Reflection for Sunday 28th June, 2026

13th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Preparing the Apostles (Matt 10:37-42)

Jesus prepared his apostles to carry on his mission after his departure. But it would be costly at times. Sometimes great personal sacrifices would have to be made. One might be called to leave family comforts. He described it as taking up your cross to follow him. He spoke of losing your life in order to find its real meaning and value.

That means breaking out of the shell of self-centeredness. Pope Francis warned us of the temptation to have a privatized prayer-life which is insensitive to the needs of others. So heavenly-minded that one is no earthly good!

Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again.

We live in the computer age when people have become very me-centred. Programmes of self-development are very helpful but for many people this focus on self has done nothing to improve their awareness of others. Years ago, I read in a criticism of Indian meditation that five thousand years of meditation did not plough a single field. At that very time, Mother Teresa of Calcutta had begun her apostolate for the poor in India. Her meditation was Christ-centred and this was the source of her service to the poor. The message of today’s Gospel is that the mission of the Apostles would not be easy but it would bring a great reward. It reminds me of the Tipperary farmer who was very generous to any special collection taken in the parish. The Parish Priest visited him one day to thank him for his wonderful generosity. “It’s no bother, Father. God has a bigger shovel!”

Peter and Paul

Tomorrow, Monday, will be the Solemnity of two great apostles, Peter and Paul. Both of them described Christian life as following Christ in his cross and resurrection.

Peter tells us, “In so far as you share in the sufferings of Christ, be glad, so that you may enjoy a much greater gladness when his glory is revealed.” (1 Peter: 13). The earthly life of Jesus did not end on the Cross but in his Resurrection.

Paul, in his Letters, tells us in many texts that Christian life is sharing in the death and resurrection of the Lord. Paul was suffering the life of a prisoner when he wrote, “May I come to know him and the power of his resurrection, and partake of his sufferings by being moulded to the pattern of his death, striving towards the goal of resurrection from the dead.” (Phil 3:10)
True Christians are apostles who act out of goodness of heart. They do not seek a reward. But the less they seek, the greater the reward the Lord has in store for them. Even a cup of cold water will get its reward. Give the cup of time to people … time to listen, to pay attention, to give thanks or affirmation. As Pope Francis put it, I am a mission on this earth and that is the reason why I am here in this world.

Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again.