THIRTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
28 JUNE 2020
In his letter to the Romans, Saint
Paul teaches about Baptism. We hear this
same reading at the Easter Vigil. We
hear it after listening to seven readings from the Old Testament as we sit in a
darkened church looking at the newly lit Easter Candle. Those readings speak of the history of God’s
people, beginning with the creation of the world. We hear about the willingness of Abraham to
sacrifice his only son, Isaac. We hear about
Moses leading his people through the Red Sea from slavery in Egypt to freedom
in the desert. We hear the prophets calling
God’s people to greater faithfulness to the Covenant and promising
redemption.
Saint Paul speaks to us after the
lights come on and all the candles are lit.
God has fulfilled the promises in the Paschal Mystery. Just as Jesus Christ had been buried in a
tomb, the Elect will be immersed in the waters of baptism (in normal times when
we are allowed to fill our baptismal font with water). Just as Jesus Christ emerged from the tomb
never to die again, the newly baptized will emerge from the water to live in
newness of life. Saint Paul calls all of
the baptized to keep our baptismal promises.
We need to trust that every time we choose to die to ourselves and our
own selfishness, we share in Christ’s dying and share in his resurrection.
The earliest disciples believed
this message. By the time Saint Matthew
recorded these words from Jesus Christ, his Jewish Christian readers had to
make difficult choices about belonging to families. In the ancient world, it was critical to
belong to a human family. When some members
chose to become members of the family of the baptized, they were thrown out of
their human families. In their human
families, they had been protected by Roman law, which recognized Judaism as a
legal entity. Expelled from those
families, they were no longer protected.
Jesus makes it clear that they must make a choice. They must choose membership in his family
formed by baptism over their own human families, even if that choice involves
the cross of persecution, exclusion, and even death. In keeping their baptismal promises and
losing their lives, he promises that they will find life in the resurrection.
Knowing the context of this message
helps us to understand his seemingly harsh words about loving our parents or
immediate family. He is not saying that
we must break the fourth commandment to love and obey parents. For most of us, choosing to be a disciple
will not cause us to be kicked out of our human families. Sometimes, those preparing for baptism or
reception into full communion with the Catholic Church face resentment and even
opposition from their human families. At
other times, disciples might face possible recriminations when making a
decision to live their baptismal promises in certain circumstances.
Keeping our baptismal promises will
not have those dire consequences.
However, we must heed the command of Jesus to love him first. If spouses and parents put the love of Jesus
Christ first, they will be better parents and spouses. In keeping their baptismal promises to die to
themselves, they will share the resurrected life of Jesus Christ more fully
with children and spouses. Parents can die
to their desire to please their teenagers by allowing them to do what they want
and live to trust that discipline will be more beneficial in the long run.
Just as the woman of influence in
today’s first reading received much more because of her hospitality to the
prophet Elisha, those we love will receive more precisely because the
hospitality of the family of Jesus Christ will strengthen their bonds. That is why Baptism is the first and most
important Sacrament. Keeping baptismal
promises brings death to self. But it
also brings life with Jesus Christ and greater life for our families.
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