A READING FROM THE SECOND BOOK OF KINGS

One day Elisha came to Shunem, where there was a woman of influence, who pressed him to dine with her. Afterward, whenever he passed by, he would stop there to dine. So she said to her husband, “I know that he is a holy man of God. Since he visits us often, let us arrange a little room on the roof and furnish it for him with a bed, table, chair, and lamp, so that when he comes to us he can stay there.”

One day Elisha arrived and stayed in the room overnight. 
Later Elisha asked, “What can we do for her?” Gehazi answered, “She has no son, and her husband is old.” Elisha said, “Call her.” He did so, and when she stood at the door, Elisha promised, “This time next year you will be cradling a baby son.”

RESPONSORIAL PSALM: PSALM 89
R. Forever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.
The promises of the LORD I will sing forever,
through all generations my mouth shall proclaim your faithfulness.
For you have said, "My kindness is established forever;"
in heaven you have confirmed your faithfulness.
R. Forever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.
Blessed the people who know the joyful shout;
in the light of your countenance, O LORD, they walk.
At your name they rejoice all the day,
and through your justice they are exalted.
R. Forever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.
You are the splendor of their strength,
and by your favor our horn is exalted.
For to the LORD belongs our shield,
and to the Holy One of Israel, our king.
R. Forever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.

A READING FROM THE LETTER OF ST. PAUL TO THE ROMANS
Brothers and Sisters:
Are you unaware that we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were indeed buried with him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might live in newness of life. If, then, we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him. We know that Christ, raised from the dead, dies no more; death no longer has power over him. As to his death, he died to sin once and for all; as to his life, he lives for God. Consequently, you too must think of yourselves as [being] dead to sin and living for God in Christ Jesus.

A READING FROM THE HOLY GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. MATTHEW
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 his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. “Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me. Whoever receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever receives a righteous man because he is righteous will receive a righteous man’s reward. And whoever gives only a cup of cold water to one of these little ones to drink because he is a disciple—amen, I say to you, he will surely not lose his reward.”

This Sunday's gospels is one that always draws a few double takes and confused looks, and I firmly count myself among the crowd checking to make sure I heard this reading right. What Jesus is asking us seems outrageous. Are we supposed to place the people who raised us and the young ones we brought into this world second? To make a long story short, yes. But the longer story offers us the context we need to understand why Jesus demands this of us. 

Who remembers the story of Jesus' first marriage at the wedding in Cana, when Jesus washed the feet of his disciples, or the passion Jesus suffered for us on Calvary's Hill? All of these acts are built upon one word-love. Jesus loved and respected his mother so much that he began his ministry earlier than he wanted to simply because his mother asked him to. An act of service to Mary and the people she cared about at the wedding. Jesus loved the disciples so much that he lowered himself to the position of the lowest servant to wash the feet of the men who saw him as God. An act of service to his friends and a lesson in humility. Jesus loved the world so much that he was brutally tortured for days on end simply so we might have the chance to live eternally with him. A sacrificial act of service that stripped the Son of God of all earthy dignity, and his life.

Are you starting to see the pattern here? Jesus wants us to focus our love in a different way. Rather than just a love built upon earthly bonds, he calls us to build our love on the cornerstone of sacrifice, service, and humility. Why else would the rewards for welcoming the prophet or a righteous person be simply what they can offer (which isn't a reward to scoff at), but the reward for offering cold water to a child is a great act of discipleship? It's because our love is meant to be one that compels us to serve our neighbor. It's because our love is meant to be one that puts our egos aside. It's because our love is meant to be one that is founded on the all-giving and sacrificial love that Christ shows us each every time we come before the Eucharistic feast. Once we understand that, the love we show our husband, our wife, our kids, our friends, and even those we don't know or ones we would consider our enemy transforms in ways we never knew possible.