to die – to give the gift of your self to the Father as Jesus did. Always keep clearly in your mind Jesus’ words at the supper before he accepted the cross. “It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain.” (John 15:16)

Reflect often on the last three verses of Matthew’s Gospel. We have been chosen to offer his life to everyone and anyone who might accept it. Don’t be afraid to show them the way – don’t be afraid to die to self. Don’t be afraid to bear much fruit.

“All power in heaven and earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20)

Today’s reflection focuses on seven verses from the tenth chapter of Matthew’s Gospel. What’s so interesting about this short passage is that Jesus tells his Apostles not to be afraid three times. To shed some light on this triple entreaty let’s put these verses into the greater context of the chapter.

Chapter nine concludes with these words, “The harvest is abundant, but the laborers are few; so, ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.” (Matthew 9:37-8) Jesus sees the Kingdom before him, ripe for the harvest. It’s time to gather workers to assist him.

Chapter ten then immediately recounts the commissioning of the Apostles. We’re told that Jesus “gave them authority over unclean spirits and every disease.” Jesus was passing his own power to these men. They were to “cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons.” (Matthew 10:8) Matthew then listed the names of the men in this special group. Jesus called them the Twelve because he wanted them to be the foundation of the New Israel.

Jesus chose a surprising group of men, each flawed in their own way. There was Simon, not Simon Peter. This Simon was a member of a political faction called the Zealots that strongly opposed the Roman occupation. The Zealots were often involved in assassinations and violent uprisings. In the opinion of the Jewish people Matthew was a traitor because he extorted taxes from them to give to Rome. There were four simple fishermen, Simon Peter, who was to deny Jesus three times, and his brother Andrew, and James and his brother

John. There were Bartholomew, Philip, another James, Thaddaeus, Thomas who doubted the resurrection, and, of course, Judas who betrayed him. An interesting group of men to say the least!

Jesus then gave them guidelines for their work. He told them not to be concerned about preaching to the pagans, but to first bring his message to “the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”(Matthew 10:6) They were to place their trust completely in God, and take no money with them, no extra clothing, and no sack to take up collections. He told them, “Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give.” (Matthew 10:8b)

He continued with a series of warnings. He told them that they would be taken to court, arrested and scourged; they would even be betrayed by their relatives. When they experienced persecution, they were to flee and continue preaching in other towns. These persecutions would benefit the dissemination of the Gospel. “Amen, I say to you, you will not finish the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.” (Matthew 10:23b)

Beginning with verse 26, Jesus began cautioning them to not give in to fear. “Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known. What I say to you in darkness, speak in the light; what you hear whispered, proclaim on the rooftops.” (Matthew 10:26-27) They were to be the messengers of the Truth. Even in the darkest days, Jesus would be with them strengthening them to fearlessly carry his light. They would hear his voice whispering to them. They were to pro- claim his message of truth from the rooftops.

Let’s bring this Gospel passage into our world of 2026. Christian persecution continues throughout the world but is especially vicious in Sun-Saharan Africa, Asia and the Middle East. A shocking 98% of Palestinian Christians have fled Israel.

None of us can foretell the future. All we can acknowledge right now is that there are millions of Middle Eastern Christians in search of safety. Many are wandering. Many are trapped in refugee camps. Many have managed to find asylum in European countries. If the horrible and traumatic persecutions of the first three centuries of our Christian history can teach us anything, it’s that persecutions can enable the Gospel to be spread throughout the world. The persecutions didn’t destroy the faith; they strengthened it.

Christianity has been in a gradual downward spiral in Europe, North America and Australia. However, it’s blossoming in Asia, Africa and Central and South America in spite of the persecutions. Those continents are already sending missionaries to the United States and Europe. Perhaps the migrations of Christians will serve as a new foundation for a renewed Christianity in countries that have lost their connection to the Gospel. The faith of men and women who have survived persecution is deep and powerful. Perhaps when Pope John Paul II called for a re-evangelization of the Church he was prophetically pointing to this infusion of a deeply committed faith in countries that have lost the faith. The great exodus of Christians may just be the first step of his vision.

If there’s any lesson we can glean from this Gospel passage, it’s “do not be afraid.” To reinvigorate our own faith, we can’t be afraid of what friends, relatives or co-workers think of what we believe. If we remain strong, we’ll grow closer to Christ, strengthen each other’s faith, and perhaps even plant the seed of faith in those who don’t believe, or are mediocre believers.

“The harvest is abundant, but the laborers are few.” How often have we heard this quote?! Is there a vocation poster anywhere that doesn’t use it? It’s almost a cliché. I think that, if we’re to get the true message of this teaching, we would do well to detach it from these vocation posters that evoke sad and disheartening reactions. What’s going to happen to the Church when there aren’t any priests left? There aren’t enough religious to run the few Catholic schools we have left! Let’s stop to look closely at the Gospel.

Jesus’ heart is filled with pity when he looks at all the disciples following him. He should be happy, no? What’s wrong?

Thirty years ago, I went to Corsica to visit friends and managed to almost drown my first day there. I was flown to the hospital in Ajaccio where I spent the night hooked up to an IV drip of antibiotics. My roommate was an elderly Corsican with a heart problem.

My friends told him I was a priest.

We spoke a lot after my friends left – he in French – I in the French equivalent of “See Spot run. Run. Run. Run.” He shared some problems he had with the Church. I had some problems, too. We talked about praying and what we got out of it. After my friends drove me back to their home, they told me that the Corsican told them he was returning to the Church.

Today’s Gospel ends with Jesus telling the twelve apostles. “Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive our demons!” What does “the harvest is abundant, but the laborers are few” mean? It means stop complaining! Get out there. Every moment of the day brings an opportunity to let Jesus preach and teach through each and every one of us, young, old, hospitalized, healthy – the guy in back of me in the queue. “The kingdom of God is at hand.”

“The harvest is abundant, but the laborers are few.” How often have we heard this quote?! Is there a vocation poster anywhere that doesn’t use it? It’s almost a cliché. I think that, if we’re to get the true message of this teaching, we would do well to detach it from these vocation posters that evoke sad and disheartening reactions. What’s going to happen to the Church when there aren’t any priests left? There aren’t enough religious to run the few Catholic schools we have left! Let’s stop to look closely at the Gospel.

Jesus’ heart is filled with pity when he looks at all the disciples following him. He should be happy, no? What’s wrong?

Thirty years ago, I went to Corsica to visit friends and managed to almost drown my first day there. I was flown to the hospital in Ajaccio where I spent the night hooked up to an IV drip of antibiotics. My roommate was an elderly Corsican with a heart problem. My friends told him I was a priest.

We spoke a lot after my friends left he in French – I in the French equivalent of “See Spot run. Run. Run. Run.” He shared some problems he had with the Church. I had some problems, too. We talked about praying and what we got out of it. After my friends drove me back to their home, they told me that the Corsican told them he was returning to the Church.

Today’s Gospel ends with Jesus telling the twelve apostles. “Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out the demons!” What does “the harvest is abundant, but the laborers are few” mean? It means stop complaining! Get out there. Every moment of the day brings an opportunity to let Jesus preach and teach through each and every one of us, young, old, hospitalized, healthy – the guy in back of me in the queue. “The kingdom of God is at hand.”