28/06/2026
A Franciscan Gospel Reflection for the 13th Sunday of Ordinary Time 2026
The Gospel background and reflection questions are prepared and distributed by Franciscan Sister of Christian Charity Sister Anne Marie Lom, OSF and Joe Thiel, as edited from Reflections authored by Fr. Paul Gallagher, OFM. The excerpts from the Sunday readings are prepared by Joe Thiel.
Background:
The Gospel text for this Sunday (Matthew 10:37-42) is the conclusion of Jesus’ instruction to the apostles before he sends them out to preach to “the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” Matthew describes Jesus as being moved with compassion for the people because “they were troubled and abandoned.” (Matthew 9:36) Therefore, Jesus has called twelve of his disciples and bestowed upon them the authority that he himself was given, and he sends them to the lost. The instruction that the apostles received last week continues and concludes in this Gospel reading.
This Gospel text is the first time in Matthew’s Gospel where the word cross is used. We may associate the cross here with the cross of Jesus. While that may be a way to personally reflect on the Gospel, to focus exclusively on Jesus’ cross misses the reality, that Jesus and his contemporaries lived in a world where the Romans frequently used crucifixion as a form of ex*****on to discourage undesired behavior. In one example, a Roman general crucified 2,000 Jews and placed them on the roadsides of Galilee after putting down an attempted revolt.
Jesus cautions the apostles that they must love him more than one’s family. This is shocking to Jesus’ contemporaries. Most of us in our culture were raised in a way that would prepare us for the day when we would leave home to start our own families. For a person to leave one’s family would be difficult to imagine for Jesus’ contemporaries. One’s life and identity were tied to maintaining their status within their family and society. You may think of the fate of the young prodigal son. A person’s worth, esteem, honor, and financial support were all based in one’s family.
While Jesus’ way of instructing may seem peculiar and even a bit offénsive in our culture, that would not have been so for the people that Jesus was addressing. Jesus was speaking in a way that was familiar to the Jews of his day. Many believed that when their time came breaking into history, there would be division among families, and one member of a family rising up against another. Even today, there are stories of families ơstracizing those who have chosen to join the Catholic Church.
While Jesus’ instruction reminds the disciples of what they are leaving behind, he also speaks of what they will receive. They were the first ones to have received Jesus himself, and they will receive the prophet’s reward. In addition, they are being sent as representatives of Jesus, so they can expect a corresponding reward. As the simplest act of courtesy, giving a cup of water to one who thirsts, will reap abundant blessing from God, the gift of their sacrifice to proclaim God’s coming will be blessed in the same way. Jesus’ instruction would have made a shocking impact on the early disciples as they prepared to proclaim the coming of God. He reminds them of the dedication required of them, and the great blessing being bestowed on them for their willingness to accept this responsibility. While Jesus’ disciples risk the real possibility of being rejected by family, they are also joining a new community whose central relationship is in Jesus.
Reflection Questions:
1. Have there been times in your life when you felt particularly worthy, or unworthy? Does the memory of these give you context, for when Jesus requires great love, and taking up your cross, to be worthy of him?
2. How many different support networks are you part of? Do you have a sense of belonging, that you too are a necessary part of these organizations? How are you affected by dividedness within the society in which we live?
3. Are you one who enjoys transition and new possibilities, or one who prefers consistency?
Who are the people whose relationships you most value?
4. Has your relationship with God ever come between you and any of your other relationships?
5. Do you know people who have had family relationships threatened or lost because of their effort to live as they believed God has called then?
6. When it comes to your spiritual life and relationship with God, how is God present in the difficult and painful periods of your life?
7. Can you take some time now to talk with God about your own desire for and/or fear of being in relationship with God?
